Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague a question, but first, I have a few comments to make.
When we look at what happened with TAGS, does it not resemble what happened with employment insurance? The governments changed direction and paid out a lot of money to companies for technological change. Once the technological changes were made, people were laid off. People got laid off, and then there was the fisheries problem.
What happened to the employment insurance of people who were laid off? They were told the government did not want to pay employment insurance benefits any more, that no one was working, that their assistance was being cut and that the problem was that they did not want to work and were lazy. That is what the Liberal government said.
Now there are not enough fish, perhaps as a result of overfishing. Today the government is changing direction and doing the same thing again. Now it says it has no money, that this is not the way to do things, that it will cut off families and children and that they will no longer be entitled to eat. It is rather irresponsible on the part of the federal government, as my colleague was saying earlier, for it to sit for four years, rather than give the money immediately, and do nothing. At the end of the four years it then says it will be cutting off aid and has nothing for them. Is the government not being irresponsible? Is my colleague prepared to support me on this?
The hon. member said earlier, and I agree with him, that we have to keep giving money so these people can put food on the table, that we then have to find a solution to the problem instead of abandoning them. That is one of my questions.
I have another quick question. I would like him to be brief too in order to answer my two questions. He came to New Brunswick. What happened to the committee, which did not invite people—