Fisheries committee  Yes, we could provide a summary.

Fisheries committee  I will offer a couple of thoughts on that, and then Mr. Waddell may wish to add more. As you said, there have been a number of individuals and organizations that have identified examples on the east coast as things that the west coast should implement, owner-operator and fleet separation being the two most commonly cited examples.

Fisheries committee  In terms of the tools available, I think you can see different approaches that have been taken on the east coast. I'm not an expert on that, but I will just quickly identify that there are some instances where limitations have been placed on foreign ownership. There have been regulatory solutions implemented to advance the owner-operator interests, such as the inshore regulations on the east coast.

Fisheries committee  I don't know if I would suggest that any of them haven't been truthful, just to clarify on that point, but I think what we've heard is a lot of concern from folks who have participated in these hearings in the past, or directly to the department through our advisory processes, etc., about some of these dynamics regarding things like foreign ownership and corporate concentration.

Fisheries committee  Sure. Looking back to the 2019 report, I think the recommendations were quite broad. They did address the topics you covered, as well as a number of others that go beyond the context of foreign ownership and have economic implications for participants in the fishery. Therefore, I think we are conscious that before taking steps to make changes, we would want to comprehensively collect the views and input of those who may be affected by any changes we make, to be informed by their input.

Fisheries committee  Yes, I think there are a number of things, and those are some of the things that we've acted on over the past several years. That includes—

Fisheries committee  Maybe I can offer a different summary of my comments to Mr. Hardie, which is that while there are several staff dedicated to this file, there are quite a number of others who will have contributions to make to their pieces of it. They manage particular species, etc., and therefore have the expertise.

Fisheries committee  As I was describing earlier, we knew very early on that these were very wide-ranging recommendations. There were some that we could do work on immediately and others that we would have to prepare a foundation for to be able to advance work, so that's what we've done. We've staged our work to advance the recommendations where we saw an opportunity and had the resources to do so.

Fisheries committee  Certainly, and thank you for the question. I think what we know and have heard is a diversity of views. We know that some groups, individuals and organizations very much support the committee's recommendations from the 2019 report, and we know that there are a number of organizations and individuals that have expressed concerns about the implications of the committee's report.

Fisheries committee  I would offer two things in response. The first is that we've recognized a lot of the concerns raised and have been quite intentional on how we've tried to respond to them. I may turn to my colleague, Mark Waddell, to speak more about the beneficial ownership survey in this regard, but the first thing we've done is really try to gather information to validate or ground the truth of some of the assertions that have been made about where licences and quota are going, to put ourselves in a better position to respond appropriately and assess what our policy options are.

Fisheries committee  I was not.

Fisheries committee  I don't think so.

Fisheries committee  If you'll permit me, I'll address that in two parts. The first is what it would take to do the consultation and undertake work on any potential changes, and the second is the implementation phase. With respect to the engagement and the development of any proposals for change, yes, we have staff that are dedicated to this file, but more importantly, because—

Fisheries committee  We have one person who is a manager and oversees this file. They in turn have a staff person whose sole responsibilities relate to the work on this file. Because the recommendations are so broad, they will necessarily implicate all kinds of staff across a variety of our fisheries management groups and teams.

Fisheries committee  I will answer for my region. I think it is fair to say that in the context of the Pacific region.... I mean, conservation is the department's number one priority. That will always be the primary focus for us. In the Pacific region, I would say that this focus has been paired with work that has also focused on supporting the economic viability of fisheries.