Thanks, Mr. Chair.
I concur with Mr. MacAulay's remarks. I certainly support his motion and I thank him for bringing it forward at this time. I would add that I think the number is now up to 39 fishing organizations that are now supportive of this motion and supportive of seeing this policy stay in place. They represent roughly, if I'm not mistaken, about 25,000 people from Quebec, Newfoundland—Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.I., and now even British Columbia, coming in.
It's not just MFU; it's FFAW, it's the Eastern Shore Fisherman's Protective Association. There's a long list of organizations that are extremely concerned with not only the threat and the possibility of losing this policy, but also the lack of consultation. I can't stress that enough. They do not feel that they were included.
Mr. Kamp, I understand your earlier comments about how there will be some who feel they have not been included in the consultation process. I agree that there will be those folks who always say that they didn't feel they were adequately consulted or given an opportunity, but when the overwhelming majority of people I talk to say in unison that they don't feel listened to, that they don't feel they were adequately consulted, as a politician, I listen to that very carefully, because that is a very important and strong message.
For me, when I did my recent tour to the east coast, that is what I heard loud and strong. They are extremely concerned about losing this policy, about losing their way of life, about participating in the economy in the way that they feel they are contributing.
Some of them do make a good living, but others make a modest living and others struggle. Still they want an opportunity to participate in this way of life that has been passed on for generations. They want to continue in that way of life, and I think it's our challenge as government, or as members of this place, to encourage and seek policies that would seek to improve that way of life, not the opposite.
I fear that if we remove this policy, if we go in the opposite direction from what this policy is in place to do, we will move in the opposite direction from the people who I spoke to, and certainly from that of the message from these 25,000 people, and there are many more. I know there are more, because this is just the beginning of the organizing against this move to so-called “modernization” of the fishery.
The comment I've heard is that there's nothing modern about the feudal system. That's how strongly some of the folks I have talked to feel. They believe this is the direction we're heading if we move to a system of corporatizing. These folks believe they are going to be the serfs that are a part of a corporate plan. That is strong language. That is how strongly and passionately these folks spoke to me when I listened to them over my days visiting in their communities, a number of communities in Nova Scotia and a number of communities in Newfoundland.
I know there is more consultation that I could have done, but just in that small amount of time in just those few places, that's the message I heard loud and strong, and I don't know how the minister could not have heard it if he did a legitimate consultation. If he did do that consultation, how could he not come to the conclusion that we need to maintain this policy and keep it in place?
If the direction the government is considering is to eliminate the policy and move away from the owner-operator, independent fisherman's way of life, then I think we do need to do a study, and it is imperative to do that study now.
I agree with the motion in front of us, and we'll be supporting it.
Thank you.