Fisheries committee  That's a great question, Mr. Hardie. The currents and the prevailing weather are pretty consistent year-round. Obviously, in the wintertime, the prevalence and the severity of storms increase the volume of debris that comes across the Pacific Ocean. Certainly, by springtime and early summer, we see the largest aggregate of debris because of that winter season.

Fisheries committee  Yes, absolutely. Any of us who have worked in emergency response in any endeavour can attest to how important effective and real-time communication is to be able to develop and implement a very efficient working response plan. Efficiency means we're going to save money and we're going to keep people safer.

Fisheries committee  Absolutely, Terry. Yes, communication was not immediate from the shipper. It was reported immediately to the Coast Guard, and communications came in through the Coast Guard almost immediately. But when we were speaking of the lack of communication that took almost a month, that was the contractor, Amix Group, who was brought on by Danaos, the shipowner, who has shown, in our opinion, considerably inadequate abilities to communicate with local first nations or groups that are experts in these types of survey and recovery efforts.

Fisheries committee  I would highly support the effectiveness of the Coast Guard's communication abilities. They have done a fantastic job of keeping not only indigenous but also non-indigenous peoples along the coast exceptionally well informed through consistent releases and updates. It's the Province of British Columbia as well.

Fisheries committee  The only caveat I would say in this instance, as we are speaking of the Zim Kingston, is that the buck has sort of been passed over to the contractor hired by Danaos, the shipowner. Amix Group, the contractor, has been charged with the survey and recovery efforts. I think we need to focus more on bringing that control back to the federal or provincial governments, because, as is evident from this instance, Amix Group has not done an adequate job of communicating, delivering or developing the type of survey or recovery efforts required for an incident of this scale.

Fisheries committee  That speaks to the results of what a task force, a dedicated working group or committee would provide. First, you have to identify what the larger regional capacity needs are in terms of support and funding, and then you can provide accurate metrics on exactly what that dollar figure and capacity support look like.

Fisheries committee  That's an excellent question. Obviously, these containers are packed with marketable goods. Most of them are petroleum-based products. When these containers fall off the ship and sink to the ocean floor, it doesn't take long before the tidal action or the wave action of the ocean bangs these containers around.

Fisheries committee  I can jump in quickly, Terry, to give a few more metrics on that. Since 2017, in partnership with the Tla-o-qui-aht Nation, the Coastal Restoration Society removed over three million pounds of anthropogenic debris from the waters of Clayoquot Sound alone. This amount is increasing exponentially every year as we become the inevitable end of the line for most of the debris washing across the Pacific.

Fisheries committee  I'm not aware of the intimate metrics involved in those polluter pays agreements. Certainly, because we're constantly looking for adequate funding, I would anticipate that the details of those agreements aren't providing sufficient liquidity to support large-scale recovery efforts when a situation like the Zim Kingston happens.

Fisheries committee  Thank you, Mrs. Desbiens. I apologize if I didn't say your name correctly. French is not my first language, but I like to try when I have the opportunity. Maybe I'll just jump back in. We've had the privilege of speaking before at this committee. As a captain and professional mariner, I've garnered a lifetime of global maritime experience related to marine industrial activities.

Fisheries committee  Thank you very much, Terry. I can handle that for sure. Good morning, Mr. Chair and esteemed members of the committee. As you know, my name is Josh Temple. I'm calling in from the unceded and unsurrendered lands of the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc Nation in what is now known as Kamloops, British Columbia.

Fisheries committee  Thank you, Mr. Arnold. I apologize. I was getting to that. I was almost done my introduction. I'm not aware of any formal agreements that Tla-o-qui-aht or any members of Clayoquot Sound might have with the federal government. However, we have performed many initiatives directly related to spill response and recovery of anthropogenic debris directly related to container spill recovery over the years, which has been funded under contract by the provincial and federal governments.

Fisheries committee  That's a great question. It has happened both ways. Sometimes, in the absence of a more formalized framework or emergency response structure that would allocate funding or resources to support an emergency response to anthropogenic debris related to container spills, etc., we do step in and become proactive.