Fisheries committee  There were two streams of thought going forward. The first was to look at it from a predominantly legal perspective. As you point out, the decision was focused on salmon farming because that was the nature of the judicial review that was sought and brought to the court. So in the opinion of the court, the focus was on the finfish aspects, and so on.

Fisheries committee  The regime in place in Alberta is essentially non-existent with respect to aquaculture. In Saskatchewan, a very small section of the fish and wildlife act deals with aquaculture, so it's very different. Manitoba is in the process of developing something similar. In Ontario, it's covered largely under their natural resources portfolio regime.

Fisheries committee  As you know, the department, in virtually all aspects of our activities, is contributing to the development of documents, and so on. We've done a fair bit of that so far. I've been informed that I'll be asked to appear before the commission. The date hasn't been set, but I believe they're looking at some time in February for aquaculture.

Fisheries committee  The short answer to your question is no. The regulation is set up in such a way, though, that, going forward as opposed to looking at what may have come in the past, clearly one of the conditions of licence will be that disease incidence, outbreak, and response is something that will have to be reported to us.

Fisheries committee  A large part of my confidence stems from talking to the people who work on the farms and manage their operations and also to our scientists. I'm a big believer, in the DFO context and more generally, in the elders concept. I spend a lot of time talking to those I consider to be my elders in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, guys who have been around for a long time.

Fisheries committee  No. The next round will be the final.... There is no next round of consultation. We followed the normal regulatory process and prepublished it in Canada Gazette, part I. A 60-day review period was put in place. That is double the norm, but we couldn't extend it out and still meet the court deadline.

Fisheries committee  The figure we're on for this fiscal year that we're partway through is $12.7 million. Next year, it's $10.5 million, I think it is, or $10.4 million, right around there. I was flipping to it and can't find the exact number. It's $10.5 million, give or take, and then it would be $8.3 million ongoing.

Fisheries committee  We expected to have, as you mentioned, feedback on the program throughout the regulations that were posted in July 2010. Certainly, we were part of the flow, and when I was here in March, I was telling you that was forthcoming. I would say that the nature of the feedback that we've received, with respect to the discussion document we put out in December of last year and the regulations this year, has been quite comprehensive, as you can imagine.

Fisheries committee  Okay. With respect to research, I think the first thing to talk about is that in Budget 2008 the government established what we call the sustainable aquaculture program. The government invested $70 million in new funding in aquaculture at large. This is prior to and independent of the B.C. case.

Fisheries committee  I think part of what we're trying to do, as I mentioned earlier in my opening remarks, is to ensure that the industry becomes far more transparent. One of the things the industry itself wants to be able to say to the market is that that they are in full compliance with all regulatory provisions and that people have inspected their operations regularly to prove that.

Fisheries committee  I hope that when you're there you'll have an opportunity to get onto a couple of farms. I hope you'll have an opportunity to visit some shellfish operators, not just salmon farmers. I know that with a group of this size, it's difficult to stand around and have a chat, but when you are on the farms, I hope you'll have an opportunity to talk to the men and women who really run the place.

Fisheries committee  I'm aware that you're likely to go out there in a few weeks and will get around to some farms, which I think is a great thing. I'd be a bit reluctant to advise you as to how you would deal with your constituents and your clients and so on. But I think the recurring theme, generally speaking, and certainly the advice we consistently provide, is to try everything possible to move to a discussion based on the facts.

Fisheries committee  Again, part of what I've described as the very detailed operational protocols is in development as we speak. I don't want to sound as if I'm making excuses for ourselves. I simply want to give you a sense of the reality. Part of our problem is that we don't yet have enough people in place to do what those people need to do, if you get what I mean.

Fisheries committee  Sorry, it's the conservation and protection unit folks from DFO who wear green.

Fisheries committee  They are, yes.