Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, with respect to the fisheries and oceans report, we have a study of the ownership so that we actually know what the landscape is on the west coast. This benefits the fisheries, the harvesters, their communities and the broader economy. This is a public good resource and fishers have access to it through licences and permits.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, yes, I understand the difficulties when the crab licences were allocated due to a court decision to the local first nations. It would be great to just add some licences, but because of conservation concerns that is not possible. We are now working with harvesters and have a budget to negotiate a settlement for that capacity.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, the member has correctly talked about our “willing buyer, willing seller” policy. The volume of traps that was allocated to the first nations is the volume that we will be buying back, and bids are currently being accepted.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, one of the key pillars of the PSSI is collaboration. On the one hand we are being told we are not moving quickly enough, but on the other hand we are very committed to collaborating with indigenous communities and others, and that work is ongoing.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, harvest transformation is one of the key pillars of the Pacific salmon initiative. That means we will be consulting. We will be working with harvesters and working with industry, again on a “willing buyer, willing seller” basis.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I am interested in more details on the specific facility that the member is referring to, but I want to say that conservation is our bottom line. It is our top priority.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, that certainly is our approach and that is something that we will be deepening.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, we do have a process, the CSAS process, which provides the opportunity for peer review of science. I understand what the member is saying when she says that there has been some recent research that has come out since the CSAS report that determined minimal risk. At a certain point, when there is a body of work that has not been reviewed, I will be requesting that another peer review process take place through CSAS so that we can update our analysis of the risk to wild salmon.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, this analysis and development of regulations is being done by Environment and Climate Change Canada. It is not a partnership with DFO, but I take the member's point that it is very important that polystyrene be regulated so that it is not in the ocean in the same volume that it has been, because it is very deleterious to fish.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I am always willing to look at new science. I am always willing to adjust our measures to reflect what we have learned, and the southern resident killer whales are a key species for us to protect. There is a review every year, and we will take a look at the enforcement concerns that the member is raising.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I have seen the science around acidification and deoxygenation, as well as warming impacts, so we have a triple whammy. It is one of the reasons that it is so important that we now think about climate change as we do our marine protected area planning, because the resilience of the healthy seabed floor is important for the resilience of the whole ecology.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I thank the member for Cape Breton—Canso for his very deep engagement with his community and for championing the issues, including small craft harbours in Cape Breton. Our government and I fully understand the important role that small craft harbours play in our country.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I absolutely share the concern that it is not just the effects of the flooding, slides and fires, but how we rebuild from them. I mentioned earlier that I am part of the emergency committee of provincial and federal ministers, and each of my and DFO's interventions has been to make sure the other ministers understand the importance of having fish-friendly rebuilding.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, the bottom line is I sign off on the department's budget.

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I would say that it would be less than 50%.