Question Period Note: Release of the Gardner Pinfold Report

• The Gardner Pinfold Report is a comparative analysis of the regulations governing East and West Coast fisheries.
• The report concludes that based on the current operating structures and approaches in Pacific fisheries, implementing Atlantic-style policies, such as owner-operator and fleet separation, in a near term would present challenges for all parties.
• The report also suggests that implementing any such changes should be based on stakeholder consensus, consider the current management regime in Pacific region, and be implemented over the long-term through attrition.
• My department continues to explore, with key stakeholders the dynamics of possible changes to fisheries management in Pacific region.
• I am committed to continue to work with fish harvesters as well as coastal and Indigenous communities to enable them to continue to prosper from their involvement in the fishery.

If pressed on the issue of foreign ownership:
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada is aware of the concerns around the potential increase in foreign ownership in Canadian fisheries, especially as Canada looks to recover from the pandemic.
• The Department is reviewing existing foreign ownership restrictions and gathering additional data to support this analysis.
• Careful consideration of potential impacts is required before any policy changes are introduced.

If pressed on the issue of fraud on the west coast:
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada is aware of the concerns surrounding the potential for fraud and money laundering to be facilitated through fishing enterprises.
• My department does not collect data that would help validate this claim, however we stand ready to support the ongoing efforts of the Provincial government in any way we can.

Gardner Pinfold Report
• In response to the recommendations made by the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Ocean’s (FOPO) report “West Coast Fisheries: Sharing Risks and Benefits”, the Department contracted Gardner Pinfold Consultants to compare fisheries policies and regulations in effect on Canada’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts and identify provisions that have the potential to provide additional support to independent harvesters in British Columbia.
• DFO has begun having preliminary discussions with industry groups about the findings of the Gardner Pinfold Report.
• The comparative analysis, published on March 25, 2021, found that implementing Atlantic-style policies on the Pacific coast would present challenges. With no recent history of fleet separation or owner-operator, the Pacific fisheries have developed without the structural determinants of the Atlantic fisheries.
• The comparative analysis also includes critical statements about the impacts of quota leasing on the Pacific coast and cites critical statements about the need for Atlantic inshore-style policies such as Owner-Operator, Fleet Separation, and the Policy for Preserving the Independence of the Inshore Fleet in Canada’s Atlantic Fisheries (“PIIFACF”).
• Gardner Pinfold Consultants regularly engaged with departmental officials while gathering data, historical information, and testimony to support the report’s findings. The consultant also undertook limited engagement with a few broad industry groups.
Foreign Ownership Review
• Although not explicitly mentioned in the Government Response to the FOPO report, DFO has initiated a review of its foreign ownership restrictions on both coasts in order to identify information gaps and develop policy solutions.
• The Department is finalizing interim measures to strengthen the implementation of foreign ownership policies in Atlantic Canada.
• In addition to this, measures to gather data on foreign ownership in Pacific fisheries are being developed in cooperation with federal accounting experts.
West Coast Fraud
• DFO does not currently track the corporate structures and ownership of fishing licences on the West Coast.
• As part of the hearings for the FOPO report, one stakeholder noted that their organization traced once company involved in money laundering to an investor in groundfish who, according to them, owns 5.9 million pounds of quota.
• The ongoing Cullen Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering continues to hear witnesses with regards to this issue. The focus of the hearing so far has not identified fisheries as significant contributor to the issue, but has focused on casinos, exotic cars and luxury property purchases.
FOPO Report – West Coast Fisheries: Sharing Risks and Benefits
• The issues raised in FOPO’s report on West Coast fisheries are wide-reaching and complex and as such, addressing its recommendations will require a long-term undertaking.
• As the first step, the Department is developing an approach that will ensure effective engagement with our stakeholders to make sure they are properly consulted on the wide ranging issues raised by the House Standing Committee.
• The Government Response highlighted how FOPO’s recommendations were aligned with several of the Government’s priorities, including strengthening the middle class, improving transparency in government, and sustainable and inclusive economic development.
• Originally released on May 7, 2019, and re-released on March 11 2020, “West Coast Fisheries: Sharing Risks and Benefits” contained twenty recommendations that called for significant changes to the current fisheries management and licensing regime in Pacific region. Recommendation 6 requested the Department “develop a comparative analysis of the East Coast and West Coast fisheries in regard to regulations with a view to devising policy that would level the playing field for independent British Columbian fishers.”

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