Let me give you an example. The agricultural industry in Quebec is very powerful and very well organized. The government has shown its willingness to support the industry, going back all the way back to the 1940s and 1950s. More recently, in 1972, the industry has become unionized.
Agricultural producers speak with one voice. However, in 1972, the government granted them the power to speak with one voice. From that moment forward, they developed programs and joint plans with marketing options. The Fédération des producteurs de lait du Québec therefore can afford the luxury of marketing its products on television and elsewhere, because it has the capability to raise funds and take action.
Between you and me, what we have managed to accomplish with volunteers is nothing short of miraculous. Everything we have accomplished, we have done with volunteers. Any advances that the government and DFO have made have come through their work with our representatives. The problem is that we are not a powerful lobby, even though our representatives do have an opportunity to address this forum. In fact, our representatives are not officially recognized.
Let's take Quebec as an example. What if we were to go ahead with marketing boards or whatever. We face a problem that the agricultural industry doesn't have, since it is a provincial responsibility, first and foremost, even though the federal government is involved to some extent. Marketing boards operate at the provincial level. However, because the fishery is a federal responsibility, marketing boards wouldn't work.
That is why I say that we could focus on developing aid and income security programs for the medium and long term, and on harmonizing our operations. We could also work at harmonizing provincial and federal regulations.
At some point, we need to look at what we can do, and we need to try and sort out who is responsible for what exactly. We also need to try and understand why, if one party can do something that is good for the industry, the other party doesn't let it. We need to make an effort in that regard, because there are some serious shortcomings. Even if the will did exist...We have a plan.
Agricultural producers can limit production and decide, for instance, that they will produce no more than X litres of maple syrup this season. They can do that, because agriculture is a provincial area of responsibility.
Marketing boards can do what they like, such as negotiating prices. However, I cannot tell my fishers to fish four or five days a week, because the fishery falls within federal jurisdiction.
There is no agreement in place. We tried to negotiate a federal-provincial training agreement. In Quebec, we have the Bureau d'accréditation des pêcheurs et des aides-pêcheurs, but we do not have an agreement with the federal government. We would need to—