Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Gentlemen, thank you very much for your presentation this morning.
As you're probably aware, those of us from Nova Scotia have been following the Digby fiasco quite closely. I'm going to ask you various questions, if you could jot them down and answer at the end.
What measures are in place to prevent another Digby wharf fiasco again?
The other concerns are about Nunavut. We've been talking a lot to folks up in Nunavut about the possibility of infrastructure money going into wharf development. Would that fall under your purview, or would it be under the Department of Transport, or another department of that nature?
Also, the third bullet on page 7 of your document says: “Most HAs are small and volunteer-dependent, with little turnover and suffering fatigue, thus jeopardizing the model.” Yet before that you say: “There is room for HAs to raise more fees.”
As someone who has been representing fishing communities for a while, I've always looked at wharves and docks as people look at highways in cities. When tolls and service fees are put on these, they put a further burden on people trying to make a living from the sea. I'm wondering how you could say that most HAs are volunteer-dependent and fatigued—because you're absolutely correct on that—then turn around and say they can raise more fees. The last thing fishermen need now is additional fees to cover the cost of their operating.
The last one I want to mention is that I really appreciate the fact you've said on several occasions here this morning the word “cash-starved”. You don't often hear people from departments say that in committee. This $8 million is not going to be enough, obviously, to suit your needs. If you could write yourself a cheque from Treasury Board to meet the needs of small craft harbours in this country, how much money would you like to see added to your department to meet the needs of Canadians?