Finance committee  If I could, Mr. Chair, I think we've been very blessed over the last number of months in having positive conversations with members of the House and Senate representing all parties. Certainly, we would hope to see this committee endorse our recommendation again, as it did in the last pre-budget consultation and the one before that.

Finance committee  Just to allude to some of the comments I made in my opening remarks, you don't have to take our word for it; all you have to do is look back to fairly recent history. In the early part of the 1900s, for a series of reasons, there really wasn't effective control and effective regulation of the Great Lakes.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. We're pleased to be here today on behalf of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. Part of the commission's treaty mandate is to make recommendations to government and, surely, there's no more important starting point for us than participating here today. Previous committees have supported our work in their pre-budget consultations, and we ask this committee to recognize the Great Lakes as the economic engines that they are.

Finance committee  Well, now, Mr. Chair, I happen to have a sea lamprey right here under the table, if anyone would like to see it.

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, thank you. Thank you for inviting us, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, to appear before you today. I'm the commission's legislative liaison, and with me today is Dr. Marc Gaden, the commission's communications director. Together we're here to provide you with a brief overview of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and to present our budget request.