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House Hansard - 77

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 30, 2022 11:00AM
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 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?
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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22
Hon. Joyce Murray (Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Lib.)
  • May/30/22 8:43:30 p.m.
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Madam Chair, unfortunately, the abundance of these stocks has been on the decline for many years. This decision was not made lightly. We gave it a lot of thought, because I understand the repercussions it has on fishers who use these stocks as bait. However, it is very important that we manage these stocks so that they can grow for fishers, their children, and their grandchildren in the future.
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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22
Mrs. Caroline Desbiens
  • May/30/22 8:44:15 p.m.
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Madam Chair, a leading scientist at the Université du Québec à Rimouski told us that he observed a significant decline in the resource more than 10 years ago, even 20 years in some places. Why did no one sound the alarm sooner to provide a bit of clarity to the fishers, who are currently feeling helpless?
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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22
Mrs. Caroline Desbiens
  • May/30/22 8:48:14 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is quite surprising that the government has not already done so. Could the minister give an idea of the timeline? When does she plan to assess how much compensation should be paid to these fishers who are facing a black hole, who no longer have EI, who are waiting in limbo and whose families are running out of resources and money? Some fishers and families are in dire straits. It is not true that all fishers also fish lobster. Many fishers in the Gaspé earn their living solely from herring and mackerel. I would like to know whether she plans to do something quickly.
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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22
Hon. Joyce Murray
  • May/30/22 8:48:56 p.m.
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Madam Chair, no, there is no timeline. We are very concerned about people who are losing their jobs because of the decline in the fisheries. I know that it is very difficult, but Fisheries and Oceans Canada generally does not compensate all fishers when there is a decline, nor does it claw back money when there is an increase. We are looking into this and will respond.
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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22
Mrs. Caroline Desbiens
  • May/30/22 8:51:49 p.m.
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Madam Chair, we will stick to small fish. It will do me good to speak about something other than capelin, but I will come back to that. What statistics did the department use to make its decision to suspend mackerel and herring fishing? Does the department have data from fishers outside Quebec? The fishers in the pelagic fishery in Gaspé say they are pretty much the only ones to report their catches. What does the minister think of the fishers' statement?
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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22
Hon. Joyce Murray
  • May/30/22 8:52:44 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would like to say that I understand just how difficult the fishers' job is. I worked outdoors as a tree planter year after year, come rain or come snow. I understand very well just how difficult the work is, and I always think of those who do this incredibly difficult but important work.
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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22
Mrs. Caroline Desbiens
  • May/30/22 8:53:20 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I will repeat my question. What data did the DFO use to make this decision? Did they use the figures provided by fishers in the Gaspé pelagic fishery, who stated that they are the only ones to report their catches? Did the department use those figures when it decided to close the fishery this year?
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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22
Hon. Joyce Murray
  • May/30/22 8:54:19 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I just want to say I too feel that disappointment when I have to close a fishery, but it is for the long-term good of fishers, communities and fish stocks.
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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22
Mrs. Caroline Desbiens
  • May/30/22 8:55:23 p.m.
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Madam Chair, in closing on this subject, what can the fishers hope for as they listen to us today from the Gaspé knowing they have no more work? Given that the fishers who depend on the herring and mackerel fisheries will have nothing to eat tomorrow, what can they hope for from the minister and her department as we speak in the House right now?
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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22
Hon. Joyce Murray
  • May/30/22 8:55:50 p.m.
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Madam Chair, we have Service Canada programs and the provinces have programs to help people who are facing hardship. We will always try to create opportunities for fishers, but we cannot do that—
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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22
Hon. Joyce Murray
  • May/30/22 8:56:40 p.m.
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Madam Chair, we have advisory committees for each fishery, and we always listen to fishers and people who have information about the fisheries.
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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22
Mrs. Caroline Desbiens
  • May/30/22 8:57:01 p.m.
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Madam Chair, my last question has to do with capelin. I had to intervene seven times. I had to reach out seven times to make the department listen to two small-scale capelin weir fishers and understand that they were not negatively affecting the resource, even though the fishers themselves had sent numerous letters and emails without ever receiving a response. Their MP had to intervene seven times to get the suspension lifted at the end of the month. Can the minister explain why the department is not doing more to listen to people on the ground when it matters?
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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22
Ms. Lisa Marie Barron
  • May/30/22 9:12:32 p.m.
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Madam Chair, Watershed Watch and SkeenaWild recently published a report estimating that last year Alaskan fishers caught an estimated 650,000 B.C.-bound sockeye salmon while Canadian fishers caught as few as 110,000. Does the minister agree that first nations, commercial fishers and recreational fishers should be forced to keep their boats at dock while so many B.C.-bound fish are being caught in Alaska?
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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22
Mr. Clifford Small
  • May/30/22 10:32:52 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, one DFO official recently said that mackerel do not have swim bladders, as such they cannot be found acoustically. If this is true, how do fishers know where to set their seine?
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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22
Hon. Joyce Murray
  • May/30/22 10:33:04 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I cannot comment on the wisdom that fishers have over many years of a fishery.
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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22
Mr. Clifford Small
  • May/30/22 10:34:20 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, mackerel fishers have reported changing sizes and spawning locations and have asked to be involved in science, to no avail. I would like to ask the minister why.
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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22
Hon. Joyce Murray
  • May/30/22 10:36:48 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, there is a value to the information that comes from fishers. There is a value to the perspective that comes from people who have the environment as their priority, also.
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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22
Hon. Joyce Murray
  • May/30/22 11:03:28 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the Coast Guard has been funded this year to continue refreshing its fleet, and it is a major investment in the Coast Guard. I have been very proud to see the work the Coast Guard does in icebreaking to enable fishers in constituencies such as the member's to get out early onto the water to fish.
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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22
Hon. Joyce Murray
  • May/30/22 11:08:55 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I thank the member for her question. I believe she is talking about independent inshore harvesters. It is the independent fishers who are in the inshore fishery, as opposed to the big commercial boats. We have regulations that protect the continuity of the independent inshore fishery.
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