As I said before, we will consult with our people. We do have some scientific research in our own communities. We're going to be working with other Mi'gmaq nations, and we have already started doing so. We are basically going to have a framework that is in total contrast to the decision-making framework you have now.
As I said, the basic ideology is you take what you need, not more. You make decisions based on the science, not politics, as seems to be the case. We saw the cod fishery sink in 1992. Today we have the snow crab. Tomorrow it's going to be the salmon.
So there is a bit of space that the Mi'gmaq have inside the Canadian constitutional order that we're going to fill. As I said, we're going to be open to other stakeholders, considering first that the Mi'gmaq have priority access to this resource, unlike the other non-aboriginal fishers represented here in this room.
Conservation is key. As I said, we trusted the system, the Fisheries Act and the DFO regulatory regime. But let's get real here: it's not working. You're spending tons of money and the people who are deriving their livelihoods from the resource are paying for really bad decisions. It is just mind boggling, really.
One thing that we wouldn't do is muzzle one of our top scientists who has pointed out to decision-makers, “Listen, you have to cut. I'm waving the red flag here.” We wouldn't put a muzzle on the guy because he's giving us bad news. You have to make the tough decisions now when they are needed, in the interests of the future, or you're going to pay down the road heavily, because you're destroying the capacity of the resource to regenerate itself.
We do actually have an existing law that will be amended. We do have our own regulations. We're going to put those on the table today actually. I am meeting with the other chiefs of the Atlantic, and this is what they have agreed to do. Now, whether DFO decides to listen and take us seriously is its choice. We can work together. We can work against each other. Nobody wants confrontation.
We've been there. Listuguj has been there. We've had our resource threatened. The resource is part of who we are, and I speak specifically about the case of our wild salmon fishery. So it's the same with the other fisheries resources.
We hope to work with the stakeholders, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and we're going to work with our people. Right now we have almost a consensus, I would say, for what we want to do.