Mr. Speaker, I cannot remain calmly silent about the statements just made by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.
We have been given many opportunities to address the Fraser River salmon matter. The responses we received yesterday, during the minister's appearance before the committee, are indicative of the fact that neither the government nor the department has anything to be proud of in this matter.
I have a very simple question for the parliamentary secretary. What measures is the department taking to deal with the situation in 2005? The problem is that the Fraser River salmon is endangered, although not to the same degree as other threatened species. It is endangered for many reasons, in particular, the inaction or lack of good management by the department, which hesitates before taking any real action.
I do not get the impression that any immediate, concrete measures are planned for 2005. I will give the parliamentary secretary a chance to prove otherwise. I want him to give us a detailed response on the measures in order to reassure us about this situation. So far the responses have been rather vague, just like the action. The situation will likely not improve and an umpteenth report on the same issue might announce the total disappearance of salmon in the Fraser River. I want to give the parliamentary secretary the opportunity to explain what measures will be taken in 2005.