I do not know where government is going, but where I come from, I talk to fishermen on a daily basis. I haven't talked to a fisherman who has spoken to anybody involved in fleet separation or this new policy that the government is talking about putting in place.
The only thing I would like to see happen, looking at how vitally important it is for the thousand communities in Atlantic Canada—not only for the people involved in the fishery, but for every small business and in fact for the existence of the community itself.... It's important that the committee go to those areas and listen to what the people have to say. If we lose this policy.... Governments can make changes in a lot of things, but if you change this, it's over. You cannot come back.
That's why I truly hope that we get support and are able to travel to those communities, because if we do not travel to those communities and bring the recommendations back to the minister in order to save the owner-operator and fleet separation policy, these communities will not be there.