Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the hon. member on his first question in the House and his first question as critic on fisheries.
The Pacific salmon treaty was in fact negotiated and signed in 1985 during the Shamrock summit in between verses of When Irish Eyes are Smiling .
The purpose of it was to get it there in a hurry because the then prime minister wished to have something to show for that meeting. It was defective then because indeed the provisions only lasted for seven years and had to be renegotiated on an annual basis thereafter.