I'll discuss the changes. Do you want me to read the whole amendment as is? Okay.
Number one is that we delete (a) and replace it with the following: “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”.
Number two is that we delete (b).
Number three is that we delete “created by this government” in (c).
Number four is that we delete (d) and replace it with the following: “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 jurisdiction to ensure that public safety is maintained in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick this elver season”.
Number five is that we delete “call on the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard to immediately reopen the elver fishery” and replace it with the following: “calls 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 full motion with the amendment:
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; and
(c) 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 jurisdiction to ensure that public safety is maintained in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick this elver season;
and, given these findings, the committee therefore agrees to report these findings to the house, and calls on the government to accelerate the adoption of new regulations for the elver fishery so that the 2025 season can open as scheduled.