I will give you a petition. All categories of fishers are calling for this inquiry. The Île Miscou lobster fishers association is one of them. It is true that we don't have the support of the four other traditional crabbers associations, but there again, we must be very careful. The leaders are the ones who are not supporting us, and not the crabbers themselves. Perhaps they have spent too much time under the reign of Brigitte Sivret, who was a liberal organizer in the 2006 election campaign, when I was a candidate for another party. Moreover, she has recently been appointed a judge.
Under the liberals, the temporary sharing arrangement in area 12 with the MFU, among others, became permanent.
None of the fishers associations trust DFO Moncton, because of the arrogance of the director, Mr. Robert Alain, who in June 2004 stated to a local newspaper L'Acadie nouvelle, that he would remember crabbers next season. How can such a senior official utter such threatening comments to a category of fishers of our importance? As far as we are concerned, we would clearly be very happy with Mr. Alain's resignation.
The election of Jean Chrétien's liberals in south-east in New Brunswick has been beneficial to the people of that region. Since then, we have seen our plants, our industries move to south-east New Brunswick, and close their doors in the north-east and on the peninsula. That did not happen by accident, in our opinion. Certain people are to be thanked for that.
We would like to know more about the contracts awarded by the former liberal prime minister, Paul Martin, to Biorex and that entailed expenses for crabbers. There are also the contracts for the black boxes, a system that means crabbers must pay, not for each day worked, but beginning at the start of the month, even if the fishery begins on the 20th day of the month, and right to the end of the month, even if the fishery finishes on the second.
Are the returns Biorex is required to pay fair? Was the bid that unable Biorex to win the contract fair? What about the agreements between DFO and the MFU under which inshore fishers receive a certain amount of the price of crab and another amount goes to the MFU? What is the MFU doing with that money? The MFU had made a commitment to invest in our communities. We have seen nothing to date.
That more or less covers the additional five minutes I have been given.