Mr. Speaker, my question is also for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.
The Government of Canada has provided hundreds of millions of dollars to the east coast fishery through a variety of programs for the last decade.
Recently the minister announced an $80 million licence buy-back in British Columbia. He is aware that virtually all of this money was contributed by west coast fishermen through licence fee increases they have had to pay for the past 25 years.
Can the minister of fisheries explain the disparity of treatment between the east and west coast fishing industries by his department where billions of dollars are dedicated to the east coast but only $80 million is dedicated to the west coast, which is really only a return of fishermen's contributions in the first place?