Questions Passed as Orders for Returns  With regard to Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Conservation and Protection Program, broken down by year since 2015: (a) how many charges, citations, or other type of enforcement action were taken through the program, broken down by type of enforcement action (criminal charges, ticket, etc.), and by type of illegal activity (fishing without a license, illegally caught species, multiple charges, etc.); and (b) of the instances in (a) where charges were laid, what is the breakdown by final judicial outcome (charges dropped, conviction, case still ongoing, etc.)?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, Norway's oceans are 7.5 times more productive than ours and it might have something to do with its much lower pinniped populations. Recently, the minister admitted seals eat fish. Does the minister know how much capelin that harp seals alone consume in Atlantic Canada each year?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, based on DFO estimates, the answer is four billion pounds per year. The fishing industry wants to know why time and money is be wasted on another seal study and a seal summit, instead of working to remove trade barriers with the EU and the U.S.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, so we have cut all quotas of fish in Canada to very low levels and ended many fisheries. Pinniped populations are five to 15 times higher than historic levels. With the reduction of pinniped numbers, can fish stocks recover?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, does the minister believe that 50% of salmon smolts entering the ocean from B.C. rivers are consumed by pinnipeds: yes or no?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, is the minister aware of Bill C-251 and has she familiarized herself with the contents?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, will the minister support the conservation of fish stocks and vote for Bill C-251?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, does DFO consider shrimp to be a forage fish for the exploding Gulf of St. Lawrence redfish biomass?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, shrimp fetch as much as $2 a pound. Redfish may fetch one-fifth of that price. Therefore, what sense does it make to stop fishing shrimp in order to grow a less valuable species like redfish?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, DFO often references consultations with external scientists. Can the minister tell us which external groups or environmental non-government agencies, ENGOs, these scientists belong to?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, what does influence stock management decisions?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, would the minister agree that these ENGOs have a predetermined agenda in some cases?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, in the minister's first appearance at the fisheries committee, the minister referenced unbiased science. Is science provided by ENGOs biased or unbiased?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I guess there is just one science. It is all objective. That is wonderful. If the minister were a fish harvester, and her livelihood and investment were at the mercy of ENGOs with agendas to end commercial fishing, can she tell us how she would feel?

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I appreciate the minister's gracious invitation. Does the minister know how much more productive Norway's oceans are than ours?