Thank you, Minister.
Minister, many have come before this committee with great fears about the future of the industry. Many argue out there and speculate, as they did 20 years ago, that accommodating a Mi'kmaq moderate livelihood fishery would ruin the fishing industry in the Atlantic.
Last week a major development happened when a Mi'kmaq coalition led by Chief Terry Paul in Membertou announced plans to buy Clearwater, the largest fishing company in Canada. The coalition borrowed millions and will be paying off this loan for the next 25 to 30 years.
Minister, do you feel the Mi'kmaq coalition investment of a quarter of a billion dollars into the fishing industry will ease some of the concerns about Mi'kmaq fishermen depleting the very resource that they have just invested so heavily in?