Mike Allen

[Government Expenditures, June 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, budget 2010 laid out a clear plan to return to a balanced budget. We froze departmental operating budgets, cancelled raises for the PM, ministers, MPs and senators, and are pressing ahead with tough strategic reviews to identify savings.

Could the President of the Treasury Board further explain to the House how this Conservative government is demonstrating leadership in controlling spending.

[Business of Supply, May 31st, 2010]

Mr. Chair, I want to follow-up on that. Pulp and paper mills across Canada are looking for new ways to maintain their environmental and economic sustainability. One of those is turning the black liquor product, a byproduct of the pulping processes, into heat and power. AV Nackawic in my riding received money for this recently. It makes dissolving pulp to be used in rayon for clothes.

Recently. J.D. Irving's Lake Utopia Paper in New Brunswick received $22 million in funding under the pulp and paper green transformation program to install a new biomass boiler that will reduce the mill's reliance on fossil fuels to power its manufacturing operations and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Could the Minister of Natural Resources tell us more about how this pulp and paper green transformation program is working in reality?

[Business of Supply, May 31st, 2010]

Madam Chair, I will be splitting my time tonight with my colleague from Souris—Moose Mountain, as well as my hon. colleague from Cariboo—Prince George.

I am very grateful to be able to discuss what is going on with our forestry industry.

Our government believes increasingly that success in world markets goes hand in hand with exemplary performance at the environmental level. Today we are concerned about the challenges faced by the forestry industry, forestry workers and the communities that rely on them.

The sector is undergoing a lot of changes. Change, by definition, does bring opportunity and we must seize those opportunities. We should develop and offer new products, upgrade our skills, generate value added from forest resources and conquer new markets.

Overall, our action on the economy is aimed at reducing the deficit, rebalancing the budget and implementing the measures needed to boost the economy and enhance prosperity. The Government of Canada has a prominent role to play in the renewal of the forestry sector, which is such an important sector for millions of our citizens.

We have taken unprecedented steps as part of Canada's economic action plan which allocates $170 million for the development of new products and new processes and aims to capitalize on new business opportunities. We have also provided $7.8 billion for the building of housing to stimulate construction and enhance energy efficiency. Given the importance of wood in construction and renovation, this investment led to a one million linear foot increase in internal demand for wood products in 2009 and 2010.

We know that credit is also a major issue faced by the forestry sector. As a result of our action plan, we have expanded the mandates of Export Development Canada and the Business Development Bank of Canada in a bid to reduce private market gaps. The results are clear: $16 billion were provided last year by EDC to support the Canadian forestry sector and, last year, 1,110 Canadian forestry sector SMEs took advantage of loans provided by BDC.

The success of the forestry sector, like other sectors in our economy, is dependent on the sound management of our resources and the sustainability of the production process. Since 2006, the Government of Canada has spent over $1 billion on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting the environment, by investing in green infrastructure, energy efficiency, clean energy technologies and the production of cleaner energies and fuels.

The 2010 budget dedicates $100 million to help support the commercialization of market-ready technologies and new bio-products in the forestry sector to create a world-class industry able to compete in tomorrow's bio-economy. This initiative will be truly transformational for the sector.

The pulp and paper green transformation program, with a $1 billion budget, is there to help pulp sector businesses producing black liquor to improve the energy efficiency of their plants. This program will also give rise to new investment, which is a key factor in revitalizing the sector.

The industry is well aware of the competitive advantage it will enjoy and the benefits it will reap when Canadian clean energy technologies are implemented and commercialized.

The future of the wood industry is very promising. Emerging technologies offer extraordinary possibilities. Our investments are intended to speed up development in the implementation of these new technologies and to bring about substantial benefits for the entire value chain of the sector.

Canada must take advantage of its excellent place in the world as a major supplier of wood and wood products to offer products that can be sold on all markets. The government is continuing to put the conditions in place that will make the forestry sector more sustainable and competitive.

The forestry sector, in spite of all these efforts, is still experiencing difficulty, and I can say that from some of the challenges in small communities in my riding.

Could the minister lay out the government's global approach in terms of supporting this very important industry to Canadians?

[Nuclear Liability and Compensation Act, May 13th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the parliamentary secretary, my colleague on the natural resources committee, for his comments today. There was a lot of discussion at committee, and this will be my fourth time dealing with the bill as a member of that committee.

There was some discussion about the liability amounts. The member is right in that there is an amount the insurance companies will cover. We even had testimony at committee which indicated that if that insurance was set at too high a level, what it could mean for the operators is that there would be a shutdown of the unit, which would lead to a stranded investment, which would lead into the ratepayers' pockets. I am sure that is what the NDP was hoping for anyway.

I would also like to ask the parliamentary secretary to elaborate on some of the amendments that were adopted in committee, because the last time was the first time that we actually adopted amendments. There were some very good amendments and some good discussion on not only the liability amounts, but some other things as well. Would he talk about some of the other major issues and testimony that we heard?

[Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2010, May 13th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his hard work on the finance file and for his speech today.

On these tax treaties, could the member talk specifically about some of the efficiencies to businesses and individuals that are received from these tax treaties? Could the member also comment on some of the challenges around some of the privacy issues that are associated with the exchange of information?

[ATLANTIC SHELLFISH INDUSTRY, May 12th, 2010]

Mr. Chair, that is an interesting point. I guess he did get something right, that the stabilization did start in 2005 under the member for Halifax West at that time.

I can say that the minister has made a very informed decision this year. As was pointed out earlier, this has always been a challenge. The report says very clearly that every spring it is always a challenge when the fishers negotiate and none of them ever wants the quota changes. The minister informed them very clearly last year, based on her decision, that there could be ramifications this year and those ramifications have hit.

It is going to be very interesting as the fisheries committee looks at the next round of this. I look forward to delving into this in more detail here on the ground and to finding out just exactly the challenges that are being faced. I think we all know what they are, but those of us who do not have crab in our ridings are certainly going to hear about it and we will have a good opportunity to see what some of those challenges are on the ground.

[ATLANTIC SHELLFISH INDUSTRY, May 12th, 2010]

Mr. Chair, there are three main areas that we take into consideration in connection to quotas: the catch per unit effort, which is the number of crab in the pot; the post-season surveys, which include the DFO trawl survey; and the collaboration with the industry on the trap survey that it has as well.

I am glad my colleague brought up the money that is going to New Brunswick. I think that is important because that represents a collaboration with the provinces. One of the things about signing these labour market development agreements is the fact that each of these provinces gets a chance to invest in the things that are different in their province because not every province is the same.

The province of New Brunswick has $245 million, which allows it to invest in things like getting people to move to different areas, to actually invest. Also, under the EI program, there are retraining programs. Those are important factors that we need to consider. That is why the negotiations we have had with her province on these deals is good for her community and is also good for the workers in the community.

I also want to stress that it is a very interesting read when we look at the 2007 report on the crab industry in New Brunswick, especially, because it does highlight a lot of these things that have been cyclical. The same problems are still in the industry today that have been there for many years. It involves, always, a challenge between DFO science and the fishers. There is always, I guess, a negotiation every spring, as the minister talked about before, with respect to what that final quota will be.

[ATLANTIC SHELLFISH INDUSTRY, May 12th, 2010]

Mr. Chair, that is a great question. That is the same thing we are experiencing in agriculture, the same challenges when we look at prices going down and what producers are getting for their resource.

I want to re-emphasize to the hon. member over there that we also have a very cyclical industry. He did talk about the auto industry and I think everybody in the House should recognize the very integrated nature of that industry between Canada and the U.S., and the importance of us working with the U.S. on that. One industry was going to get something. If ours did not, we would not have been competitive. It was as simple and dry as that, and we are getting the money back, according to GM last week.

However, I do understand what he is saying. At the same time, as we do recognize that this industry is cyclical in nature, we will, and I think we can expect with the proper science decisions that the minister has taken, begin to see an upturn. Then we can start to see better prices and we can start to see new entrants have the ability to finance.

[ATLANTIC SHELLFISH INDUSTRY, May 12th, 2010]

Mr. Chair, thank you for the opportunity to speak on this debate. Being from New Brunswick, I certainly understand some of the arguments that my colleague from Acadie—Bathurst was making. Even though I do not have any crab in my riding, I do have a number of potato producers and a forestry sector. I tend to equate some of the issues that we have in terms of barrels and board feet. It is a bit of a different argument, but I am pleased to speak today on the impact of the snow crab fishery on the communities in New Brunswick and the Atlantic provinces.

While I understand the difficulties that these regions are facing and how this debate can get very emotional, because it is impacting a number of communities and families, it is important to look at the facts and ensure we base our decisions with the future of the industry in mind.

Since 1966 the snow crab fishery in this area has grown rapidly, peaking at more than 33,000 tonnes in 1982. Landings have fluctuated since this peak to as low as 8,900 tonnes in 1990 and as high as more than 36,000 tonnes in 2005. Landings last year were just under 24,000 tonnes.

It is clear that the snow crab stocks, when we look at this data, are cyclical in nature. The size of the stocks for the given year have been provided by scientists from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans who created the detailed annual assessment based on trawl surveys of the available snow crab biomass. These trawl surveys show that the 2005 fishery was the peak of the most recent cycle and the stock has been in a declining phase since that point in time.

Management decisions and quota levels are guided by the annual science assessment and advice as well as input from industry stakeholders. The annual quota has been gradually reduced to reflect the snow crab's natural cycle. The most recent data prepared in 2009 was used to provide advice on this year's quotas in February.

Since 2008 Fisheries and Oceans Canada has been developing a precautionary approach framework for the southern gulf snow crab fishery. This will reinforce the fishery's long-term sustainability and is one of the department's objectives to achieve sustainable fisheries based on strong conservation outcomes.

