Mr. Speaker, I agree with the hon. member for Gaspé that the issues raised by Minister Landry are serious and require careful consideration.
He should also know that the whole question of federal and provincial roles and responsibilities and the management of marine fisheries is of key concern to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.
Far from ignoring the Quebec government's proposal I can assure my hon. colleague that the questions raised by Quebec are being carefully analysed. I do not believe that the hon. member would expect an immediate response to a proposal that calls for a fundamental restructuring of federal and provincial roles and responsibilities in the marine fishery.
I understand that the Quebec government is seeking increased responsibilities in marine fisheries management and has devoted a great deal of energy to formulate its proposal. However, given the multilateral nature of the Atlantic fishery and the federal government's responsibility to ensure the conservation of the resource, I believe that his request needs to be addressed in the context of multilateral discussions of fisheries.
For example, it is essential that we strive to reach a federal-provincial consensus on historic shares that will meet the needs of all stakeholders before we can move on to consider specific proposals.
The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has also indicated that in order to consolidate the views of all stakeholders on licensing reform and processing capacity reduction he will be launching an Atlantic round table in early 1995.
I trust that this series of round table consultations will offer an opportunity to the Quebec government as well as to the other Atlantic provinces to play a constructive role in the design of the fishery of the future.
Finally, I would like to respond to the comments made to the Quebec government regarding overlap and duplication in federal and provincial programs and services. As part of the government wide program review exercised, the Department of
Fisheries and Oceans has undertaken a thorough review of its programs with a view to maximizing efficiencies and eliminating costly duplications.
Extensive consultations have led to the establishment of important co-operative agreements in the fisheries sector which demonstrate that federal and provincial fisheries programs can harmonize without putting at risk local interests with tangible benefits to taxpayers and clients.
The Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans remains firmly committed to the path we embarked on some months ago which is designed to achieve new efficiencies and forge new and productive partnerships of all the stakeholders in the fishery.