Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans

HOUSE OF COMMONS CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES OTTAWA, CANADA K1A 0A6

Comité permanent des pêches et des océans

For immediate release

Ottawa, December 10, 2009 -

Mr. Rodney Weston, Chair of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, tabled today in the House of Commons Small Craft Harbours: an Essential Infrastructure Managed by and for Fishing Communities, a unanimous report in which the Committee commends the extraordinary work of Harbour Authorities, and the dedication and the passion of more than 5000 volunteers.

“Without them, harbours would most probably cease to operate and Fisheries and Oceans’ Small Craft Harbours program could grind to a halt,” declared Mr. Weston.

The report entitled Small Craft Harbours: an Essential Infrastructure Managed by and for Fishing Communities makes 22 recommendations for the Government to improve the Small Craft Harbours program, a federal program managing more than 1100 harbours with the assistance of Harbour Authorities and volunteers across the country.

The Committee presents its findings on various subjects such as safety, dredging and protection from storms, the Harbour Authorities management model, the needs of emerging sectors in terms of harbour, and the problem of derelict vessels. Among other things, the Committee recommends that changes be made to the legislation framing the management of small craft harbours.

The report concludes a lengthy study that brought the Committee to all five regions served by the Small Craft Harbours program. The first phase of the Committee’s study wrapped up with the December 2007 report in which it made recommendations to address immediate and urgent funding concerns.

The Committee’s report is available on the Parliament of Canada’s web site at: www.parl.gc.ca/fopo.

Members of the Committee: Mike Allen (Tobique—Mactaquac, NB, Cons.); Scott Andrews (Avalon, NL, Lib.); Raynald Blais (Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC, BQ); Gerry Byrne (Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL, Lib.); Blaine Calkins (Wetaskiwin, AB, Cons.); Fin Donnelly (New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC, NDP); Randy Kamp (Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC, Cons.); Yvon Lévesque (Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC, BQ); Lawrence MacAulay (Cardigan, PEI, Lib.); Tilly O’Neill-Gordon (Miramichi, NB, Cons.); John Weston (West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC, Cons.), Rodney Weston (Saint John, NB, Cons.).