Finance committee  I don't want to deny Ottawa the opportunity for jobs, but I think it's a well-known fact that with Fisheries and Oceans, I think one-third or one-half of the budget goes to Ottawa, and that's where one-half of the people are. I think, yes, a budget administered out here makes all kinds of sense for lots of reasons, if that's your question.

Finance committee  I think sport fishing has probably double the economic value of commercial fishing. I don't think that even takes in the tourism part of it. The government should buy back commercial salmon licences from the commercial fishermen and reduce that level of fishing. In fact, they'll probably have to reduce sport and commercial fishing in the near term to bring the stocks back to a level that is sustainable.

Finance committee  I don't know the individual you're talking about, but the $100 million we're talking about is to find out where we're at. It's probably not even enough to restore the habitat we have lost. That's going to be partly a provincial responsibility because of the forestry practices that have gone on.

Finance committee  I am here as a representative of the members of Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans, and the Canadian Forest Service. It's a volunteer position that I am in. When I was looking at the criteria for this brief, there were four parameters: economic, environmental, cultural, and sustainability.