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Results: 1 - 15 of 235
View Mel Arnold Profile
CPC (BC)
Thank you.
I know that the time is very short. On that piece of it, then, one of the questions I wanted to get to is this. Do you feel there has been adequate consultation and information provided to your organizations as to the transfer of licences and in light of the Clearwater deal? Please provide a brief answer if you can.
Claire Canet
View Claire Canet Profile
Claire Canet
2021-06-16 17:44
From the Quebec point of view, there has been no information and no consultation at all about it. However, this is a deal that concerns first nations in other provinces—in British Columbia and Nova Scotia. Martin may be aware of consultations. I'm not aware of any.
Martin Mallet
View Martin Mallet Profile
Martin Mallet
2021-06-16 17:44
I'm not aware of any consultations with industry representatives. We heard from the department and the minister's office that it was in Minister Jordan's hands and that they were currently exploring the question.
View Mel Arnold Profile
CPC (BC)
It really seems that there's been very little consultation for Canadian processors to be able to provide Canadian products to Canadian consumers.
If you have anything further to add, please provide it to the committee, because I recognize that the chair is going to tell me that my time is up.
View Dan Mazier Profile
CPC (MB)
Wow. Thank you for that.
To Mr. Sproul again. I know that the Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliance has written to the minister on multiple occasions to raise concerns relating to the future of Canadian fisheries. Do you feel that the minister is listening to the views of the UFCA and to the fishermen that your organization represents?
Colin Sproul
View Colin Sproul Profile
Colin Sproul
2021-06-16 18:08
I would say absolutely not. That's my view, and it's the view of my members, and as proof, I would point out that the minister appeared before the Senate standing committee last night and said that very thing. She was quite proud of the fact that she'd had zero consultation on the deal with the commercial fishing industry. As I said in my earlier statement, when communities adjacent to resources lack a voice in regulatory regimes around them, they invariably lose, be they indigenous or non-indigenous. I think it's important to point out that what's best for indigenous leaders may not be best for indigenous fishermen. I'm concerned about the outcomes for fishermen on the water.
View Richard Bragdon Profile
CPC (NB)
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Welcome, Minister. It's good to see you today.
My first question, Minister, is that no matter the issue, no matter what we study, what fisheries we look into and which coast the witnesses are coming from, we hear again and again that you and your department have completely neglected to consult with them properly before making industry-changing decisions. This creates tremendous instability at a time when we already have great uncertainty with COVID-19. This continued instability in their lives causes questions about their future livelihoods. It's hard to make future decisions about an area they are passionate about and have served and want to continue to make their living in.
Why do you and this department continue to insist on keeping those most affected by your decisions away from the decision-making table? We heard this whether from indigenous stakeholders or the commercial fishery stakeholders and whether it related to the prawn harvesters, east coast lobster fishers or fish farmers in B.C. There's been a tremendous echo from coast to coast regarding the lack of true consultation or being part of the process and the decision-making process and finding out only after the fact.
Minister, do you have any explanation for this?
View Bernadette Jordan Profile
Lib. (NS)
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to say that I would disagree with that assertion. We consult widely with a number of different stakeholders as we make decisions. We also make decisions based on science.
Over the past year I have met countless times with first nations communities, with the industry, with commercial harvesters, with stakeholder groups and with environmental organizations. Actually, probably one of the largest parts of my job is meeting with stakeholders and listening to their concerns and their comments. A lot of the policy we develop comes from those consultations.
I will also say that we do meet regularly with provincial and territorial partners with regard to fisheries management decisions. However, many of the decisions we have to make are based on the science regarding where the stocks are and what is happening within the sector.
For example, during COVID-19 we had some really tough decisions to make with regard to the opening of seasons—
View Bernadette Jordan Profile
Lib. (NS)
—but we made sure we were able to do that, because we listened to the harvesters.
Thank you.
View Richard Bragdon Profile
CPC (NB)
Thank you, Minister.
We have a lot of questions we want to cover with you today.
For example, our prawn harvesters in B.C. have been quite negatively impacted by a recent interpretation of what was already an existing regulation. That change of interpretation meant unbelievable instability for those harvesters and a lot of questions. We heard overwhelming testimony related to that. They don't understand the basis for the decision or why it came about. We really couldn't find a whole lot of clarity regarding the rationale behind that decision.
One of the things that was always being said was that the interpretation meant that the product had to be readily available to be inspected. Well, if I were able to produce for you prawns so that you could check their size and number within two minutes or less, would you consider that “readily available”?
View Bernadette Jordan Profile
Lib. (NS)
I would say that we have actually engaged with industry, which is why we were able to come up with a solution for this season. That is why we are continuing to engage with them to make sure that we find the right way forward for the prawn tubbing issue. You know, this is something I am committed to making sure that we have solved, and we are actively engaged in making sure that we do that.
View Richard Bragdon Profile
CPC (NB)
Minister, who decided that we should reinterpret the regulation? Was it you or the department?
View Bernadette Jordan Profile
Lib. (NS)
This is actually a regulation that has been in place for many years. As I said, we recognized that it was a challenge for the harvesters this year. That is why we worked with them to find the solution. We are now continuing on with that engagement to find the long-term solution for the harvesters, because we know how important this industry is and we know how important this issue is, and we are committed to making sure it gets solved.
View Richard Bragdon Profile
CPC (NB)
Thank you, Minister, because they've been very clear that they need to make sure that certainty comes from the minister and comes from your department so that they can make long-term plans. The ambiguity is causing further uncertainty, and temporary measures won't suffice.
Hon. Bernadette Jordan: I would say—
Mr. Richard Bragdon: On to the other issue—
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