Business of Supply  Madam Chair, with respect to the definition of “moderate livelihood”, that is not something the Government of Canada is going to impose on first nations. That is determined by the first nations communities. Every community looks at this differently. We want to ensure we work with

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, with respect to Mr. Surette, what I said was that a number of ministry representatives wanted to see someone they could talk to outside of DFO. That is what we have put in place with Mr. Surette. He is, as the member for West Nova knows, a very well-respected member

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, it is important to note that an interim report is due at the end of December, but the final report is not due until March. Mr. Surette has been working on this for a while now. He has already had a number of meetings with commercial harvesters and with stakeholders.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, we understand there is an interest in a mark-selective fishery. However, my department did not authorize a broad expansion of the mark-selective fishery this year because of several concerns. Among those concerns were the potential risk of increased fishing effort an

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, as I have said, we have had to take very difficult measures to protect the salmon species. We will continue to take measures. We have seen a rapid decline. It is alarming and concerning to see what is happening with the wild salmon stocks in B.C. We know these measur

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, we are working to use the best available science when making decisions with regard to management and Atlantic Canada DFO has documented the impacts of the grey seals on the fish stocks in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence and British Columbia. We are working with par

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I would say that I have been having briefings with my department on illegal fishing right across the country since I was first appointed as minister. I am not really sure where my hon. colleague is going with this.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, with regard to illegal activity, recognizing that first nations have a right to a moderate livelihood fishery, as well as to an FSC fishery that happens in St. Mary's Bay. CMP officers have been active there in removing traps that were not tagged or did not meet qual

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I will say to the hon. member I do not have that information in front of me. I know that CMP was on the water on the weekend. I know there were traps pulled, but I do not have the exact numbers.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, if a lobster trap does not meet requirements, it will be seized by CMP. There are specific requirements for all traps in order to make sure they have things like the right escape hatches. Those are all things the CMP officers will be looking for as they are looking a

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, hatcheries are an extremely important part of our fisheries on the west coast. Making sure that hatchery fish are looked after is a DFO responsibility that we take very seriously. We know how important hatchery fish are, and we will continue to work with small commun

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, the southern resident killer whale is an extremely iconic, important species. We have to do everything we can to protect and recover this species. In recent years, our government has taken significant steps to address the key threats to their survival. We have to con

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, as I have said many times tonight, I know the conservation measures we have put in place have been extremely difficult for recreational fishers. However, having said that, we will continue to do everything we possibly can to protect the southern resident killer whale

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, I absolutely acknowledge the challenges being faced by the participants in the recreational fishery, including the guides, the lodges and all of the people who make their living from the recreational fishery. However, I also recognize that the chinook are in a desper

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, when we designed the fish harvester benefit and grant, we knew how important it was going to be to get it to as many fishers as possible. That included first nations with regard to commercial communal licences. We made sure that it got to inland fishers, who would no