Yes, that's correct, and through our JPA we have agreed to the use of fish to fund science.
I have talked to my members and I asked, “How did we get there?” And they said “If we didn't agree to it, DFO said they wouldn't do it, and if DFO didn't do it, they'd take a very conservative view of the stock size, which would lead to a smaller TAC, so we really didn't have a choice.”
They were satisfied with being able to get science done if that's what it meant to have an efficient economic management of the fishery. But the legal issue that comes out here is the department knew on June 23 that it did not have the power to do that. It continued to do it.
So I guess because I'm a former parliamentarian, I am not just looking at the practical or what we wanted or they wante; I am also saying that departments cannot act contrary to the laws of Canada. You can't do it.