Questions and responses 42nd Parliament, 1st session December 3, 2015, to September 11, 2019

With regard to the 3 metric tonnes of Nova Scotia lobster confiscated by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans on October 16, 2017: (a) what country were the lobsters destined for; (b) who owned or was in possession of the lobsters prior to confiscation; (c) what are the reasons for the confiscation; (d) what was the condition of the lobsters on October 16, 2017 (alive, processed, etc.); (e) what is the current status and condition of the lobsters; (f) where and how were the lobsters stored or located once confiscated; and (g) what is the process by which the lobsters will be disposed of (sold as government surplus, returned to water, etc.)?

With regard to Fisheries and Oceans Canada' commitment in the 2016-17 Report on Plans and Priorities to increase the amount of marine and coastal protected areas to five per cent by 2017 and ten per cent by 2020, in part by advancing the Hecate/Queen Charlotte Sound Glass Sponge Reefs, the Anguniaqvia niqiqyuam, St. Ann’s Bank, the Laurentian Channel, and the American Bank towards designations as possible new Marine Protected Areas (MPA) under the Oceans Act: (a) how were these five areas identified; (b) what scientific analyses were completed in relation to the identification of these five areas; (c) what activities are the Department of Fisheries and Oceans proposing to prohibit from taking place in each of these designated areas; (d) what is the expected economic impact of giving these areas an MPA designation; and (e) has Fisheries and Oceans Canada held consultations with those who may be adversely affected economically by the MPA designation?

With regard to contracts under $10 000 granted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada since January 1, 2016: what are the (i) vendors' names, (ii) contracts' reference and file numbers, (iii) dates of the contracts, (iv) descriptions of the services provided, (v) delivery dates, (vi) original contracts' values, (vii) final contracts' values, if different from the original contracts' values?

With regard to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ funding in the fiscal year 2016-17 to review the Fisheries Act and to enhance monitoring and reporting of existing projects permitted under the Fisheries Act: (a) what government and non-government entities received funding for these activities; (b) what were the amounts of funding delivered to each entity; (c) for what activities or services was each disbursement of funding intended; and (d) what was detected by the enhanced monitoring and reporting of existing projects permitted under the Fisheries Act?

With regard to the protest at the offices of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in St. John’s on April 7, 2016: (a) what was the amount of damage to government property caused by the protesters; (b) what are the titles of the government officials who met with the protestors; (c) did the government sign an agreement with the protesters; (d) if the answer to (c) is affirmative, what are the contents of the agreement; (e) did the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard approve (i) the meeting, (ii) the agreement; and (f) were there any Ministerial Exempt Staff in attendance at the meeting and, if so, what are their titles?

With regard to trapped wild finfish in fish farms on the BC coast: (a) has the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) observed an increase in trapped fish in pens and, if so, has DFO (i) quantified this increase, (ii) determined this increase to be problematic, (iii) recommended measures, (iv) implemented measures and, if so, what are they and what is the status of these recommendations; (b) what are the most, commonly identified trapped fish; (c) what is the protocol for the release of trapped fish; (d) is DFO aware of wild fish dying in pens and, if so, (i) on how many occasion, (ii) what species, (iii) what caused the fish to die; (e) is DFO aware of wild fish being disposed in a land dump and, if so, (i) on how many occasion, (ii) what species; (f) when was DFO first made aware of trapped wild fish; (g) did DFO know at the time of granting licenses that trapped wild fish could be a risk; (h) was there ever a policy directive or regulation changes to mitigate trapped fish; (i) what studies have been undertaken to determine the chain reaction of trapped fin fish on the surrounding ecosystem (i) by DFO, (ii) under contract by DFO, (iii) by independent researcher; (j) what are the conclusions and recommendations of the studies in (i); (k) what are the recommendations the government made with respect to the use and the management of trapped fin fish; (l) have the recommendations in (k) been followed or are there any failures in the implementation of these recommendations; (m) why has DFO not studied the phenomenon of fish farms acting as major fish attractant; (n) how did DFO make the determination that wild fish are minimally preyed upon by farmed fish; (o) how does DFO make the determination that wild fish are minimally preyed upon by farmed fish; (p) are trapped fish susceptible to spread viruses and parasites and, if so (i) how has DFO determined, (ii) have independent researchers confirmed DFO findings, (iii) what are the conclusions and recommendations of these studies, (iv) what are the recommendations the government made with respect to the use and the management of this resource, (v) have these recommendations been followed or are there any failures in the implementation of these recommendations; (q) is the government providing measures aimed at preventing trapped fish; (r) since 2009, has there been an increase in monitoring made by DFO; (s) has DFO identify any (i) monitoring gaps within the regulations, (ii) license conditions violation, (iii) operational policies violation; (t) has DFO officials seen the video of trapped wild fish produced by the Sea Shepherd and, if so, (i) what was DFO recommendation, (ii) has DFO investigated and, if not, why not, (iii) what action were undertaken by DFO, (iv) how many times has this topic been discussed with the government and has the question been raised with the Minister or Deputy Minister and, if so, has the Minister provided a response and, if so, what was it; (u) has there been any briefing with detailed information on the matter and for every briefing document or docket prepared, what was (i) the date, (ii) the title and subject matter, (iii) the department’s internal tracking number; and (v) how many calls has DFO received in regard to trapped wild fish and (i) has this number increased in the last ten years, (ii) what is the follow up associated calls, (iii) how many investigations have occurred in respect to these calls?

