Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question and the comments. We had some very good submissions to the committee dealing with the issues but people were asking questions for which they should have been able to get clear answers. One of the things I found most interesting is that we did not get a clear answer on whether people are allowed to fish in a marine conservation area. That was one of the questions asked. The official answer was yes, but of course that is not really the case.
If members listened to my speech and my analysis they will know that people can fish if they make application and it is approved, under this legislation, by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Minister of Canadian Heritage. That is a far different answer. The way it works now in most marine jurisdictions is that fishing is open unless it has been closed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Who is managing the fisheries? It is the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The minister of heritage is not managing the fishery nor should she be.
We were also asked, and we in turn asked, who the lead agency is when there are multiple jurisdictions looking after marine conservation areas. There was not a clear answer on that question either. There obviously should be. There has to be. There must be. It might not always be the same agency or department. If we end up with three we may have to zone our marine conservation areas as to who is responsible for which ones in terms of being the lead. This is very frustrating to marine conservation proponents as well.
Even though we had the expertise in the room that we thought was appropriate under the circumstances, we did not get clarification on the important questions related to the legislation. There should be a whole lot more people getting a whole lot more concerned about the legislation. Part of the problem is that it has been around so long that nobody takes it seriously any more. One day it is going to be dropped on them and then they will be concerned.