Mr. Speaker, I was disappointed that two issues of great importance to Newfoundland and Labrador during the recent federal election campaign were not even mentioned in the throne speech.
The equalization program claws back the lion's share of our provincial offshore oil revenues. In response to our Conservative Party policy to eliminate the clawback, the Prime Minister also guaranteed that Newfoundland and Labrador would be allowed to keep 100% of its offshore oil revenues.
The Prime Minister also promised tougher action on foreign overfishing on areas of the Grand Banks outside the 200 mile limit, including the imposition of Canadian custodial management of those areas if necessary.
These commitments were made in the pressure cooker of an election campaign and I had hoped that they would have been reconfirmed in the throne speech. The election is now over. The time for promises is over. Now it is time for action.