Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, gentlemen, for your presentations.
I appreciate the opportunity to ask a few questions. I want to say a word of thanks, and I think I speak on behalf of all committee members. We've certainly been enlightened and brought to a new perspective—many of us—when it comes to the conduct of inland fisheries, particularly here in the central and Arctic region and Lake Winnipeg and surrounding areas.
The picture that's being painted for me, not only from your testimony but also the testimony previously heard this morning, is that the dynamics of the fishery are changing. It's a high-value, higher-volume fishery; it's more professionalized, whereas it was once almost considered artisanal.
As you pointed out, Robert, families went away for periods of time and spent time in the north, but now it's become highly professionalized, where quality control is becoming a major issue and is being acted upon.
It has caused changes within the industry or the fishery. What you're looking for, if I'm reading you correctly—and you can both comment on this—is a response from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the small craft harbours program, to be able to keep up with changing times. People are looking to home port more often, as opposed to travelling great distances to other grounds. You're looking to have new infrastructure developed in response to these changes, infrastructure that currently isn't on the books. In other words, the small craft harbours program currently has a policy only to invest in facilities that are currently the real property assets of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, small craft harbours, and they don't expand that footprint any further. In other words, they don't take ownership of any additional lands or water lots. They're keeping their investment strictly in the properties they own.
The other thing you're telling us is that you're looking for some transparency and consistency in the way funding is allocated, that the region is generally underfunded, considering the increase in activity and the value of the fisheries and its impact on the local economy. So I am just repeating back to you some of the messages we've heard so that you get a feel that we've been listening and are very aware of what you're saying.
Let me ask you this: where exactly would you suggest new harbours be developed? Is there a way you can communicate to this committee the location of existing harbours and suggest to us where new harbour activity should occur, in order to keep pace with the industry? As well, could you comment about the allocation of funding? For example, I think one of the messages we've heard right across the board, and heard very clearly in B.C. and other parts of the country, is that as harbour authorities and harbour authority associations, you're looking for some sort of transparency in the way funding is presented or allocated, and you want to know that if you're going to work with small craft harbour managers locally and they actually go forward with a presentation to Ottawa to actually get funding in place, it will succeed and will indeed be allocated.
Are you aware that the minister, for example, has a $5 million reserve budget that's not allocated to any one particular region, but is at his discretion to be able to use? Have you been able to take advantage of any of that funding, or were you even aware it existed?