Mr. Speaker, the minister talks about stabilizing access and certainly that is important. However at a time when crab stocks in area 12 and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence are in decline, the minister, in addition to increasing the number of permanent licences in area 12, transferred fishermen from area 18 in Nova Scotia into area 12.
Why, when stocks were in decline, did he transfer fishermen from another area into area 12? Why now? Was he trying to provoke confrontation?