Hon. Jane Cordy: As other senators have done this afternoon, my questions will also be regarding the seal harvest.

Currently, Canada does not have a seal harvest on the West Coast. In the report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans entitled Ecosystem Impacts and Management of Pinniped Populations, they list the risks of not reducing pinniped populations to the possible loss of salmon stocks, the collapse of the sports fishing industry and the collapse of the remaining commercial fishery on the West Coast.

There have been informal calls to establish a West Coast harvest for seals.

Has DFO, under their new emerging fishery policy, received any official proposals to establish a West Coast harvest? Would DFO ever consider establishing a West Coast harvest without a submitted proposal, perhaps as a pilot program?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. I am not aware of any such initiatives.

However, I will say more generally, colleagues, that the federal government is mindful of the complex interactions in this area, whether it is of the seal population and fish stocks or the impacts of the seal industry on communities and individual Canadians.

We are very aware of the illustrious history of the seal market when we go back to earlier in our history. I remember being fascinated and informed in my visit to Newfoundland in that regard.

Having said all of that, the government will continue to engage with stakeholders, Indigenous communities and provincial and territorial governments to make sure that any decision it takes is a prudent, balanced and fair one.

Senator Cordy: Thank you. I will focus my supplementary question on the East Coast of Canada. Indeed, you are absolutely correct; it is a complex interaction. We know the influence of the seal market on many communities in Canada.

Has Fisheries and Oceans Canada, or DFO, taken any steps to increase the harvest of seals on the East Coast? Fishers have been calling for DFO action for years to help increase the seal harvest, as they have warned that the sustainability of fish stocks is in jeopardy because of the amount of fish seals eat, which is having a negative impact on the fishers’ livelihood.

In the same House report, it is noted that of the 4,482 licences that were issued in 2022 —

Senator Gold: Thank you for the question. I would encourage senators to pose these questions to the minister when she appears at Question Period. She will be in a far better position than I am to have more up-to-date information on their thinking in this regard.