QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
Great Lakes Fishery Commission
June 4, 2024
Thank you, minister. To pivot — on May 9, you appeared at the House Fisheries and Oceans Committee and were asked about the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and its request to be moved from DFO to Global Affairs Canada. I wrote a letter to the former Minister of Fisheries in 2020 on this same request and never received a response.
In committee, you were asked about your department being in a conflict of interest, acting as both a contractor and contractee, and the industry was surprised to see $3 million voted by Parliament withheld in 2022. The money was later returned, after significant political pressure, but concerns remain.
In your testimony, you maintained your department’s view is that no conflict of interest exists. Can you provide the rationale for this position?
Following the discussions we had — and I was also in contact with the U.S. ambassador — we’ve reinstated the funding earmarked for protecting the Great Lakes. Everything seems to be going well with the Great Lakes right now. Fisheries and Oceans Canada will remain on the board of directors of the Great Lakes commission.
