I'm glad you mentioned that. We're not against sharing. Had the quota been in great shape, it wouldn't be an issue. We wouldn't be in this discussion at all. We wouldn't be having this committee had we had a viable industry, but the crisis comes about when you don't have a viable industry.
If you're talking about sharing, we go back to the Fisheries Act. It's the same old broken record conversation I've had for ages. You've got to clearly define the parameters. They've got to be crystal clear as to how you have discussions and how you move forward. The only way you can define the parameters as to sharing arrangements is in direct consultation with the industry--not only the harvesters, but also the processors. How is this going to impact? What is going to happen with the entire industry? At the same time, you start having discussions about viability. How do we maintain viability of the fleets? Each of the fleets has to be viable to continue to prosper. So here we go back to that situation of getting serious about rationalization.
As an example, we've been working with the groundfish fleet for years now. When you were minister, they were having trouble with their viability. Now we're into the same situation, but we have to get serious about how we work on rationalization with these players.
I keep on going back to the Fisheries Act. Every one of you folks around this table has a responsibility. When this Fisheries Act comes to the table in the House of Commons, we have to get it to the point of having the standing committee do the examinations so we can clean up the edges on it, so we can work together collaboratively, interprovincially. Across Canada, how do we work this act so that it's going to best suit our needs? We've got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For God's sake, that act is as old as Confederation. I think it's as heavy as all get-out, because it must be written on slate.
We have to get that act in place. So not only the government members, but also the opposition have to play a vital role, because each of my colleagues in Atlantic Canada supports this. We support getting it to first and second reading so that we can get it to the committee stage, so that we can have the discussions with the provinces as to how we move forward.
Will it be perfect for everyone? No, absolutely not, but we've got to take that opportunity to do our due diligence and do what's right for Atlantic Canada. I'm thinking for Atlantic Canada, but across Canada as to what this act really entails and what it means.
On that, Rodney, I go back to the viability of the fleet. The fleet has a right to be viable, and there have got to be strong discussions about the parameters, how sharing arrangements take place. As I say, we wouldn't be having this discussion here today, none whatsoever, if we were dealing with viability in the quotas, if the industry were viable.