Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My question is one of policy, and I want some clarification.
There seems to be some insinuation that if DFO moved to a policy that was more compatible with the way DFO licenses and oversees the east coast fishery in Atlantic Canada, that would solve the labour problem at this particular plant.
In maritime Canada, there is no policy within DFO that dictates where the product must be sold or where it goes. For instance, 65% of the seafood caught in P.E.I. leaves the province to be processed elsewhere. I'm not so sure a policy change that would mimic what's done on the east coast would address your issue. Could you speak to that? There's no control of that product. It moves to where processing is more efficient on the east coast, even though the licences are controlled by independent fishers, so that policy change would not address the issue that's affecting this particular plant.
Could Joy or someone else comment on that ?