Government Orders
Mr. Chair, that is wonderful. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the northern cod moratorium in Atlantic Canada. Why was the annual northern cod survey not completed this year?
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Mr. Chair, could the hon. minister tell us how her background in planting trees prepared her to be the Minister of Fisheries?
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Mr. Chair, I do not need coaching when it comes to the fishery, especially from a man from the islands near Lake Ontario. Could the minister please explain—
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Mr. Chair, I guess there is just one science. It is all objective. That is wonderful. If the minister were a fish harvester, and her livelihood and investment were at the mercy of ENGOs with agendas to end commercial fishing, can she tell us how she would feel?
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Mr. Chair, the people in the fishing industry feel that they are left in the dark in Newfoundland and Labrador when it comes to proposed MPAs. Weeks ago, I asked for a map of proposed new MPAs, and I am still waiting for it. Why is the minister's department not being transparent about its plans for MPAs?
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Mr. Chair, the “30 by 30” MPA policy is DFO's goal to protect all aspects of biodiversity within those MPAs: yes or no?
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Mr. Chair, pinnipeds consume 24 times more fish than are caught by harvesters in Atlantic Canada each year. What is the plan to keep those MPAs from becoming buffets for seals?
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Mr. Chair, I appreciate the minister's gracious invitation. Does the minister know how much more productive Norway's oceans are than ours?
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Mr. Chair, Norway's oceans are 7.5 times more productive than ours and it might have something to do with its much lower pinniped populations. Recently, the minister admitted seals eat fish. Does the minister know how much capelin that harp seals alone consume in Atlantic Canada each year?
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Mr. Chair, based on DFO estimates, the answer is four billion pounds per year. The fishing industry wants to know why time and money is be wasted on another seal study and a seal summit, instead of working to remove trade barriers with the EU and the U.S.
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Mr. Chair, so we have cut all quotas of fish in Canada to very low levels and ended many fisheries. Pinniped populations are five to 15 times higher than historic levels. With the reduction of pinniped numbers, can fish stocks recover?
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Mr. Chair, does the minister believe that 50% of salmon smolts entering the ocean from B.C. rivers are consumed by pinnipeds, yes or no?
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Mr. Chair, is the minister aware of Bill C-251 and has she familiarized herself with the contents?
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Mr. Chair, will the minister support the conservation of fish stocks and vote for Bill C-251?
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Mr. Speaker, the fishing industry is sick and tired of the lack of respect shown to it by the government. With the season now upon them, fishers in Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame and in all of Newfoundland and Labrador are wondering where the capelin management plan is. DFO's own science says that seals consume 99 times more capelin than fishermen harvest. This year, the assessment did not happe…
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Mr. Chair, the minister has a responsibility to harvesters. Capelin will show up any day in 4R. When will they see a management plan?
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Mr. Chair, does Canadian science rely as heavily on acoustic surveys as other North Atlantic countries, such as Norway and Iceland?
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Mr. Chair, in the minister's first appearance at the fisheries committee, the minister referenced unbiased science. Is science provided by ENGOs biased or unbiased?
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Mr. Chair, would the minister agree that these ENGOs have a predetermined agenda in some cases?
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, 7,500 health care professionals were promised for rural Canada by the Liberals in the 2021 election campaign. Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, like much of rural Canada, is in a health care crisis. My constituent, 40-year old Preston Pardy, who happens to be in Ottawa today, spent five days on a stretcher in an understaffed hospital after suffering a heart attack. Weeks later, he was…
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Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded division.
