Fisheries committee  Well, I think there's certainly going to be a demand placed on the small craft harbours as aquaculture emerges more as a part of the fishing industry. In small craft harbours directorate we've given a fair bit of thought to aquaculture and how it might be best approached, and we'

Fisheries committee  I think there is a way that a reasonable policy framework could be set up to allow what would be appropriate for our program, which is small craft harbours, and what would best be left to industry.

Fisheries committee  Yes.

Fisheries committee  I think important progress has been made and continues to be made. When you have in excess of $2 billion in an asset base that is exposed to harsh conditions in a marine environment, from depreciation and wear and tear alone, the money we're putting in is just to try to keep that

Fisheries committee  That's correct, pretty much. In the Newfoundland region, we're more or less just starting. We've worked with habitats over the years, but most of our projects have not resulted in a harmful alteration or destruction of fish habitat. However, on closer look, perhaps it has happene

Fisheries committee  I think our colleagues at Environment Canada don't say you're not allowed to do it, but you have to do it by the provisions of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and the ocean dumping regulations. Certainly in a lot of the dredging we've been doing in most cases in Atlan

Fisheries committee  I'll use my time carefully. I think it wasn't in your question, but maybe there needs to be a separate discussion relating to the numbers. I don't think it's accurate to say that the motion has been respected. I think one issue is the program enablers, which is the corporate se

Fisheries committee  The $40,000 is a contracting authority. The President of the Treasury Board delegates to the department construction contracting authority. That's the authority to enter into a contract with a harbour authority. The project authority of $50,000 is precisely that, the project ap

Fisheries committee  It's not a sole-source contract to a harbour authority.

Fisheries committee  Small craft harbours as a program is quite to the contrary of having a track record of lapsing money. We're more likely to be the recipient sector in the department when other sectors have trouble meeting their expenditure plans. We don't necessarily suffer too much from lapsing

Fisheries committee  The first part of the question related to the value of harbour authorities. First, I should say I haven't been around that long. I've been around a while, but I haven't been around since the beginning of the harbour authority program.

Fisheries committee  That's right, that was in 1987. In any event, harbour authorities are providing more effective delivery of the services the ultimate the customers of the program receive. The fishers, the small-boat and the large-boat harbour users, have over 600 non-profit organizations out ther

Fisheries committee  That was your question, I think. I think we are satisfied that there's a lot of value in the harbour authorities. The $20 million has been added to the program for this year and on an ongoing basis. Is that what the...? I'm aware of that. Can you restate the question, to help m

Fisheries committee  The information I have is that the $20 million was put into base funding.

Fisheries committee  That's correct.