Thanks, Mr. Chair.
I would like to put forward an amendment, if possible. I'll do something different this time. I will speak to the changes, or relay the changes to everyone here, and then read the motion out with the changes so that it's a bit clearer for everyone.
I'd like to amend the motion in the following way: one, delete (a) and replace it with “That the elver fishery is a unique public safety and law enforcement environment with considerations including Indigenous treaty rights to fish that complicate attempts to stop unauthorized fishing”; two, delete (b); three, delete “created by this government” in paragraph (c); four, delete paragraph (d) and replace it with “the federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the provincial ministers of public safety, justice, and fisheries and aquaculture are working hard and in collaboration across jurisdictions to ensure that public safety is maintained in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick this elver season”; five, delete “and call on the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and Canadian Coast Guard to immediately reopen the elver fishery” and replace it with “That this committee call on the government to accelerate the adoption of new regulations for the elver fishery so that the 2025 season can open as scheduled.”
I'll read the motion with the changes, and then I'll circulate it in both official languages, if that has not already been done. It reads: “That, regarding Minister Diane Lebouthillier's decision to close the legal elver harvest of 2024, the committee finds that: (a) the elver fishery is a unique public safety and law enforcement environment with considerations including indigenous treaty rights to fish that complicate attempts to stop unauthorized fishing; (b) closing the elver fishery has resulted in 1,100 job losses, harming rural Nova Scotian communities and the fishing industry as a whole, when Canadians are struggling with a cost of living crisis; (d) the federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, and the provincial ministers of public safety, justice, and fisheries and aquaculture are working hard and in collaboration across jurisdictions to ensure that public safety is maintained in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick this elver season; given these findings, the committee therefore agrees to report these findings to the House; and that this committee call on the government to accelerate the adoption of new regulations for the elver fishery so that the 2025 season can open as scheduled.”