The Minister of Finance would probably not have great influence, despite the influence he may exert on extremely important policies aimed at creating and maintaining growth such as we have experienced. I also think this will be absolutely crucial for the next generation. He may not be the best choice, in the sense that that is probably not his role, but all the influence he could have...
In my opinion, the biggest problem we will face over the next 10 years will involve funding, government or other. It will be crucial to ensure that we have the necessary tools to allow all the young fishers, who are often fishermen's helpers and family members—although that is not always the case—to make their way into the industry.
Without wanting to offend the dairy producers of New Brunswick in any way, I would say that the resource industries are often perceived as cash cows rather than as industries that are made up of business people, or as innovative growth industries. And yet the perception is wrong; my brief experience in this industry, of some 12 or 13 years, has allowed me to understand that our sector offers enormous growth potential, but that we have to be innovative.
From 2000 to 2015 in the fisheries industry in Canada, we managed to increase our exports by 50%. I challenge you to show me one other industry in Canada that has grown like that. Nevertheless, we are still not offered the necessary support, because this field of activity is perceived as a primary industry. It would probably be interesting to ask people in the Canadian financial sector to try to look at these primary industries in a whole new way and to understand that they too can experience considerable growth.