Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Good morning to you, Mr. Minister, and to the senior officials as well.
Without further ado, I will go the issue of small crafts harbours. I will do so in order to better understand departmental policy. The $20 million in funding that was to sunset on March 31 was renewed in a certain way, but the figures show that the situation continues to deteriorate year after year because the amounts allocated to the small crafts harbours program are not sufficient.
Even if that brings us back to the same budget we had last year, it is really not enough to deal with the situation. At home, in Saint-Georges-de-Malbaie, in the Gaspé, the wharf had deteriorated to the point that the department built a protective fence around it for safety reasons. This wharf was still being used, by the lobster fishermen in particular. We can therefore say that it is essential. It is on the priority list for the next few years, but it always comes back to the same thing: there is not enough money.
Mr. Minister, do you not feel that this program needs serious action? If we make do with this year's top-up, the condition of small crafts harbours will continue to deteriorate.