Thank you, Mr. Chair.
These harvesters are set to go out on the water within the next few days. Their livelihoods and their investments are at stake. Surely the minister can take stronger action than what she has done on this, rather than just repeating what has already been said, which is that they're not going to enforce it this year. The key piece here is “this year”. There's no certainty there.
As I said, the vessels, the equipment on these vessels and the infrastructure to support them are a multi-year investment and a multi-year process. These harvesters need certainty as soon as possible. Once they hit the water, they're busy people. If they're out on the water, they don't have time to follow what's happening at the committee or when the witnesses appear. They have to rely on what happens once they hit shore again or what they hear on the airwaves. They need some certainty before they hit the water this year, and the minister has the authority to do that. Why won't she?