Thank you, Mr. Chair.
First, I want to thank you for making the trip to appear before the committee.
It is not always easy for retired public servants to tell a House of Commons committee what they saw during their time in the public service, whether at the federal or provincial level. But, you and I both know that the role of elected representatives is to pass legislation, and the role of public servants is often to implement that legislation. When something is not working, you have no choice but to complain or to voice your frustrations or dissatisfaction to the minister responsible, and I see that that is what you did with Minister Hearn.
But, as a result of the implementation problems, your dissatisfaction and your frustrations go back 20 years, as there was mention of the 1990s earlier. I have been here since 1993. Between Mr. Hearn and Brian Tobin, two members from Newfoundland, two former Fisheries and Oceans ministers, how much attention was paid to your concerns? There were a number of people from Newfoundland, members and ministers, within that department. How much attention was paid between the time Mr. Tobin—who was not only the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, but also the Premier of Newfoundland—was in office and the time Mr. Hearn was appointed? What steps were taken, what efforts were made? That is my first question.
Mr. Chair, I am worried that I might run out of time before I get to my second question, so I will ask it now. If the committee were to ask you to put your frustrations down on paper, as someone who has worked on the ground and seen the problems involved in implementing the NAFO convention, what would you write? What would you suggest to rectify the situation? To ensure that your efforts benefit the committee and help to solve the problems you experienced once and for all, tell us what does not work and what we need to do to make it work?