Regardless of the model that is chosen, the first thing to do would be to avoid creating an entity that would sow discord or create division. I say that because there is already far too much distrust within the industry and among the fishers themselves, unfortunately. It's sometimes hard to get consensus on the issues. We're seeing it right now, and we've seen it with the redfish announcements.
In our region, there will soon be an announcement about adding lobster fishing licences, which creates a lot of uncertainty. There will be a lot of discontent, and it could even lead to chaos, unfortunately. People in the industry have trouble thinking long term.
When we're in the midst of fishing season, we don't take the time to attend forums, express our opinions and figure out how we could do better to ensure the future of the industry.
Mr. Cormier, for your information, the Fisheries Act talks about ways to protect coastal communities, but the main emphasis is on preserving the resource and using all necessary means to do so.
I realize that nothing is perfect. However, I think the way the current system works indicates that we could probably have done better, at least since 2020. That's as far back as my data go.
Climate change is not the whole story. Couldn't we find ways, as we are already doing at the Canadian Independent Fish Harvesters Federation, to address common challenges? We could at least solve some problems.