Opening Statement to the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans

Issues and possible actions in Fisheries and Oceans Canada identified in audit reports and the Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development—2004

14 December, 2004

Johanne Gélinas,
Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development
and
Ron Thompson,
Assistant Auditor General

Good morning Mr. Chairman and members. Thank you for again inviting us here. Joining me at the table are Ron Thompson, who has been the Assistant Auditor General responsible for Fisheries and Oceans Canada audits for several years and Gerry Chu, Director of these audits.

Last month, we presented the parts of my 2004 Report where we found problems and issues with the programs and responsibilities of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Two weeks ago, Ron Thompson appeared before your Committee in Vancouver to discuss issues on the 2004 Fraser River sockeye salmon harvest. During that hearing, you heard from many sources about their concerns with the Department.

We are very pleased that the Committee will consider our findings with departmental officials. Hopefully, an implementation plan to address our findings and recommendations, with specific timelines, will emerge over the course of this hearing.

Today, I would like to remind you of our findings from this year and then highlight a helpful tool that is part of the Auditor General Act.

Chapter 5 of my 2004 Report is a follow up to assess the progress being made by the Department on the key observations and recommendations from our 1997, 1999, and 2000 audits on salmon stocks, habitat, and aquaculture.

Overall, we are not satisfied with the progress being made by Fisheries and Oceans Canada in responding to the observations and recommendations. Some Atlantic and Pacific salmon stocks are in trouble, and we continue to identify significant gaps in managing risks.

Specifically, the Department has not finalized the Wild Salmon Policy, which would set out the necessary objectives and guiding principles for fisheries and resource management, habitat protection, and salmon enhancement.

There are shortcomings in information on salmon stocks and habitat. There are also significant gaps in scientific knowledge on the potential environmental effects of salmon aquaculture in aquatic ecosystems.

There are weaknesses in regulatory approvals, enforcement, and monitoring of salmon aquaculture operations, including site application approvals, assessing cumulative effects, and preventing harmful destruction of habitat.

Finally, there has been inadequate coordination between federal and provincial governments in managing fish habitat, research, site applications, and information sharing.

A common theme that runs through all our concerns is simply how long it takes the Department to produce results. This prompts many questions, Why is everything so slow? Is the lack of an effective response related to the complexity of the subject matter, or the lack of priority or action plans? Are there more pervasive root causes?

I want to end my presentation by highlighting a tool that this Committee and, indeed the Department, could use to address these issues.

In 1995, changes to the Auditor General Act required all departments to develop a sustainable development strategy and update it every three years. The latest strategies for all the departments, except Fisheries and Oceans Canada, were tabled in February 2004. The Department indicated that it was in the process of a major review of its programs, services and expenditures, and would update its strategy once it had the results of that work.

This delay means that the Committee has an opportunity, through its present work and reports, to guide the Department’s strategy. Its sustainable development strategy should address the root causes of the problems highlighted by our reports and the committee’s hearings. Further, this committee will be able to use the strategy to monitor and assess progress on all of the issues.

I cannot think of a better opportunity for a well thought out strategy to be more effective, timely, and useful for the Department, the industry, fishers, the committee, Parliament, and Canadians. In short, this is a golden opportunity to bring the various pieces together.

As a final observation, Mr. Chairman, I would like to emphasize that Fisheries and Oceans Canada has not only the job of sustaining the fisheries, but also the fish, the fish habitat, the environment, and, indeed, the livelihood of those that depend on fish. But its track record on timely delivery is not promising. As in so many other areas of my audit work, there is a significant implementation gap that is growing into a credibility gap.

This Committee can really help rectify this situation, and hold the Department to account. The Committee could ask for action plans from the Department to address the recommendations and observations we have made and to identify what the Department will do to address the root causes of the issues and problems raised in your hearings.

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my opening statement.