Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I've been around here for a few years, and I always felt that I had to represent the people I represent, or the industry or whatever. I've served in different positions in government and opposition, and I can assure you, if you check the record, you'll find I did not always toe the line with what the government wanted. Perhaps I was wrong, but my understanding is that I represent the people who elected me, and it paid off in a number of issues. Sometimes with a lot of pressure you can convince government that in fact this is the right way.
In listening to this committee, I conclude we all want the same thing. Perhaps I was naive, but I lacked fear of probably anybody around here. I felt I could say what I liked, when I liked, for the betterment of the industry, and I did in my career. The fact is that we need to send the message to government--we're not sending it to ACOA, we're sending it to government--that they need to put this funding in place. If they don't put it in place, we don't have this institution.
That's simply what we're doing. If we water it down or make it milder, then it's not going to make an issue. In my opinion, it's a large issue at a very difficult time in the fishery. I'm not going to try to discipline anybody in politics, but the fact is, you'll be rewarded politically for doing the right thing. It would look to me that doing the right thing is giving this every push you can in order to convince the government that this centre needs to proceed.