Fisheries committee  The harbour authorities are actually generating $24 million per year in revenue. You're quite right; it's an uneven distribution. It seems to be easier for the harbour authorities out west to increase their revenue bases. This is indeed one of the initiatives we're working on. Harbour authorities are sometimes running into issues with fee collection.

Fisheries committee  In terms of the purchase, we did pay it out of the administration costs.

Fisheries committee  They're a bit technical. We refer to it as our long-term capital planning exercise. It identifies what we call our major capital projects, those that are valued at more than $1 million. So yes, we update it every year. It's for a five-year period. We also identify the project needs beyond that.

Fisheries committee  We have the distribution of the $20 million and how it applies to the different regions. I could say that our Atlantic region--the Maritimes and the gulf and Newfoundland--is where the bulk of the $20 million is being advanced, because there has been more readiness to take on more money.

Fisheries committee  Maybe I can add a couple of additional elements. The contracting authority is one. Many regions were well positioned in that a lot of the planning and engineering work was already done. It was “Take it off the shelf, dust it off, and let's move on.” So that was very good. We're also getting very good assistance from the Department of Public Works.

Fisheries committee  It appears to be more of a problem in the Pacific. As a matter of fact, the Harbour Authority Association of British Columbia has taken the lead to work with us to look at solutions. As Madam Huard was saying, it is one of the issues we continue to work on from a national perspective that, if we resolve it, will help the viability of harbour authorities.

Fisheries committee  Actually, the construction market is responding very positively. I wouldn't be able to give you the breakdown of the $20 million that goes towards engineering versus construction, but I would think that a good portion of it goes towards construction. We were out there early with the tendering process, which led to getting contracts in place early in the game.

Fisheries committee  The $500 million seems quite fair. You have to understand that this is a maximum amount needed to bring all of our infrastructures up to speed. Furthermore, our immediate needs cannot be overlooked. The $200 million would address our more immediate needs. Earlier, we heard how nearly one third of facilities would benefit from the budget.

Fisheries committee  The figure of 28% quoted by Mr. Bergeron referred to the performance rating of the harbour. I believe that's what it is called. It takes into account two factors: the harbour's functionality and the condition of each separate infrastructure. By functionality, I am referring to whether or not the harbour is deep enough, whether it affords crafts adequate protection and whether it has a sufficient number of berths.

Fisheries committee  And are considered unsafe. As Mrs. Huard was saying, the condition of our facilities was rated at 19%. Today, according to reports, nearly 16% of our individual facilities are rated dangerous or unsafe. The overall situation has improved a little.

Fisheries committee  We are actually starting to include this in our analyses, because it is real. There have been more storms in recent years. This is a direct result of climate change. In eastern Canada specifically, engineers are looking at the effects of climate change on our infrastructure. It is possible that we may eventually have to build higher structures because of changing tide levels.

Fisheries committee  All the funding has been committed to date, although there might be some approvals or announcements that still remain to be made publicly. The budget for small craft harbours has all been committed.

Fisheries committee  I don't have the detail with me, but I think about seven harbours were receiving funds from that $2.85 million. A number of those were new projects and some of them were contractual carry-overs.

Fisheries committee  Actually, the projects were approved earlier in the year. I guess the minister's office chose to make the announcement in November. But all of those projects were approved earlier in the fiscal year, and therefore those projects were commenced earlier in the fiscal year. For those projects that were already in progress, it was simply a continuation of the projects.

Fisheries committee  We are aware of the costs of recurring dredging, in view of the fact that we get the impression that it's like throwing money into the water. So we're very sensitive to that; that's for sure. Last week, a group of engineers met and analyzed the situation in an attempt to see whether there were other ways of doing things.