Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, we agree that Pacific herring fulfills a vital role in the ecosystem. Its conservation is always going to be a primary objective. We also recognize indigenous fishing rights and the important economic benefits generated from Pacific herring. We are continuing to consul

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, under the modernized Fisheries Act, it is imperative for us to have rebuilding plans in place for stocks. We are diligently working on those now, especially for critical stocks that are under threat. We have initiated a number of rebuilding plans. There is more to be d

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, it is extremely important that communities feel like they are part of the engagement process. That is something we have seen in British Columbia particularly: how engaged the local communities are with regard to habitat restoration. We have seen that through the B.C. S

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, as I have said a number of times tonight, the steep declines we have seen in wild Pacific salmon are extremely alarming. We are looking at a number of different measures to put in place to make sure that we are addressing those concerns and that we are building abundan

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, it is extremely important for us to make sure the new Fisheries Act is fully operational. We have put a number of rebuilding plans in place already. There is more to be done. Some of the ones that needed a rebuilding plan are now out of the critical zone. We are conti

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I want to thank the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans for this report. This was an extremely important report with regard to west coast licensing. We are working to engage stakeholders in British Columbia to identify priority fisheries management and licensing

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, as I have said, this is a very important report. We are actually engaging right now on a number of the recommendations to make sure we are well informed, as we go forward, to make the decisions. We have contracted an analysis to be done between Atlantic and Pacific com

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, as I have said, right now we are engaging in the consultations. This will take a bit of time. I do not have a firm timeline in front of me right now, but we know it is important to make sure we hear from a number of stakeholders on this issue—

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, with regard to the Big Bar landslide, we have made significant progress but know that more has to be done. We are currently in the process of building a natural fish passageway. That is one of the things that has to be done to make sure we address the concerns in the F

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, first of all, I would like to clarify for my hon. colleague that we actually have contracted for the Big Bar ladder. That is the natural fish passageway. I want to clarify that it has been contracted. We are working on that. We know it is an important part of making su

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, absolutely, we are committed to making sure we protect this iconic species. We are taking a number of measures to address the concerns that we hear with regard to the southern resident killer whales. We are going to continue to work with stakeholders and environmental

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I want to thank my hon. colleague for his intervention and his speech. It was very good. I will say our government has invested significantly in not only the B.C. salmon program, which we run in collaboration with the Province of British Columbia to restore habitat, b

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, in 2019, the department implemented a substantial new fishery closure in southern British Columbia. This measure included a 42-day closure for all commercial nets, including gillnets, and a 27-day closure for the first nations food, social and ceremonial fisheries, inc

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, as my hon. colleague well knows, I cannot comment on ongoing investigations into anything. That would be inappropriate, and I will leave it at that.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I do not order C&P officers to do their job. They are law enforcement officers who work outside of the minister. I do not direct them in any way, shape or form. They are professionals who know what their job is and they do it well.