Mr. Speaker, speaking in the House on Tuesday, the federal Minister of Fisheries admitted that his plan for managing snow crab in 1995 changed the historic shares of the provinces, but he maintained that the measure would be temporary, just for this year.
This is a complete contradiction of a statement made by his secretary of state in Shediac on April 23, which indicated that the plan might be extended as long as the snow crab biomass remained stable.
Because of this measure, Quebec will lose 400 tonnes of crab and 40 factory jobs, while fishermen in the Gaspé and the Magdalen Islands will lose three million dollars in income. And the minister has the nerve to claim that his decision is fair to Quebec fishermen.
We are beginning to understand why the federal government insists on maintaining its right to manage fish quotas and continues to ignore Quebec's demands. Quebec fishermen, who are caught in the middle, are feeling the impact of this policy and are not about to forget it.