Fisheries committee  Thank you. I'll begin. My name is Jackey Richard, and I'm the acting regional director of the small craft harbours program for both the Maritimes and the gulf regions. My jurisdiction covers all three maritime provinces. I'll just take a few minutes to basically give you a snaps

Fisheries committee  Actually, the $38 million I referred to is our annual allocation.

Fisheries committee  So that's what we manage annually as a budget.

Fisheries committee  I believe, going back to previous presentations where we've identified a national gap of $32 million to $35 million, the Maritimes and gulf split of that would be about $18 million.

Fisheries committee  Per year, yes.

Fisheries committee  Historically we had 557 harbours; therefore, we've reduced by 220-some odd to our current portfolio of 330. The difference between the 330 and the 284 is what we consider to be non-required harbours. Some of them are facilities, just pieces of infrastructure that are out there no

Fisheries committee  The reference is to core harbours, and core harbours are harbours that support significant activity and are key to the commercial fishery to support operations locally. Those facilities, to be core, are managed by harbour authority groups, being the not-for-profit groups that are

Fisheries committee  I mentioned that we have many harbour authorities that have been around for some time. Oftentimes what happens is the original board seems to have maintained itself over time, so there's not much renewal, and that causes some fatigue. Harbour authorities are also facing increased

Fisheries committee  Well, I think when there's an opportunity for a harbour authority to consider broad community interest and other activities to diversify, it should be encouraged as a means of generating extra revenue. However, most of our facilities in the Maritimes and gulf region are at their

Fisheries committee  Well, I understand that the program faces a funding shortfall. We're tapped already to support our priority infrastructure needs; therefore, investing in another commercial endeavour that's not necessarily related to the fishery would not be smart. However, we encourage harbour a

Fisheries committee  As I mentioned in my opening remarks, we cater to an expanded client base, including aboriginals entering the fishery as well as aquaculture business relying on our sites for service and access. We don't divvy up the budget based on the type of fishery. The way we allocate our fu

Fisheries committee  Not as a weight, no. What happens is we have safety considerations, and obviously if you're dealing with overcrowded facilities and congestion, if aquaculture is part of that client mix, it does add to the pressures and the traffic at a facility.

Fisheries committee  We don't provide facilities that are exclusive to aquaculture interests, but obviously if you're dealing with a congested facility, then you're adding to the pressure there, and the pressures come from aquaculture business. Obviously it is adding to your safety rating in the prio

Fisheries committee  Our office in Ottawa is making a big effort to try to develop a program that is consistent from one region to another. On the question of funds, our system is based on eight criteria and it applies in all regions. So it is a common system. On the question of the management of our

Fisheries committee  We do planning. We are in the process of preparing a long-term facilities plan with the harbour committees and communities. The climate that an area is facing has to be taken into consideration. Some places in the region have more need for dredging, for example. As well, the cons