It is always difficult to comment on that sort of thing. At the same time, I do think there are a couple of starting points. There are a few basics that must be considered before we can develop a model of governance that would really reflect the realities in the different areas.
My description of the way Fisheries and Oceans Canada manages the resource here would be that the decision-making process is relatively centralized, based on data provided by biologists. It is important to have that information. What is debatable is the way that information is made available and the way in which decisions are made, on behalf of communities or groups, as to the way of managing that resource. Elsewhere in the world, and even elsewhere in Canada, there are other ways of managing the fisheries that involve the communities in the decision-making and allow them to develop solutions based on the expected status of the resource.
As regards crab in particular, we know that there is a cycle—and Mr. Desbois made some very intelligent comments on that earlier—a cycle which is predictable. Therefore, why would it not be possible to manage the fishery based on five-year plans providing for five-year quotas? What would the impact of that be? The impact would ultimately be negligible, and adjustments could made over time. Why this vagueness, year after year?
I would like to draw a parallel to the forest industry. When you know what the status of the resource is and how much you will be harvesting over a certain number of years, you are in a better position to make adjustments subsequently in terms of developing the plants or new products and working with fishers, so that landings can be spread over a longer period of time. There are no constraints.
So, there are all kinds of ways of adjusting to what is happening in the plants, and to the realities facing the fishers and our communities. But if we do not have the right to give our opinion on resource management, other than through fleeting consultations, then we are clearly going to end up, year after year, in the same kind of situation we are facing today. That is what happened with the groundfish and shrimp fisheries. In the spring, when February and March roll around, we start to wonder whether it will be a warm or cold spring. A warm spring means there will be demonstrations, problems between the plants, problems with the fishers and problems with the workers.
Not one year goes by without another crisis. How can organizations such as ours be expected to influence development and find long-term solutions when we are systematically put in the position we find ourselves in now?
