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Fisheries and Oceans

During question period, the topic of France fishing 1,500 tonnes of snow crab on Canada’s continental shelf came up. Conservative members said the government was trading away Canadian fishing quotas and jobs in favour of a European deal, and they asked the Prime Minister to cancel it. Liberal members said Canada will always protect its sovereignty and fisheries, that details of any arrangement with the European Union would be shared with Canadians, and they pointed to government investments such as $1 billion for small craft harbours as evidence of support for the fishing industry and Newfoundland and Labrador.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

Official text

6 statements

Jonathan Rowe

Conservative

Linked statement

“The Prime Minister is letting France fish 1,500 tonnes of snow crab in Canadian waters. This will force our government to cut Canadian crab quotas and hurt workers in my riding. I want to know why the Prime Minister is helping France instead of protecting Canadian jobs.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, just after this Prime Minister’s big meeting in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, French media announced that France will now be fishing 1,500 tonnes of snow crab on the Canadian continental shelf, to be caught by a French vessel and processed on the French islands. This will cause DFO to reduce Canadian quotas, harming the livelihoods of fishermen and plant workers in the riding I represent. Why is the Liberal Prime Minister more interested in cozying up with his European buddies than standing up for the livelihoods of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians?

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Ernie Klassen

Liberal
“Canada will always protect its waters and fishing industry. We will share the details of any future deal with the European Union with everyone. The member is just trying to scare people, while our government is working to grow our seafood economy.”

  • Government answer in Question Period

    Clarity 46 of 100

    Much of this statement used imprecise wording, lacked details on timing or responsibility, or made broad claims without support.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, Canada will always protect our sovereignty and our fisheries, full stop. The Prime Minister has been clear. Details about any future arrangement with the European Union will be presented to all Canadians. The member is back to his old scare tactics, but our government is focused on growing Canada’s seafood economy.

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Clifford Small

Conservative
“The Prime Minister should not let France catch 1,500 tonnes of snow crab in Canadian waters. I want him to cancel this deal and protect our fishing jobs.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Prime Minister may have the authority, but he certainly does not have the right to trade away the future of fishermen and plant workers just to gain momentary access to Europeans. Giving France 1,500 tonnes of snow crab to catch on the Canadian shelf is history repeating itself. Pierre Elliott Trudeau traded away our fish to Europeans in the sixties, seventies and eighties. The question is, will the Liberal Prime Minister stop the European carnage of Canadian fisheries and cancel his modern-day giveaway of Canadian coastal livelihoods?

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Kody Blois

Liberal
“Our government supports Canadian fishers, including those in Newfoundland and Labrador. We put $1 billion into small craft harbours and $10 billion into Churchill Falls, which will create thousands of jobs. The member across the way should tell his voters about this support instead of complaining.”

  • Government answer in Question Period

    Relevance 20 of 100

    None of this answer addressed the specific question that was asked.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries just made it absolutely clear. Notwithstanding all the theatrics we have on that side from the member, we will always stand up for the Canadian fishery. We will stand up for the fishermen in Newfoundland and Labrador, and we already have. I wonder if the member has told fishermen in his community about the $1 billion that this government has put into small craft harbours. I wonder if the member has actually engaged his constituents and talked about the $10 billion that our government put into Churchill Falls as part of the agreement that will create 23,000 jobs in this country, including a lot in his province. Is he doing his work to share the work that this government is doing in his province?

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Clifford Small

Conservative
“The government is hurting Canadian fishers. It is letting European fishers back into our waters after they spent years overfishing our stocks. The Prime Minister should cancel this fishing deal with France to protect Canadian jobs.”

  • Opposition question in Question Period

    Signal 35 of 100

    Much of this statement went to praise, blame, greetings, routine procedure or general stories rather than reasons, requests or specific points.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, obviously, the minister is not familiar with this issue. The Liberal government has turned its back on Canada’s fishing industry. The Prime Minister is abandoning our sovereignty in favour of Europeans, who have a long history of destroying Canadian fish stocks. Yesterday, the Minister of Fisheries bragged about how she hung out with fishermen in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. Conservatives stand with Canadian coastal communities instead of those on the French islands. Will the Liberal Prime Minister change course and cancel this deal with France to protect Canadian livelihoods?

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Kody Blois

Liberal
“We are not giving up any control over our fisheries to France. We also put one billion dollars into small craft harbours after the Conservatives let them fall apart. We are supporting the fishery industry and Newfoundland and Labrador.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the member can stand up in this House and talk about the Prime Minister undermining our sovereignty, but it is fundamentally not true. As I have already put on the record, the Minister of Fisheries, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister of this country are making very clear that we will not be shedding one single element of the sovereignty of our fisheries in Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador. In fact, let me go on the record again and remind the member that there was one billion dollars’ worth of small craft harbour investment. Under the Conservative government, our harbours had deteriorated. We are investing in the fisheries. We are investing in processing through the national food security strategy. We will be there for Newfoundland and Labrador.

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