Mr. Speaker, during the last federal election the Minister of Natural Resources sent out an election flyer that made a promise on foreign overfishing. On foreign overfishing, this is what the minister's election flyer said, “The Prime Minister came to this province and promised to do whatever it took to end foreign overfishing on the nose and tail of the Grand Banks, including custodial management”.
The Prime Minister has yet to fulfill that election promise.
Last month the government held an international conference in St. John's to talk about foreign overfishing, but little came from that conference except talk. People in the fishing industry said that this conference was more about politics than progress.
The fisheries on the nose and tail of the Grand Banks continue to be pillaged on a daily basis. The time for talk is over. When will the Prime Minister take concrete action on custodial management and fulfill his election promise to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador?