Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Minister.
As you know, in 2019 this committee put forward a report on west coast fisheries sharing risks and benefits based on a beneficial licence model for west coast owner-operators. Sound recommendations were brought forward to this government as a result.
I recently attended, along with my colleagues Mr. Hardie and Mr. Arnold, a conference in Victoria: the Fisheries for Communities conference. We heard from fishers—indigenous and non-indigenous—processors and researchers on the impacts of the consolidation of west coast fishing licences into the hands of large, wealthy corporations, whose profits siphon funding and resources from coastal communities and local fishers. We heard, as one example, the impacts on Prince Rupert. This used to be a fishing hub, and still is, but many of the resources and amenities for commercial fish harvesters are no longer available.
I have asked this before, Minister, and I want to ask again, because I'm not seeing the implementation of the recommendations from this report. I want to ask you when we'll move forward with licensing policy reform that prioritizes local fishers and coastal communities instead of propping up corporate and speculative-investor ownership of fishing licences and quotas.