Fisheries committee  Good morning, Mr. Chairman and committee members. We're also pleased to be here this morning to discuss Bill S-215. As you know, it's not the first time we have been here to discuss the bill and its previous version, Bill S-220. Last June, my colleagues and I were here to discu

Fisheries committee  I look forward actually to working very closely with her. Already in the short time she's been here, and she alluded to this, there have been some important files that I'm involved in because I have quite a breadth of responsibilities, as you're aware, including small craft harbo

Fisheries committee  The only thing I could add is that our minister, as you're probably aware, supports the bill. It is going to second reading today, I believe, and beyond that we're working very closely with our colleagues in Parks Canada around the designation, the actual definition of what would

Fisheries committee  Yes.

Fisheries committee  I think it's going to be in-house, but if you would like, we could come back with more details. As the deputy just said, we just got the money. We're just planning now what we're going to do.

Fisheries committee  Basically it is ongoing. It is kind of planned out. There's a huge amount of money going into this from the government. It's a matter of allocating the resources in the year in which we can best use them. You'll probably see it as part of the supplementary estimates throughout, a

Fisheries committee  I don't know right off the top of my head, Mr. Simms. I could possibly come back before the end of this meeting today. But in any event, we'll get you an answer for that.

Fisheries committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Deputy. I hope everybody has a copy of the presentation. It is very short and I'll be very brief in addressing the highlights. Basically we are here to present the supplementary estimates, which as you know increase the spending authority for t

Fisheries committee  It's been a matter of record, the funding challenges of this particular program. This is good in that it does keep the $20 million, which as you point out, we're about to lose. As the deputy said, we are continuing to work on other aspects of the funding shortfall.

Fisheries committee  Can I ask where you're getting that figure?

Fisheries committee  Yes. When we were having discussions around the coast guard becoming a special operating agency, we looked at a couple of other programs within the department. There was some analysis done. It was decided at that time not to proceed with the small craft harbours as a special oper

Fisheries committee  I think, as the coast guard has found, there is some value, if only to raise the profile of the program. Having said that, I think it has a pretty high profile within the existing organizational structure, but that would be one advantage I could see in it becoming a special opera

Fisheries committee  They probably would have the sense of family. And maybe, as you alluded to earlier when you asked the question about whether they are a separate program, I think being a special operating agency, as I've seen it evolve within the coast guard, seems to have contributed to the mora

Fisheries committee  They're showing a recent interest in working with us on divestiture of harbours. There are a number of harbours, as Monsieur Blais knows in particular, that are on the list for divestiture in Quebec. So they're willing to work with us in some partnership arrangement yet to be rea

Fisheries committee  I could answer that the small craft harbours program is a separate, distinct program within the department. As the committee may be aware, in the program activity architecture it finds itself lodged within the safe and accessible waterways, along with the Canadian Coast Guard and