Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join with a number of my colleagues on this side of the House and across the way as we debate Bill C-302.
I preface my remarks by saying that my northern Ontario riding abuts Lake Superior and Lake Huron. The commercial fishery is something that is important to my area as well. Even though an inland fishery, the Great Lakes are among the great waters of the world. The commercial fishers who extract fish from this resource are among the finest fishers anywhere.
Although I believe the genesis of this legislation relates more to the difficulties facing fishing communities and fisher persons on the east and west coasts, it is important that the House be reminded that there are a great number of people involved in the commercial fishing trade in the Great Lakes of Ontario. I hope they will take some comfort in the comments being made today that their concerns will be addressed as well.
Let me come to Bill C-302. We have heard that while this bill is well intentioned there are many flaws. This is not unusual when one attempts to make a simplistic response to a very complex problem. This is not to denigrate in any way the initiative of the sponsoring member, but the issues are complex.
When it comes to our fish resources the most important thing is that sustainability be our primary objective. It does no one any good and no fishing community any good if the long term sustainability of the fish stocks on which they depend is compromised. As the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has said, above all we must ensure the viability of this fish resource. It is only from that principle we can ensure the long term viability of the communities, businesses and individuals that depend on it.
As a number of my colleagues on this side have said, fishers do not need a bill of rights. They need a healthy fishery, a fishery that is sustainable and that can support fishermen today and their children, grandchildren and future generations.
The average citizen who is not involved in commercial fishing is well aware through the media and news stories of the plight facing fishing communities and fishers. While there may be some merit to ensuring that fishermen are involved in planning for sustainable use of the resource, I do not believe that a bill of rights for fishermen is the way to go.
The goal of the government is to protect and conserve Canada's oceans and great lake resources on all fronts. As the minister has said, fish must come first so that people can then be taken care of.
No so-called bill of rights will protect fishers when the fish are in jeopardy or gone altogether. A bill of rights cannot prevent the disappearance of fish stocks. Only sound management, conservation based management can do that.
I would like to spend my remaining few minutes outlining some of the initiatives the government has taken. It is not by one silver bullet that all the problems can be solved but rather by a series of well targeted and well managed programs that objectives when it comes to preserving a sustainable resource of fish can be maintained.
Members opposite may be quick to point out what has not been done, but we know that politics is the art of the possible and much has been accomplished. We are living in a world where real achievement comes through patience, persistence and negotiation, not grandstanding. So much has been done that I can only highlight some of those accomplishments.
Last June was a particularly productive month. On June 19 the minister announced the $250 million Atlantic groundfish licence retirement program, which is part of the federal government's $730 million worth of measures for restructuring an adjustment in the Atlantic groundfish industry. The licence retirement program will help to reduce the number of groundfish enterprises in Atlantic Canada and Quebec. It provides financial assistance to groundfish licence holders who retire their licences and leave the commercial fishery.
Also in June the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Minister of Human Resources Development announced $400 million worth of additional measures to restructure and rebuild the Pacific salmon fishery and to help people adjust to the reality of a smaller conservation based fishery. There is no denying the scientific evidence shows that wild coho are declining and that some stocks are at extreme risk.
As the minister said at the time, “permanent change is necessary for the future of fish and fishermen. We must get ahead of the curve and shift to a conservation based fishery”.
Canada made a major breakthrough on the east coast in June when member states of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization followed Canada's lead and agreed to a number of strong conservation measures. Among these was NASCO's formal adoption of the precautionary approach in Atlantic salmon fisheries management. Canada had already adopted a precautionary approach in its 1998 Atlantic salmon management plans. Greenland joined us in this approach when it agreed to restrict its 1998 fishery.
Progress is being made. It may seem at times that progress is slow but such is the way of the world. The inexorable flow is toward a better and better understanding of our fish resources and a better and better approach to sustainable conservation.
Just rounding out those June accomplishments, the minister announced that the Davis Strait turbot fishery had been fully Canadianized and that no foreign vessels would be used in this fishery. This should help allay the fears of those still raising the spectre of foreign overfishing.
The five year management plan the minister introduced was developed with the advice and recommendations of the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board and the views of the industry. These measures and numerous others are quite a record of achievement, one that demonstrates conviction and determination to put conservation first. It is not enough to say that mistakes were made in the past. What good is it to criticize the mistakes of the past and then advocate the same behaviour today?
We have to change our behaviour, as painful as that may be. That is what the minister has been telling Canada's fishermen. I believe that Canadians in my constituency, in particular in the riding of Algoma—Manitoulin which as I have said is a beautiful Great Lakes riding, understand the importance of making change. They trust that the government will make change in a responsible, caring way. Above all, as a government we have always tried to put people first. While I would be the last one to say we have never made any mistakes, I would put our record as a government up against any record of any government anywhere in the world, particularly against recent past governments of this country.
A bill of rights for fishers is certainly not necessary, especially when we consider the record of the government.