Question Period Note: Foreign Ownership

Foreign Ownership

My department is reviewing its foreign ownership policies with regards to concerns expressed by the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans through their report “West Coast Fisheries: Sharing Risks and Benefits.”

On the East coast, DFO has long-standing policy that requires all Atlantic midshore and offshore licence holders be at least 51 per cent Canadian-owned.

Our government is committed to supporting the sustainability of its fisheries as well as their economic viability for those who depend on them.

Careful consideration of the potential impacts on existing licence holders across all commercial fisheries, as well as Canada’s international trade obligations, are required before any policy changes can be introduced.

If pressed on release of Gardner-Pinfold comparative analysis report
In response to the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans’ recommendations in its report “West Coast Fisheries: Sharing Risks and Benefits”, a comparative analysis of Atlantic and Pacific commercial fishing policies and regulations was conducted.

This report was made publically available on March 25, 2021. The final report is being used to inform engagement with Indigenous groups and commercial fishery stakeholders on the issues raised in the Committee’s report.

If pressed on the West Coast Licensing Review
Our government is committed to supporting the economic viability and sustainability of Pacific fisheries and is committed to continued improvements in managing fisheries on the West Coast.

My department has begun early engagement with First Nations and key stakeholders in British Columbia to identify priority fisheries management and licensing concerns to further inform options to address the issue raised by the Standing Committee’s report and beyond.

• The issue of foreign ownership of Canadian enterprises, and Canadian fishing corporations specifically, was highlighted as part of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans’ (FOPO) report “West Coast Fisheries: Sharing Risks and Benefits.” The report included 20 recommendations that called for significant changes to the current fisheries management and licensing regime, including a recommendation that “no future sales of fishing quota and/or licences be to non‑Canadian beneficial owners.” The Government Response did not directly respond to this recommendation, but was supportive of the report’s overall goal of economically viable and sustainable fisheries, and of considering social and cultural factors in their management. The Response also committed DFO to further assess the recommendations, engage a broad range of stakeholders to support ongoing policy improvement efforts, and to undertake a comparative analysis of fisheries policies and regulations in effect on Canada’s East and West Coasts.
• In March 2021, the comparative analysis of East and West coast fisheries policies by Gardner-Pinfold was made publically available. The report found that implementing Atlantic-style policies on the Pacific coast would present a variety of challenges. The report is critical of certain elements of both east and west coast policy regimes, citing impacts of quota leasing on the Pacific coast, as well as the difficulties associated with maintaining the owner-operator, fleet separation, and Preserving the Independence of the Inshore Fleet in Canada’s Atlantic Fishery (PIIFCAF) policies in the Atlantic Inshore fishery. The report is being used to inform engagement with Indigenous groups and commercial fishery stakeholders on the issues raised in FOPO’s report.
• In February 2021, DFO strengthened the current application of its foreign ownership restrictions in Atlantic Canada. Under the “Enhanced Application of Foreign Ownership Restrictions”, the 49 per cent foreign ownership limit is applied to the full corporate structure of prospective licence holders for all future licence re-issuances in the mid-shore, offshore, and exempted fleet fisheries in Atlantic Canada and Quebec, where this policy applies.
• In the spring of 2020, DFO launched an analysis of its existing foreign ownership policies and the impacts of any potential changes. During the preliminary stages of this analysis, the Department concluded that it lacks recent and comprehensive information required to validate or invalidate the concerns put forth by the Standing Committee and some stakeholders. The Department has since began to develop solutions that will assist with validating these concerns and contributing to a baseline understanding of the extent of foreign ownership in the fishery.

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