With regard to the government and Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ public consultation sessions related to the review of the Fisheries Act in the 2016-17 fiscal year: (a) what were the locations and dates of all consultation sessions proposed and held; (b) who were the participants in each session; (c) what were the total expenditures of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans associated with each session, broken down by item and type of expense; and (d) what were the total expenditures of other departments associated with each session, broken down by item and type of expense?

With regard to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ contributions in the fiscal year 2016-17 for the Participant Funding Program’s activities associated with the government’s review the Fisheries Act: (a) who were the recipients of the funding through the Participant Funding Program; (b) what amount of funding did each recipient receive; and (c) for what activities was each disbursement of funding intended?

With regard to the investigation into the Clyde River Fish Kill in Clyde River and area on Prince Edward Island (PEI): (a) how many personnel from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) have been involved in the investigation; (b) with regard to interviews conducted between DFO officials and individuals involved in the case, how many interviews have taken place, and over what period of time; (c) with regard to trips to PEI related to this investigation made by off-island DFO offices, (i) how many trips were made, (ii) how many vehicle hours have been accumulated, (iii) what was the duration of each trip, (iv) what were the accommodation and travel status costs; (d) who requested this extended investigation at the federal level; (e) which individual, or individuals, from PEI requested the assistance of the DFO; (f) has the DFO been provided with a report from Environment Canada on the extraordinary rain event that caused the flooding and, if so, what did the report conclude; and (g) what are the details of all correspondence, both written and electronic, related to this matter, between officials from the PEI Department of the Environment and DFO personnel?

With regard to the recommendations of the Cohen Commission on restoring salmon stocks in the Fraser River, for each recommendation that falls under the responsibility of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans: (a) what recommendations have been implemented in whole or in part; (b) of the recommendations identified in (a), what action was taken to implement the recommendation; (c) of the recommendations identified in (a), what date was the recommendation implemented; (d) when will the remaining recommendations of the Cohen Commission, in whole or in part, be implemented; and (e) what recommendations, if any, does the Department not intend to implement, and why?

With regard to “A Special Report on Wild Atlantic Salmon in Eastern Canada” prepared by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans’ Advisory Committee on Atlantic Salmon: (a) what scientific analyses were completed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans on each of the 61 recommendations contained in the report; (b) which of the recommendations identified in (a) have been implemented in whole or in part; (c) of the recommendations identified in (b), what was the cost of implementation both on a one-time and ongoing basis; and (d) when are the remaining recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Atlantic Salmon, in whole or in part, expected to be implemented?

With regard to a Special Report on Wild Atlantic Salmon in Eastern Canada prepared by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans' Advisory Committee on Atlantic Salmon: (a) what recommendations have been implemented in whole or in part; (b) of those recommendations in (a), what action was taken to implement each recommendation; (c) of those recommendations identified in (a), by what date was each recommendation implemented; (d) when will the remaining recommendations of the Advisory Committee, in whole or in part, be implemented; and (e) what recommendations, if any, does the Department not intend to implement, and why?

With regard to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the construction of the Site C hydroelectric dam in northeastern British Columbia: (a) how many DFO staff members are responsible for monitoring the project’s compliance with fish habitat protections; (b) how many independent environmental monitors are responsible for the project’s compliance with fish habitat protections; (c) how many onsite DFO inspections have taken place since construction began and when did they take place; (d) how many onsite inspections have independent environmental monitors conducted since construction began and when did they take place; and (e) has the Department consulted with local First Nations to measure the impact of the project on their fishing rights?