Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm wondering about the future of fisheries in general. In Quebec, in particular, we're having a good slap in the face, as we say back home. We're closing a fishery because it's too illegal: that's the gist of the situation. They've closed the mackerel fishery, they're almost closing the shrimp fishery, and the redfish compensation isn't enough. We're wondering whether redfish will survive in the long and medium term. At the moment, a whole range of problems means that we're three shakes away from saying that we're in the middle of a fisheries crisis. Faced with this prospect, the fishers who are listening to us don't have any alternative solution, and they don't have many anchor points to bounce back on the business front. Indeed, these people are in business, they earn their living, and there are villages that depend on that.
The elver case is a bit of a special case, where there's a lot of intimidation and “dark” markets. How do we prioritize the survival of the fishing economy when we look at this picture? What makes it urgent to act? Is it the need to protect the resource? Is it the need to keep fishers in place and preserve an economy that contributes to the country's GDP? What should the priority be? Is it people's safety? I put myself in your shoes and wonder where you stand.