Mr. Speaker, not to set a fine point on this, I want to make sure the hon. member knows and the House realizes that it is 500,000 people in the communities. The number of commercial fishermen, including workers in the plants, is 20,000. I am sure he would not want to leave that impression.
The parliamentary secretary met with these concerned groups yesterday. It is my intention to meet with them after question period to hear their concerns.
I also remind the hon. member there are many groups in his area that support the fishermen. I quote one British Columbia fisherman: "Fleet reduction is too important to the survival of the west coast salmon industry not to be implemented".
I will stick tough with this program and it will continue.