Madam Speaker, my question for my colleague, and again I would welcome him back, is hopefully an issue that is near and dear to both of our hearts. The commercial fishing fleet on B.C.'s coast has gone through a decimating number of years, one after another, watching hundreds of fishermen choose not to return to the industry.
We have been attempting a small but significant measure with the government. It involves waiving some of the fees that fishing fleets have to pay to the federal government every year. They can add up to some hundreds if not thousands of dollars on boats that are not making any money. As a result, boats have not been kept up to all the safety requirements needed. We have watched the actual fatalities increase over the last number of years in the fishing fleet as fishermen no longer have the money to spend on the extra pieces.
The comments in the Speech from the Throne to the larger fishing community were very few and not even vague, just disappointing. Exactly what will he be looking for in the fiscal update that will give the fishing community some sense of hope for the future after so many years of near ruinous fishing seasons?