In answer to your first question, I pointed out earlier that, for the other species, repatriation had been more harmful than anything else. As regards the lobster fishery, I will just reiterate that, because it is a sedentary species, we have been able to work in a satisfactory manner with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans at the local level. In that regard, it was not harmful to the lobster fishery, but that is due in large part to the efforts of leaders and the fishers themselves.
The other question which I feel is important is your second one, relating to costs. When the crisis occurred in 1990, we went knocking on doors at the federal level but never received any assistance. The only one who came to the aid of fishers during the 1990 crisis, which looked a great deal like the current one, was the provincial government, which provided ad hoc assistance, given that there was no income security program in place such as the one for farmers, either at the provincial or federal level. It is a well-known fact that the federal government participates by transferring funds to the provinces for them to implement income security programs—something that does not exist for the fisheries—with the exception, of course, of the Employment Insurance Program. But that is something else; we could debate its advantages and disadvantages.
What I want to say is simply that, as long as the two departments—Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada—do not work more closely together to better position the people involved, the only option will be to rely on subsidies. There is a major problem right now. You are there, and you make much of the subsidies distributed to the communities, but there is a major problem with the distribution channel. That, too, has to be corrected; you have a role to play in that regard. There is no escaping it: everyone has a role. You need to take the time to act.
The last program to be introduced went through the Economic Development Agency of Canada. I will tell you what happened in Quebec. It was transferred to the Ministère du Développement économique et de l'Innovation. The same thing must have been done in the other provinces. From there, it went to the socio-economic organizations. Finally, the forestry sector benefited. Because we are disorganized, the fisheries received zero money. Some say that there is still $1 billion available, including some $200 or so million for Quebec. In that regard, if we are decide to operate that way, we may as well use the same channel as in the past—in other words, have the government transfer the money to its own department, Fisheries and Oceans, which would then transfer the funds directly to the industry. We are not interested in seeing our money get lost in all kinds of organizations where we are not represented, because of our lack of organization. If you want to help us, that's great. If not, what do you want?
As Mario said, his father knew this and we do as well: we know that we have to take measures. The biggest impact is financial. You have transferred funds to all the other industries.