Fisheries committee  Normally, it's a joint venture. It's a joint approach where we would have set officers and rangers, and also the Department of Natural Resources. Now it's under Justice and Public Safety. There has been a change lately in New Brunswick. Rangers are under Justice and Public Safety

Fisheries committee  They wanted to cut the expense to harvest, so they requested and they changed the New Brunswick forestry management plan to allow a bigger cut. They will cut, prepare the ground for any replanting, and then spray. That's the way New Brunswick is...clear-cut, planting, and sprayin

Fisheries committee  I don't think there would be any change since 2012 because forestry will not get close to the rivers. They don't touch—

Fisheries committee  Not since 2012, but the changes in the river are major. There is bank erosion. There are new channels. The highest runs are earlier and earlier every spring. There are bigger ice floes going down the river impacting the banks. There are some tributaries with a high deposit of gra

Fisheries committee  Actually, I think today and tomorrow there's a meeting in Moncton for the first time of a joint venture partnership that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is putting in place, so I think it's a good start. It's going to be a board of directors representing different scientis

Fisheries committee  I would say, no. Yes, we see an increase in the rate of the cut because of the budworm outbreak. However, the change in the forestry plan in New Brunswick... It's always from lobby...to cut the expense. It's always based on economy. The threat of closing mills leads to cheaper wa

Fisheries committee  Yes. In New Brunswick, it's the biggest employer.

Fisheries committee  We saw a seal last year 125 kilometres from the ocean. That's a bit high in the system. It stayed there for the summer, so you can imagine what it was eating. I tried to get a permit and to notify DFO that maybe we should harvest that seal because it would do damage all summer, b

Fisheries committee  We talked about seals and striped bass, but there are other predators or other species having an impact on the salmon. There are cormorants, mergansers, and beavers. Beavers are a problem for the Restigouche River system because the price of the pelt is low. There's no interest f

Fisheries committee  Yes, the deterioration of habitat.... We feel that with these latest changes to the Fisheries Act the government is walking away from its responsibility. The feeling is that the priority is on economic development and major industrial projects—there is actually one in Belledune—s

Fisheries committee  Do you mean how much money we would need?

Fisheries committee  The habitat restoration in the Restigouche system is mainly done by local groups, so compared to a big industrial project, it's very few dollars. We try to stabilize the bank with a few thousand dollars every year, but it's not enough. We have to look at the global approach, the

Fisheries committee  For us on the Restigouche, being a forestry watershed, the impact of forestry is major. The change in peak flows is amazing. This year especially, with the ice run we had last year, we've had peak flows and floods. That's changed the river system big time in terms of debris, silt

Fisheries committee  Can I add something to that?

Fisheries committee  For the Restigouche River, there is agreement between the governments. The Listuguj government, as an example, has a contract. There would be a service contract with the Province of Quebec and also an agreement with Fisheries and Oceans. These are mainly contracts—$430,000 with Q