Mr. Speaker, I did not intend to make an intervention tonight but I heard that the Liberal caucus was yearning for more NDP and opposition speeches and I did not want them to go without.
I have a few things I want to put on the record. First, it is very nice to see so many government members paying attention to what members of the opposition have to say. I want to congratulate the government on having more than its usual one or two members present in the House. I did not mean to drive the hon. member out by congratulating him.
Earlier in the evening I think the hon. member for Sackville--Musquodoboit Valley--Eastern Shore had occasion to remind the House that this unfortunately is an old problem. It is not something that we have just come to know about, although it appears that with the particular problem that was the occasion for this emergency debate, the appropriate ministers of the government knew about it back in September but did nothing about it and did not share that information with parliament. Instead they waited to deal with that information at an international meeting.
It is only now that the House is able to be seized of the impending crisis with respect to these particular fish stocks. The fact is that we have known for a long time, not just Canada but the world, that we are engaged in a form of overfishing and overconsumption not only of fish but of many other resources. Perhaps what we need to turn our attention to ultimately is the fact that it is our way of life and economic system which demands this kind of growth and that kind of consumption.