Thank you.
Lawrence, you bring up an excellent point, as usual. You hit the nail right on the head. The fishermen in the Southern Kings and Queens Fishermen's Association are very concerned with this issue. You've raised this a number of times, and we commend you on that.
The government, whether Liberal, Conservative, or whatever, should work as a team to protect the communities and the fishermen--whether they're from Newfoundland, P.E.I., Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, or British Columbia--to make sure these programs are not counted as subsidies, and they should make every effort to protect the community network.
What's happening is that the community-type networks are breaking down. They're getting weaker and weaker, forcing fishermen against their will to seek other types of employment: move to the west, move away, get out of fishing, or find other employment to subsidize fishing. They have no other choice. So your point is very important: for all levels of government to work collectively to ensure those safety net programs are maintained.
I think you should keep in mind one point, and that is that we thought the lobster fishery last year was in bad shape because we had lost 25% in the price. Our fuel prices and our other costs have risen astronomically. This year we're going to lose probably another 25%, bringing it down to about 50% of the normal price, and maybe even lower, depending how they do in Nova Scotia. So our fishermen here may be facing a double crisis: first, the crisis whereby they may not be able to make a reasonable living at all; and second, they may not qualify for EI, which gives them a second slap. This will lead to a much higher incidence of bankruptcy and make the communities weaker than they are now.
So we would ask your committee to work with the government. I know this is difficult when you're in Parliament, but if you could somehow set aside your political beliefs and differences with all the other parties and work as a team to achieve those goals, I know the fishermen in eastern Canada would certainly appreciate your efforts.