Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is right. The Great Lakes sport fishery is a multibillion dollar industry and it ought to be acknowledged by the Government of Canada when it makes policies in fisheries and oceans.
For that reason I am pleased to announce on behalf of the government today a 33 per cent increase in our financial commitment to preserving this multibillion dollar industry.
The control program comes under a joint U.S.-Canada commission. Recently I had discussions with the U.S. ambassador to discuss this matter, among others, and I an confident that the United States will announce a similar increase on their side as well.