Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.
When the Atlantic groundfishery was announced last year, $300 million was allocated for capacity reduction. To date one-third of
this allocation has been spent. How many licences have been retired? Two hundred and fifty-two out of 14,000. That represents less than 2 per cent of the groundfish licences on the east coast, nowhere near the 50 per cent reduction that was targeted.
Given that the minister has already spent one-third of his budget for a capacity reduction of only 2 per cent, can he explain how he intends to reach his 50 per cent target?