I'm speaking in favour of the motion. I note the last time we met was March 12, at which time I believe we were discussing herring bait. The officials refused to answer any questions on one of the key issues, which was seal predation.
I also note there's a long list of proposed studies we were going to embark upon which we assumed we'd be able to get done this year: sport fishing, seal predation, recreational fishing, illegal and unreported fishing, fishing gear, mislabelling, and Fraser steelhead, which Mr. Arnold brought forward.
How are we ever going to get the work of this committee done if we don't meet and if we don't have the ability to call the minister forward to respond to our legitimate concerns? We have an existential west coast salmon threat here in British Columbia that we're all concerned about as Canadians. I would be just as concerned with some of the threats on the east coast.
This committee was recently recalled. Yes, these are unprecedented times, and unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures. Setting a number of days each month that we meet and setting a schedule when the minister would be able to appear before us is eminently reasonable, in my mind.
Now think about it. The minister has had three months when she's had virtually no engagement with our committee. These are times when she should be fully briefed on the issues we have raised at committee. Surely her appearing before the committee on a regular basis isn't too much of a stretch for her.
In the interest of transparency, I think we need to have access to the minister on a reasonable schedule going forward. On that basis, I'm supporting Mr. Arnold's motion.