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With regard to funding applications received by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency since October 1, 2021: what are the details of each application, including the (i) name of the applicant, (ii) program under which the funding application was made, (iii) type of funding requested (loan, grant, etc.), (iv) date the application was received, (v) current status of the application, (vi) amount of…
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Mr. Speaker, salmon anglers throughout Newfoundland and Labrador are expressing their concerns about inadequate enforcement on our rivers. The minister has had this brought to her attention, and it is now decision time. She knows what is in her mandate letter, and it is about protecting Atlantic salmon. Will she commit to adding extra weeks to the river guardian program, or will she continue to ne…
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With regard to funding applications received by the government under the Small Craft Harbours program since October 1, 2021: what are the details of each application, including the (i) name of the applicant, (ii) location, (iii) type of funding requested (loan, grant, etc.), (iv) date the application was received, (v) current status of the application, (vi) amount of funding approved, if applicabl…
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Mr. Speaker, I am presenting this petition from my constituents and Canadians across the country who want an end to the vaccine mandates, especially for domestic travel, which is federally regulated. The petitioners note that several reviews and studies have revealed nearly non-existent transmission rates on airplanes. WestJet's chief medical officer said that there were no known records of transm…
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Mr. Speaker, the Baie Verte Peninsula, Fogo Island, Buchans, St. Alban's and Harbour Breton once had 25 doctors. These five communities in my riding are either without a doctor or are about to lose their last one. Some desperate communities are even asking me if it is possible to get relief from army doctors and medics. The 7,500 health care professionals promised for rural Canada in the Liberal e…
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Madam Speaker, there is not another member in the House who loves healthy debate more than my hon. colleague. He is on his feet every chance he gets. He absolutely relishes it. I ask my hon. colleague this. Does he want to take healthy debate out of democracy?
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Madam Speaker, I always enjoy my colleague opposite. He is such a great orator. We just love hearing what he has to say. However, earlier I heard you, Madam Speaker, chastise him because he was getting a little out of line. I heard the member talk about how we are trying to impede things, and that we are negative. However, if I was trying to sell a motion, I would stand up and talk about the merit…
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Madam Speaker, I have a few things on my mind about Bill C-8. Businesses had to meet the 40% or 50% thresholds for October, November and December sales, and I would like to know why the government caved to the hoteliers when they lobbied. It did not listen to the CFIB or CRA, and businesses that are down between 10% and 40% do not qualify for anything. That is thousands and thousands of small busi…
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moved that Bill C-251, An Act respecting the development of a federal framework on the conservation of fish stocks and management of pinnipeds, be read the second time and referred to a committee. Madam Speaker, Canada's coastal regions are facing an ecological disaster. As such, I stand today for the second reading of my bill, Bill C-251, an act respecting the development of a federal framework o…
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Mr. Speaker, folks from Port aux Basques to the tip of the great northern peninsula are dismayed and worried. Plant workers and fishermen in towns like Port aux Choix, Anchor Point and Cook's Harbour just received the news of a 20% cut in the 4R shrimp quota, after DFO stock surveys showed growth in the stock. Will the minister keep with her new policy of leaving more fish in the water or admit he…
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Madam Speaker, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has had a massive increase in its budget since 2015. All we need is a simple diversion of funds taken out of the regular science budget that it has right now.
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Madam Speaker, I am not exactly sure what my hon. colleague means, but I think she is asking me how we are going to look at historical data to create the framework moving forward. What I mean is that we would look back at where historical populations of pinnipeds were, and establish acceptable levels of where they should be so that our fish stocks could recover and get back to the levels they were…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Vancouver Island, who is originally from my home province of Newfoundland and Labrador. I think that is why she cares so much about the management of pinnipeds. It is a traditional thing that runs through her veins. What I mean by the management of pinnipeds is that not only do we set quotas, but we support the harvesting of pinnipeds. We can also make…
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Madam Speaker, I enjoy sitting with my hon. colleague on the fisheries committee, and I have a fisheries-related question for him. I am looking at the minister's mandate letter, and it says, “and develop a conservation strategy to restore and rebuild wild Atlantic salmon populations and their habitats.” However, I studied the budget, and I did not see any reference to Atlantic salmon whatsoever. I…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their support, both before and after I brought attention to the uncertainty facing the Bay du Nord project in the House on February 14. Yesterday was a great day for energy workers in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada and the world with the approval of this project, but the Minister of Natural Resources has delayed the next round of exploration licences by 90…
