Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise and follow up on my question of February 23 about the Cobequid fish hatchery which served northern Nova Scotia for 60 years and was very much a part of the community. Then along came a new policy by the federal government to divest the fish hatcheries in Nova Scotia, a great new enlightened policy that would result in an expanded fish hatchery through private sector investment. The only problem was the fish hatchery did not survive that private sector divestiture. The company failed and the fish hatchery was wound down to virtually nothing.
It was amazing that when we had such a serious situation with our fisheries and so many different threats to the fisheries the government responded by selling off the fish hatcheries to companies that could not raise the revenue to make them viable. Even right from the very beginning, anybody who looked at the proposals on the divested fish hatcheries knew they would not work. Three hatcheries in Nova Scotia failed and ended up reverting back to the government.
The government wound down the Cobequid fish hatchery at a time when we needed it very badly. Everyone knew the fisheries were at risk. Again, the response was to close the fish hatcheries or sell them off to companies that could not make them survive. The fish hatchery near Oxford, Nova Scotia, served the environment. The fishery provided jobs and was very much a part of the community for decades and decades. Again, it failed and reverted back to the government.
This is a really opportune time for the government to grab the agenda and do something really appropriate.
The inner Bay of Fundy salmon has been designated as a very distinct species of fish which only stays in the Bay of Fundy. Most salmon go to Greenland in the winter and spend time there. However this unique species of fish stays in the inner bay.
Therefore, I would like the minister to consider and even accept the proposal that the Cobequid fish hatchery be dedicated to this endangered species. The government has a responsibility for endangered species. Here is a perfect opportunity to deal with it. We have a fish hatchery that needs to be upgraded and enhanced and we have a need for the fish. It is a perfect opportunity.
I hope the government will respond to this repeated request to upgrade the Cobequid fish hatchery with a very positive answer. It is an opportunity to solve two problems, one of an endangered species and one to deal with the Cobequid fish hatchery, which served our community for so long.
Once again I ask the minister to enhance the Cobequid fish hatchery, reinstate it, bring it back to where it was and help it serve the community like it did for so long?