Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Hillsborough for his speech on Bill C-98, the oceans act.
It was interesting that just a few weeks ago I had the privilege of visiting Atlantic Canada, his part of the great country we live in. I had the opportunity to visit and dialogue with many inshore fishermen. I discovered somewhat to my surprise that while our current minister of fisheries seems to enjoy a lot of popularity among Canadians who have the impression that the minister is standing up for the Canadian fishing industry, the inshore fishermen I was speaking with in Atlantic Canada were appalled by the actions of the DFO and of course the minister of fisheries who is responsible for the DFO.
These hard working, entrepreneurial people who make their living from the sea feel there is a conspiracy to put them out of business in the way the quotas are structured. They are given quotas to catch fish when the fish are not catchable and there is no quota for the species that is available. They have a quota for a species that is not even in the waters they are allowed to fish. When the other species come in the quotas are reversed. It is so bad that they cannot even pay for the fuel to take the boat out into the water to go after these fish.
These fishermen are also very concerned about the implementation of access fees which I understand would be made possible if Bill C-98 is passed. That will be the trigger which allows the DFO to impose access fees on the fishermen. It will make barely profitable enterprises unprofitable.
I ask the member for Hillsborough if he would stand up and vote for his constituents rather than voting the party line in supporting this bill. Perhaps he needs an opportunity-