Thank you, Mr. Chair.
It's been mentioned a couple of times by some of our members the visit that we had from the B.C. young fishers. I want to take a moment, and perhaps there may be a question at the end of this, but I really want to read into the record and for the officials who are here some insight and feelings that the B.C. young fishers put into a thank-you note to me after our visit:
Thank you again for staying late after the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans hearings and taking the time to listen to our concerns regarding the future of our fisheries on the West Coast.... Chelsea, Ryan, Ross, Ocean, Graham and Fraser shared their stories so familiar to all of us other active fishermen that travelled to Ottawa. We covered a lot of topics [and we are so grateful to have that opportunity]. An unrestricted transferability of licences and quotes has led to the privatization of a Canadian common resource. For us active fishermen, this means unattainable entry costs and unsustainable revenue, creating labour shortages, safety risks, and an aging fishing fleet. As families and members of coastal communities, we are losing our intergenerational knowledge and our connection to the ocean, and the backbone of our communities. Our livelihoods and way of life continue to be threatened.... It is critical the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans [and our department] visit our communities to conduct a review of West Coast policy. Having the decisions being made in Ottawa and away from the voices and hearts of our communities has been a major contributor to the decline of our communities and livelihoods. There are many people in the commercial fishing industry who have given up or on the brink of giving up. These people are our mentors, leaders in quality and sustainable harvesting and honest, hard working people that our industry can't afford to lose.
Mr. Chair, those are powerful words. I think all of us here share the sentiment that when those young fishers came here, they were hard-working. They were looking to their future, and all they were doing was trying to impart to some leaders within our country and within our communities that we must do better.
Ms. Reid, Mr. Thomson and Mr. Anderson, I ask in response to that, how are we going to do better for these people?