My question is again related to the west coast. You're talking about Transport Canada here briefly now, but I'm wondering about Tofino.
They have a main wharf there that recently went through the divestiture program. It's not used as much for fishing now, but it's a major transportation hub for first nations communities, coming and going from this little community, in transition from a large industrial fishing base at one time to more recreational and tourism.
We have communities such as Ahousat, an aboriginal community of 800 people, which uses this wharf as a main access point for the whole community, as well as others like Opetchesaht and Hesquiaht. So it's a transportation hub.
When this was divested recently, there was some discussion and we wrote to the previous minister about this. It was a fixed amount of money--I think it was maybe half a million dollars--but they had to spend it all within five years or give it back to the department.
Can you clarify the rationale for that? In these small communities, a lot of work is donated by local contractors, and so on. They could stretch that fund a heck of a lot further.
First of all, is there consideration for needs beyond fishing by DFO, for transportation needs, as we might have had more of a transportation corridor in a wharf like this one?
A second point I'd like to throw in is about eel grass and small craft harbours related to resorts. There is a rapid tidal flow at Tofino harbour and it silts in. Just to get permission to do any dredging, even if they're paying for it, is nearly impossible, because eel grass has grown and somebody in their wisdom has decided that of the hundreds and hundreds of hectares of eel grass out there, a little bit has grown and therefore they can't touch it without planting some more somewhere. That may not be your department, but it's a huge problem for small operators.
So those are two questions.