Mr. Speaker, I know you do not like this type of notoriety but it is due. It is also due the other members taking part in the debate and the hon. member for St. John's West who started it.
One of the previous speakers, my hon. colleague from the Cumberland area of Nova Scotia, mentioned some of the ironic twists of the debate. Mr. Speaker, he reminded us that about 10 years ago you, myself, the hon. member for Cumberland--Colchester and others here tonight were members of the House when the minister of fisheries from St. John's West, Mr. Crosby, made the tough decision to shut down the cod fishery. We are here tonight in the House of Commons talking about the same thing: the overfishing and depletion of fish stocks.
I was taken with the hon. member for Burin--St. George's who talked about the devastation of fishing communities in Newfoundland including those he represents. One point he made was that thousands of jobs have been lost and more are at risk.
Another point that was made, and I am not sure if it was by him or the hon. member for St. John's West, was that the population of Newfoundland is down to 1963 levels. There has been an migration of people from Newfoundland because they have been robbed of their resource by outsiders. Other nations have taken away their ability to make a living. It has been a tremendous draw on their economy. Families have paid a tremendous price. The stability we would like to see in any family in any village has disappeared along with the fish.
I thought about something interesting while listening to the debate. If this happened in any other jurisdiction we would be outraged. Let us think in legal terms. What would happen if someone stole their neighbour's car or destroyed their property? As members well know, there would be consequences. However other nations can do it to us as Canadians. They can come over here and rape our fisheries as the hon. member for Burins--St. George's put it. Yet nothing happens. It has been happening for years yet we allow them to get away with it.
I will confess something to the House of Commons. When I was a young man the first time I ever voted I voted Liberal. I know I would normally get a round of applause from the government side of the House for that statement but I say it with pride. I voted Liberal because during the FLQ crisis Prime Minister Trudeau was asked by journalists how far he would go. They asked if he would bring in tanks or the army. Mr. Trudeau's response was “Just watch me”. We did watch him.
Some people thought it was the wrong thing to do but a lot of Canadians, myself included, thought it was the right thing. It was the right thing for the right reason: to protect Canada. What we know today as Canada is worth preserving. The fisheries in Newfoundland and the rest of Canada are worth preserving. We must do so.
We have to flex our muscles and be tough. Unfortunately a lot of fisheries policy is not determined by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. We all know that. It is determined by foreign affairs. It is the toughest department any minister must deal with because as Canadians we must be polite. If people steal our resources or step on our toes we excuse ourselves for being there.
We cannot afford to do that for ever and ever, amen. We must take strong action. It must be now and not later. We have had this debate in the House of Commons year in and year out regardless of who has sat in the Prime Minister's chair. It is time we took action.
Mr. Speaker, I thank you and my House leader, the member for Pictou--Antigonish--Guysborough, one more time for the other night. I had a private member's motion that was supposed to come to a vote Monday or Tuesday night. Mr. Speaker, you were successful in deferring the vote to yesterday afternoon following question period. This allowed me to be on an island in the Bay of Fundy called Grand Manan Island which has a rich and productive fishery.
The level of income on Grand Manan Island surpasses that of many parts of New Brunswick and Atlantic Canada because inhabitants of the little island manage their fishery very well. They take care of the stock. They are good custodians. They understand that the health of their community and the future of their villages demands that they take care of the resource. They are considered by all of us regardless of political stripe as professional fishermen and true custodians of the resource.
One advantage they have is that a lot of the resource such as scallops or lobster is in the immediate area. A debate that is not uncommon to the community concerns the traditional fishery versus aquaculture and the impact it has on their fishery. The island's inhabitants are protective of their fishery. They want to see strength in the aquaculture industry but not at the expense of their fishery. It is a healthy and active debate. They manage both fisheries well because they are capable of doing so on their own. They do not rely on government to manage the fishery for them because they know it is in their best interest to preserve the resource.
As members well know, the fisheries committee is one of the most non-partisan committees in the House. The House would be a better place if all committees worked in the same fashion as the fisheries committee. The committee recently returned from Newfoundland. I will read into the record some of what it heard from the province's fishermen and municipal leaders.
Union president Earle McCurdy called on Ottawa to take action to curb foreign overfishing. At the hearings in St. John's Burgeo Mayor Allister Hann was critical of NAFO. He advocated that Canada extend its jurisdiction over the nose and tail. Hann said it was “time the federal government put as much emphasis on fish as it did on the softwood lumber trade dispute with the United States...When was the last time anyone here heard the prime minister say he was going to bring up the matter of abusive foreign overfishing that is taking place on the Grand Banks?”
It is a good question. When was the last time? Hann said he did not expect to hear any of this in his lifetime. I am not sure how old he is but he is right. We seldom hear anything about what we must do to protect this valuable resource.
Jim Morgan, chairman of the Newfoundland and Labrador Rural Rights and Boat Owners Association, advocated closing Canada's ports to foreign vessels engaged in overfishing. He said “It is not good enough to keep talking about custodial management. NAFO has not been acting adequately for protection of our stocks. It is time to take some action and not talk, talk, talk”.
Newfoundland's fisheries minister Gerry Reid said Canada needed to control the fish stocks that straddle the 200 mile limit. He said “NAFO is toothless and I think we should move to the next stage”.
We should follow Mr. Trudeau's lead.
These types of comments go on and on. What some vessels have gotten away with amazes me. Hon. members have mentioned the events of the last couple of days with the Otto and the Olga . I remind the listening public that the Olga is a Russian fishing vessel. Fisheries officials reported that when the ship landed in port, which it likely did to free some of the shrimp it had caught offshore, they discovered 70 to 80 tonnes of mature breeding cod in its hold. The species is under moratorium. It should not be caught. The Russians are stealing not only our resource but the world's resource. If we take away the breeding stock of a species near extinction we will have absolutely nothing left.
What has the government done to this point? It has done nothing. The sister ship to the Olga , the Otto , was also headed to Newfoundland with shrimp aboard. Can members guess what? The Otto turned away in midstream and headed back home to the Russian port to get rid of its load. There is pretty convincing evidence it too had mature cod on board that should not have been caught. It again goes back to the toothlessness of NAFO.
Rogue nations that have no desire to comply with international law must be dealt with. We could call it terrorism on the high seas. Taking away the food chain and the ability of communities to make a living and feed their people is a high crime and should be punished. We need to go beyond just talking about it. How will the government approach the issue? Will it have the fortitude and the backing of the House to do something? Will the Prime Minister allow the fisheries minister to do something?
We do not want the same scenario that played out with Captain Canada, the former minister of fisheries by the name of Brian Tobin who put on a huge publicity stunt by taking on the Spanish over the lowly turbot. After the charade and the pictures of him with his head stuck through a life preserver on the New York shore nothing happened. The Spanish continued to overfish. European nations continued to overfish. Nothing has happened.