Fisheries committee  Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Minister, for being here. I'm going to throw some questions straight at you without much preamble. In determining your strategy to increase the populations of the southern resident killer whale, what are the desired population targets that your department and you have agreed upon for the short, medium and long term?

Fisheries committee  So you don't have any numbers per se because the population is in its normal range between 70 and 90 right now, even though it has been in decline for several years. You don't have a hard and fast number other than just stopping the decline and waiting and seeing what happens?

Fisheries committee  I would argue that out of the three pillars you're talking about, the most important one is the availability of prey. Ships have been present while the population of the killer whales has been increasing and decreasing. I'm not going to get into whether the contaminants, the long-term bioaccumulations, are a direct or imminent threat, but I think food and starvation are considered an imminent threat.

Fisheries committee  Can you provide the committee with a breakdown of the costs associated with the decision to cancel the expropriation of the quota from Clearwater and can you assure this committee that any new process to award contracts will be above board and transparent?

Fisheries committee  Ms. Gelfand, you've probably presumed from my line of questioning.... I appreciate Mr. Casey bringing some clarification to the issue. I don't know if it's possible, but at some point in time, I would be very curious to see, on behalf of the ratepayers and taxpayers of this country, just how much influence third party organizations sometimes have in influencing policy with the direct connections that they have.

Fisheries committee  So it's not a matter of “when”. It's still a matter of “if”.

Fisheries committee  It's a matter of “when”. Thank you. I have a question for you. Some of the witnesses who appeared before the committee testified that the last time the southern resident killer whale population increased significantly was in the nineties. Is that true?

Fisheries committee  They also made reference to the fact that in the nineties the hatchery program in British Columbia was churning out about five to 10 times as many salmon as the current hatchery programs, which DFO operates in conjunction with partners, is churning out today. Would that be roughly true?

Fisheries committee  No, I understand. I understand. Many people who have spoken to me about this issue have told me that it's not just the number of pinnipeds that are present in the coastal regions right now that are affecting salmon populations, but it's actually where they are. The people from the salmon enhancement program and the various hatcheries that the salmon enhancement program works with have indicated to me, in conversations that I've had with them, that the pinnipeds are actually now moving well up into fresh water in order to eat these juvenile salmon.

Fisheries committee  Is it fair to say that the transient killer whale population that would feed on the pinnipeds would go up freshwater estuaries to look for pinnipeds or go up that far?

Fisheries committee  I don't think so either. I think Mr. Masse also asked you this question. I don't mean to belabour the issue, but could you give the committee any indication of how much of the new funding that was announced yesterday might be allocated to fishery enhancements through hatcheries?

Fisheries committee  Thank you, Chair. I'll get a quick point of clarification from Mr. Morel, if I can. When we were talking about the emergency protection order issue, you said that the minister hasn't decided when, so that tells me that it's a matter of “when” and not a matter of “if”. Can you confirm that this is true?

Fisheries committee  Was the Department of Fisheries and Oceans ever threatened by legal action from Ecojustice since November of 2017 if DFO didn't close the areas that Ecojustice wanted them to close for recreational and commercial fishing?

Fisheries committee  Understood.

Fisheries committee  Yes. I don't envy your job, sir.