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Mr. Mike Kelloway (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Lib.)

May/30/22 8:36:06 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is great to be here in the committee of the whole. Fishing is the lifeblood of our rural coastal communities from coast to coast to coast. It is the main driver of local economies. Whether it is bait, gear or simply grabbing a coffee on the way to wharf, it drives jobs directly and indirectly. I have been on the wharves in every area of my riding of Cape Breton—Canso, chatting with the hard-working fishers, whether it is in Whitehead, Baxters Cove, Chéticamp, Glace Bay Harbour, Grand Étang and all points in between. People like Jetty Boudreau, Lauchie MacKinnon, Herb Nash, Bobby Trucker, Gord McKinnon, Carla Samson, Leonard Leblanc, and the many fishers in the three first nation communities that I serve in Potlotek, Paqtnkek and We'koqma'q, understand the need to pass the knowledge on to future generations and know how to preserve the species for the future. I am always impressed by how much homegrown innovation comes directly from all of our rural communities. I think of a company in my riding, Louisbourg Seafoods, through whose constant and progressive innovation is able to provide hundreds of rural jobs to Canadians, which are steady and predictable employment for its staff, their families and the communities that I serve and that we serve. With that in mind, can the minister please speak to her experiences as minister with the hard-working folks of this industry, and in particular her vision, her vision to continue to support rural coastal economies, but in particular the blue economy?

265 words

Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22

Mr. Mike Kelloway

May/30/22 8:39:29 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I spoke of the Atlantic coast and I spoke, in the last question, of coast to coast to coast, but I would like to speak a little bit about, and the question will be on, the Great Lakes. Among my colleagues in the House and at committee, I've been reminded and actually learned a lot about the importance of the Great Lakes and, more specifically, the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission. As the member for Niagara Centre has reminded me, the economic, environmental and socio-cultural significance of the Great Lakes is extremely profound. The Great Lakes contain 20% of the planet's fresh surface water, and they are the basis of billions of dollars of economic activity. They are essential to the well-being of communities on both sides of the border. Ecologically, they support numerous species, providing drinking water for many and supporting thousands of jobs. The Great Lakes Fisheries Commission was established by the Great Lakes Fisheries Convention of 1954 between the United States of America and Canada, for the purpose of protecting and supporting the Great Lakes fisheries, particularly to control the invasive sea lamprey; to conduct scientific research that was needed; and to ensure the management overall of the Great Lakes fisheries. Could the minister speak to the important investments we are making in the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission and how we are supporting the binational partnerships with the United States of America?

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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22

Mr. Mike Kelloway (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Lib.)

May/30/22 11:45:39 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I will be sharing my time with the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands. Small craft harbours is a key Fisheries and Oceans Canada program and one that is important for Canada's economy because it provides critical support to the commercial fishing industry, which has annual landings valued at more than $3.5 billion. Our government has provided the program with important resources to help meet its mandate. Our government has announced $784 million in new funding for the small craft harbours program since 2016. This funding supports Canadians in the fishing, aquaculture, tourism, environmental, recreational, marine engineering and construction industries and strengthens the resilience of coastal and rural communities. In essence, it is the economic hub in rural and Atlantic Canada, where I am from. From coast to coast to coast, Fisheries and Oceans Canada owns, operates and maintains a national system of harbours to provide commercial fish harvesters and other small craft harbour users with safe and accessible facilities. Ninety per cent of Canadian fishing vessels are using small craft harbours, and fish harvesters depend on these facilities not only to support their livelihoods, but also to create economic wealth in the communities they reside in. At the present time, the program is responsible for 973 harbours, 675 of which are core harbours that are considered essential to Canada's fishing industry. The remaining 298 are used less by the industry or recreational harbours. In many communities, these forming fishing harbours now have a new calling that allows them to remain key local drivers in terms of the economy. In fact, in budget 2021, our government announced it would provide $300 million over two years to repair, renew and replace small craft harbours. While small craft harbours remain key to the continued success of the Canadian fishing industry, DFO staff are focusing on certain areas that will require attention over the coming years. The small craft harbours program is also very successful in surpassing its objectives through its involvement in the oceans protection plan and its national strategy to address the risks posed by abandoned and wrecked vessels. This strategy is being delivered by Transport Canada and our department through the small craft harbours and the Canadian Coast Guard. Under the small craft harbours portion of the strategy, Fisheries and Oceans Canada has funded $1.3 million over the next five years to remove abandoned and wrecked vessels in small craft harbours. The small craft harbours abandoned and wrecked vessels removal program was implemented in 2017 and 2018 and has since surpassed its ocean protection plan target of 50 vessels removed and disposed of by 2022, with a total of 154 vessels removed from federally owned harbours. The program will continue beyond 2021-22 as part of the renewal and expansion of the oceans protection plan, which was announced in budget 2022. These positive results are contributing to strengthening the resilience of rural and coastal communities in Canada. The goal of all of this will be to further strengthen the resilience of our rural and coastal communities, which we hold dear. Before closing my remarks, I would like to point out that one of the keys to the program's success is the collaboration, indeed a strong collaboration, with the 5,000 volunteers that represent the over 560 harbour authorities that we work with across this very country. As we can see, the small craft harbours program continues to play a key role in the maintenance and upkeep of Canada's harbours. I can assure the House that our government will remain committed to supporting programs like this so that it continues to be successful in meeting its mandate. My one question, so we can move on to the questions by the member opposite, is that in budget 2021, the government announced it would provide $300 million over the next two years, as mentioned, to repair, renew and replace small craft harbours. Could the minister explain the progress of the program and the important, in fact critical, role it plays in our fish and seafood sector?

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