Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister of fisheries on his B.C. fleet reduction policy, a policy that has been strongly condemned by fishers, coastal communities and the B.C. New Democrat government.
Why did the minister ignore the recommendations of the Cruickshank commission? Will the minister now agree to reconsider this policy, in particular the stackable area licensing, the totally inadequate amount of buyback and the absence of habitat protection and enhancement? Will the minister recognize that his policy will have a particularly devastating impact on small owner operators and on coastal communities in British Columbia?