A fishery managed under such a framework fits well with eco-certification guidelines and can provide a fishery with a competitive market advantage. We are seeing more and more of that around the world today as we are looking at eco-certification for a number of our fisheries. Hopefully, at some point in time, the committee on fisheries and oceans will get a chance to start looking at eco-certification.

In recent years Fisheries and Oceans Canada has also been working with industry to develop a long-term harvesting strategy. Using precautionary approach principles, departmental scientists identified appropriate reference levels for this fishery. With industry input, decision-making rules-based on the precautionary approach are being developed for establishing the annual quota. These rules will support stock conservation while providing predictability and stability so the industry can plan for the future.

Members opposite will know to put things in perspective when they consider the current situation in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab fishery. Trends in world snow crab stocks are well studied and are known to be cyclical in nature. The southern gulf is no exception and it is the cyclical nature of snow crab that has led to the decline in recent years. This decline was expected and we expect to return to abundance in the coming years.

I just wanted to refer to a study that was done for the province of New Brunswick back in 2007 by GTA Fisheries Consultants. It has a nice chart on page 12 that shows that trend. It is very evident on these cycles that we can expect that and what was happening this year could eventually be expected as well.

That is one of the reasons the minister announced that she will stabilize access to the crab fishery for the next five years. The fleets will be able to plan their fishing so that it is viable throughout the natural cycle. While there might always be uncertainty in the fishery, access should not have to be part of that uncertainty.

That being said, the biomass has declined to a level where it is important to establish stringent management measures to protect the spawning portion of the stock. In this way, we can avoid extending the current period of low biomass.

After two weeks of fishing, harvesters are claiming a high abundance of crab. As for the rest of the fishery, we should not base our decisions for future actions on impressions and assumptions. Preliminary reports from independent dockside observers indicate that catch levels thus far are much lower than last year.

In fact, for the first week of 2010, the catch rate is the lowest observed in the past six years, 18% lower than last year, and 50% lower than in 2006. Additionally, molting crabs, which have soft shells and are extremely vulnerable to injury, are in much greater abundance this year. This has actually necessitated the closure of some portions of the crab fishing area.

All these facts show that the minister took the best decision under the circumstances. It was a difficult decision, as she indicated earlier, but a sound one. Moreover, even after cutting the quota in area 12 to 7,700 tonnes, there remains a risk of further stock declines in 2011. This quota does, however, provide the best balance. It allows some harvest to stakeholders while ensuring that the stock is able to rebuild.

By establishing Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab quotas for 2010, the minister is putting the priority on preserving the resource. This decision was not made lightly. Our government recognizes that this is a significant reduction compared to last year and that crab fishers, plant workers and the community will all face hard times.

As a consequence, the minister has instructed officials from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to offer the maximum flexibility for fish harvesters. This will help them to achieve efficiencies and reduce their operating costs.

Restrictions around quota transfers between crab fishing enterprises are being lifted for 2010, enabling harvesters to consolidate operations. It will allow for individual harvesters to make business decisions, for example, reducing or increasing their investments in the fishery over the next few years, based on their needs.

This quota transfer flexibility goes hand-in-hand with the partnering options provided this year to harvesters. Under these arrangements, two harvesters can fish their quota from the same boat, significantly decreasing costs.

The department is taking care to respect existing licensing policy. Fish harvesters subject to the owner-operator policy will require to be on board the fishing vessel.

The industry has already taken advantage of these measures. To date, around 40% of licence holders have used the quota transfer option and some new partnerships have been formed in 2010.

These flexibility measures will remain in place until stocks return to the higher end of the cycle. If we decide to continue this increased flexibility in future years, it is likely that their use by the industry will increase. In any case, the lessons learned from these changes to licensing policy and fisheries operations will be very useful as the department moves forward with its ongoing reform of existing policy.

I would also like to mention the department's continued investment in science. In order to appropriately manage the resource and support longer term sustainability of the fishery, DFO has kept its science base up to date to enhance its precautionary approach to the management of the stock. This approach will improve the long-term predictability of fishery management decisions so that the industry can plan for the future.

To finish, I would like to assure people that our government understands that these are difficult times for the crab fishery and the entire industry.

It is our responsibility to ensure the sustainability of this precious resource as communities in New Brunswick and my home province as well as other provinces depend on it. Conservation has to remain our top priority so we can benefit and continue to enjoy the opportunities of this resource for many years to come.

[Arts and Culture, May 3rd, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, our government's economic action plan provides more support than ever before for Canadians in the area of arts and culture.

Earlier today, our government delivered on another promise in our economic action plan to create a new, world-class prize to honour Canadian artists.

Could the Minister of Canadian Heritage please tell us how our Conservative government is supporting the arts and giving artists from coast to coast to coast a chance to be honoured around the world?