Government Response to the Second Report of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans - The Marshall Decision and Beyond: Implication for Management of the Atlantic Fisheries - Covering Letter

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Mr. Wayne Easter, M.P.
Chair of the Standing Committee on
Fisheries and Oceans
House of Commons
Room 204
180 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

Dear Mr. Easter:

On behalf of the Government of Canada, I am pleased to table the Government Response to the Second Report of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans -- The Marshall Decision and Beyond: Implications for Management of the Atlantic Fisheries.

I thank the Committee for its consideration of this difficult and sensitive situation and I appreciate its findings and recommendations. This input will be very helpful as we proceed with our strategy to address the Marshall decision.

As reflected in the response, the Government has accepted the vast majority of the Committee’s recommendations. In most instances, the Standing Committee’s recommendations affirmed elements of the strategy that was being developed and implemented at the time.

A key set of recommendations contained in the Committee’s report referred to a need for a licence retirement program to allow the Department to "transfer" core licence packages from the existing commercial fishery to Aboriginal groups. That is, in fact, being done. Over 1300 offers have been received from commercial fishers to retire licences, and 98 licence packages comprised of 320 licences and 38 vessels have been acquired.

In providing this access, we have concluded seven agreements, with nine more at the Agreement-in-Principle stage.

A further set of recommendations involved concerns about the regulation and monitoring of fishing activity. The Department is taking steps to tighten up requirements and has identified the necessary resources to address compliance issues. The Court was clear that the Government can regulate fishing to maintain an orderly fishery, and we will do that. Conservation is my paramount concern.

Although parliamentary procedure precludes a Government Response to the issues raised in dissenting opinions, those comments offered have been noted.

I wish the Committee success in its future endeavours.

Yours sincerely,

The Honourable Herb Dhaliwal, P.C., M.P.