Mr. Speaker, I wish to assure the hon. member that the government is very interested and concerned about the control of sea lampreys in the Great Lakes.
In this fiscal year we will be contributing $3.8 million which basically restores the level to that of earlier years. There was an increase last year but we are going back to earlier levels.
It is the view of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans that in all fisheries the use of public resources, particularly those managed by public expense, should really command a licence fee. To that end, we are dealing with the province of Ontario to look for ways to further assist in the control of predators like the sea lamprey, for
more effective control in sports fishing and other kinds of fishing that are affected by these predators.