Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question and for the fantastic support he gives fishermen and other constituents in his riding.
The hon. member is right. The regulatory amendments were recently prepublished in Part I of The Canada Gazette and a final date for comments was May 13.
The department has received many comments and my officials are now in the process of reviewing them and re-evaluating the regulatory proposals in light of the comments and the proposals received.
My instruction to the officials is to make sure the many comments are reviewed with great care for the institution of these fees, of which the total has to be collected. The consideration will be for all plants and in particular for small plants so that smaller plants are not harmed to the extent possible that we can offer any relief.
I thank the hon. member for his question. I assure him we will give this matter great care and attention.