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Mr. Speaker, it is disgusting that Newfoundland and Labrador has to come to Ottawa, cap in hand, and beg to get our natural resources developed. One stakeholder told me that delays in Bay du Nord have investors rating their projects at a 50% higher risk of never being developed on our offshore. Will the NDP-Liberal minister commit to maximizing the number of energy jobs in Bay du Nord by exempting…
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Mr. Speaker, my constituents and folks throughout Newfoundland and Labrador are dealing with a health care disaster. Emergency rooms in remote areas are being forced to close. Patients face long wait times just for routine surgeries and procedures. Doctors and health care professionals are at an all-time low. Twenty per cent of the population is without a family doctor. This is not the medicare sy…
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With regard to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the Atlantic Seal Science Task Team: (a) how many meetings has the task team had since it was established in 2019; (b) what are the dates of each meeting; (c) what deliverables or accomplishments resulted from each meeting; (d) what specific input has been provided on the priorities of DFO's Atlantic seal science program; (e) what has…
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Mr. Speaker, mackerel harvesters and processors are in shock after the minister closed this year's Atlantic mackerel fishery. Last year, harvesters in my riding witnessed an excessive abundance of mackerel, but much later than usual. They have observed changes in migration and spawning patterns, yet DFO science has not evolved with the ecosystems. For years, harvesters have lobbied to become invol…
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Mr. Speaker, salmon anglers in my province have been told that a decision is being made to stop all retention of salmon in the upcoming season. Last year, the Exploits River had returns that were nearly double the average returns for the past 10 years. Stopping salmon retention will take anglers off the rivers and put poachers in the driver's seat. Given that many rivers were stable or up in their…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Timmins—James Bay for his speech. We have a lot of friends and family from Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame actually living in the Timmins area and working hard in the resource industry, bringing new dollars into the economy, but I was a bit sad that he had to insult Conservatives after the Deputy Speaker chastised us about insulting each other. …
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Mr. Speaker, last night I spoke with a heartbroken Lisa Budgell. She is living in Alberta and wants to properly mourn her mom, who just passed away in my riding. Lisa had one COVID vaccine, recently had COVID, and is waiting for her second shot. She is not allowed to board a plane in Canada. Lisa's mental health will be forever scarred if she is unable to say goodbye to her mom. Will the Prime Min…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Madam Speaker, on Sunday, April 11, 2021, fireman Lance Thistle of the Gander Bay Fire Department was driving on the Trans Canada Highway near Lewisporte Junction when he came upon a truck that had overturned in the ditch and landed in a body of water. He proceeded to enter the cold, waist-deep water to render assistance. He broke the window with his hand and a pocketknife and, with the eventual h…
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Mr. Speaker, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and industry stakeholders have waited a long time in anxious anticipation for a decision on the Bay du Nord energy project. Now, with the NDP-Liberal marriage, they are more uneasy than ever. Has the Prime Minister promised concessions, such as cancelling energy projects like Bay du Nord, in return for the NDP's hand in marriage?
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Madam Speaker, Russia produces 10.4 million barrels of blood oil a day. Canada produces 4.6 million barrels of low-carbon, ethically produced oil a day. Since 2015, the government has been brainwashing the citizens of this country, trying to tell us that oil is a thing of the past. My province of Newfoundland and Labrador has an estimated 50 billion barrels of oil in reserve. Could my hon. colleag…
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Madam Speaker, Newfoundland and Labrador has been a wonderful neighbour to Quebec and vice versa. I cannot help but mention that earlier today, on two occasions, I was very disappointed to hear the Bloc members asking for Bay du Nord to be turned down. Between Saudi Arabia and Russia right now, they produce 20 million barrels of oil a day. Does the member think that Canada would be better off prod…
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Mr. Speaker, the Equinor Bay du Nord project presents an opportunity for Newfoundland and Labrador to accelerate economic growth coming out of the pandemic. Every barrel of low-carbon ethically produced oil from our offshore displaces a barrel of high-carbon foreign blood oil coming from Russia and the Middle East. On December 6, 2021, the Environmental Assessment Agency approved Equinor to procee…
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Mr. Speaker, the Chinese Communist Party uses arbitrary detention of Canadian citizens as a bargaining chip in diplomacy. Though it is a relief that Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig have finally been released from Chinese detention after 1,020 long days, the Government of Canada must not forget that over 115 other Canadians are still being detained in China. This petition highlights the case of H…
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-251, An Act respecting the development of a federal framework on the conservation of fish stocks and management of pinnipeds. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my constituents in Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, I am pleased to present my bill, an act respecting the development of a federal framework on the conservation of fish stocks and management of pinnipeds. Conse…
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