Thank you, Mr. Chair.
It seems highly unusual to me that the committee should spend this much time looking at a government budget line or a program. Although I certainly support anything we can do to restore our Pacific salmon stocks, I believe it's beyond the scope of the committee to determine how the government spends those dollars; that's the department's work.
Mr. Chair, can Mr. Hardie provide a little more background on why he thinks this is necessary? The Pacific salmon study has been dragging on for such a great length of time that I don't know whether we will ever see the end of it if we keep tagging on new things. We've certainly heard testimony that conservation work is needed, but let's.... Can we maybe get a little more clarification from Mr. Hardie?
Thank you, Mr. Chair.