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e-4845 (Transportation)
- Keywords
- Ports and harbours
- Verchères
Original language of petition: French
Petition to the House of Commons
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada is responsible for transferring ownership of non-core harbours and making the necessary repairs;
- The Municipality of Verchères has expressed interest in acquiring the Verchères harbour following its rehabilitation over the past 25 years;
- The former Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard stated in a letter dated May 31, 2022, that the Verchères federal harbour was a regional priority for divestiture but that no funding was available to start the project; information that was confirmed by the current Minister’s office on December 13, 2023;
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada has been negligent in not maintaining the Verchères harbour for decades;
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada made the decision to close the Verchères harbour for safety reasons in 2020;
- The Municipality of Verchères has developed a master plan for the harbour area to promote tourism and recreational development and provide access to the river and islands, which is dependent on the harbour’s rehabilitation;
- SIMEC is concerned that it will be unable to respond to oil spills due to the harbour’s closure; and
- This harbour has shaped the identity of Verchères and is rooted in the heritage and history of the wooden rowboat in Canada.
Response by the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier
The objective of divestitures is to retain, in the long term, only those harbours essential to the commercial fishing industry that are managed locally by a Harbour Authority, in order to reduce the Government of Canada's responsibilities and achieve cost savings.
Currently, the Small Craft Harbours program’s inventory across the country is comprised of 949 harbours, of which 258, including the Verchère federal wharf, are considered non-essential to the commercial fishery. Due to the volume and complexity of some divestiture projects, it is impossible for the program to divest all 258 harbours in a short period of time.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada understands the importance of the Verchères wharf, as well as the economic and heritage implications a divestiture of these facilities could have for the local community. The department also understands why the municipality and project stakeholders are requesting that funds be made available to enable a divestiture project to proceed.
In recent years, DFO has moved ahead with the divestiture of certain harbours, and others will follow in the future when funds become available for this purpose. In fact, since 1995, nearly 1,200 harbours not essential to the commercial fishery have been divested.
Under Treasury Board of Canada rules, Fisheries and Oceans Canada must offer surplus assets to priority interest groups during divestitures. These groups include Government of Canada departments and agencies, provincial governments, municipalities and indigenous groups.
In the Quebec region, the federal wharf at Verchères represents one of DFO's regional divestiture priorities when new budgetary resources become available, while following the processes required by applicable divestiture guidelines.
- Open for signature
- February 29, 2024, at 10:45 a.m. (EDT)
- Closed for signature
- June 28, 2024, at 10:45 a.m. (EDT)
- Presented to the House of Commons
-
Xavier Barsalou-Duval
(Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères)
October 30, 2024 (Petition No. 441-02781) - Government response tabled
- December 13, 2024
