Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank everyone, even those on the government side, for speaking on the debate today. They keep talking about conservation. The fact is that for 450 years Canadians on the east coast, especially in Newfoundland and Labrador, knew conservation techniques long before this government ever realized it was an issue.
The member from Ontario mentioned the TAGS program and the post-adjustment programs. In reality what has happened is that inshore fishermen whose livelihoods have been there for close to 500 years are being given anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000 and told that's it, time to move away. All that has to happen is for anyone to go to Catalina, Newfoundland to see bordered up houses where the people have just abandoned them. Imagine if people in downtown Toronto, Etobicoke or in areas like that were told to abandon their homes. Here is $3,000, move somewhere else. It is an absolute shame.
The parliamentary secretary realizes what this motion does and the member for Burin—St. George's has echoed it exactly. Last year I moved a motion in committee that the finance department forego the cuts to DFO because we required the funding in DFO and move ahead in science and research and other development areas within DFO in our coastal and inland communities. Unfortunately the Liberal members on that committee did not vote that motion in. My understanding of their commitment to further funding for DFO is rather lacking in terms of that.
I would be remiss if I did not mention our inland communities of Manitoba, the Great Lakes, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Northwest Territories and Yukon, as fewer salmon are going up the Yukon river because of our dispute with the Alaskans.
I will be asking for unanimous consent to make this motion votable. I know very well that if I put a monetary value on this issue it would not have a hope in God's green acre of going anywhere. It would just be a symbolic gesture. This standing committee has issued six reports but we have had no action on them at this time. In fact, a few of them have been disregarded totally. It is a symbolic gesture to give hope to the inshore fishermen who only want to earn a livelihood so they can answer to their families and their communities.
The corporations are answerable to shareholders and need an ever increasing profit. A lot of inshore fishermen have been bought off and told to leave while the allocation of the resource has been given to larger corporations. It is really gut wrenching to go to those communities and see the heartbreak going on. All this was was a symbolic gesture to honour and respect them.
With the indulgence of the House, I will be asking for unanimous consent to make this motion votable.
I wish the government side would honour the motion in order to honour the men and women and the workers of the resource who risk their lives every day in order to put food on our tables.
I thank the members for Burin—St. George's, Saanich—Gulf Islands, Huron—Bruce and Malpeque for speaking to the motion today.