International Trade committee  On behalf of Clearwater Seafoods, I would like to thank the committee for the opportunity to present on this important issue. This year marks our company's 40th year in business—40 years of sustainable seafood excellence and trade. Clearwater got its start in international trade

International Trade committee  Clearwater competes for market share, and tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers are important considerations for our business. There are significant tariffs currently on lobster, snow crab, and frozen shrimp in the TPP markets. In closing, the TPP ensures that Canadian seafood

International Trade committee  From our perspective, yes, certainly we would like to see Canada show some leadership. We've talked about the importance of this agreement for our industry, the Canadian industry. I think one of the points that is important to note is that we do compete with supplies of like spec

International Trade committee  Certainly, as a company that exports to 30 countries around the world, harmonization of requirements is an important consideration. Each market has its own nuances and intricacies and from time to time these issues can become non-tariff trade barriers, so harmonization and provis

International Trade committee  Thank you, Tracey, for the question. It's a very important issue when it comes to fisheries. Clearwater, as a company, is dedicated to sustainability. We have made multi-million dollar investments in ensuring that we have appropriate science to underpin the management of our fis

International Trade committee  I believe there remains room for growth and development of the Japanese market. We talked about innovation a little bit earlier. The Canadian seafood industry is constantly innovating. That's a very important element of us being competitive globally. We talked a little bit about

International Trade committee  I do believe there is significant growth in Asia-Pacific markets generally. The Vietnamese market is actually a fairly small component of our business at the moment, so any removal of barriers would certainly help us to expand our business there. We do have a sales force on the

International Trade committee  I agree with my colleague that subsidies to the fishing industry globally do distort the marketplace, and they do create, at times, issues with sustainable fishing. To the extent that we can reduce subsidies to fishing industries globally, that helps the Canadian seafood industry

International Trade committee  I don't have specific estimates in terms of growth of these markets under the TPP arrangement, but without a doubt there are fundamental elements that help build value in Canadian seafood. We do have a limited supply of wild Canadian seafood because we manage it for sustainabilit

Fisheries committee  Thank you, Jennifer. Thank you, Chair and members of the committee. I too would like to emphasize how proud we all are to have built and to be continuing to build a relationship with the Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia and the Miawpukek in Newfoundland and Labrador. It's tangible proof

Fisheries committee  No, the change in ownership doesn't affect our ability to hold inshore licences. We are prohibited from doing that under what was policy in DFO and is now regulation. That regulation continues to apply today in the same way that it did prior to the transaction.

Fisheries committee  Clearwater is a major employer across Atlantic Canada. As I said, we have 1,500 employees. Those employees live in 276 communities across the province. We have major processing operations in small coastal communities, and we also have a significant number of our employees who are

Fisheries committee  I don't have our economic activity broken down by community at hand here, Mr. Mazier.

Fisheries committee  I would clarify that we were not convicted of violating our Marine Stewardship Council certification. We chose not to renew what is a voluntary five-year certification with the Marine Stewardship Council. That was a business decision, really, based on the fact that there is a sig

Fisheries committee  No, and we maintain the MSC certification on many of our other products, in fact. In each case it's really a decision that is based on the value that the eco-label brings in the marketplace. I think Canadian seafood does have a very good reputation internationally. That's on the