Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this motion moved by the member for Cardigan. As I said a little earlier, I appreciate the interest he has in all fisheries issues. I know he stands up for the people of Prince Edward Island when he addresses these fisheries issues, perhaps only superceded by my colleague, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, who also hails from Prince Edward Island.
The motion reads as follows:
That, in the opinion of the House, the government should implement a program to reduce the effort on the Atlantic Lobster Fishery to ensure a viable industry for future generations with a lobster license retirement plan, and provide adequate funding to remove a number of lobster fleets from the water by cancelling licenses.
Let me say at the outset that I do applaud his intentions, because having a viable, sustainable fishery, whether it be for lobster, crab, or Pacific salmon, is our government's highest priority. We are keenly aware of the real challenges that face this sector as a result of the global economic downturn.
The question before us as parliamentarians is, is the solution proposed by the member for Cardigan the right one? In fact, all responsible parliamentarians should be asking themselves that question with every piece of legislation, whether it be private members' bills or others that we see. It is our obligation, in fact, to ask ourselves whether there might be some unintended consequences from what is before us.
We need to ask ourselves, does what the member is proposing call for a course of action that could perhaps be counterproductive to the larger goals of the lobster industry or even to the country as a whole?
We need to ask ourselves, could it derail the progress that continues to be made in modernizing the lobster industry in this country?
These are legitimate questions that we will be asking. In fact, these are questions we are also addressing in the standing committee.
There is much about this motion that we have no difficulty with at all. It says, “That, in the opinion of the House, the government should implement a program to reduce the effort on the Atlantic Lobster Fishery”.
We think that is part of the solution. Many of the witnesses we heard on our recent travels said this as well.
It talks about ensuring a viable industry for future generations. That is what we want to do. The question is how we get there and what is the best way to get there.
Clearly the biggest problem facing the lobster industry at the moment is that demand and prices are quite low. In the wake of last fall's economic downturn, the bottom fell out of the international market for Canadian lobster. People are buying less lobster around the world, and in the United States, one of our main markets.
In fact, this spring, lobster season looks especially difficult because many processors have substantial inventories, mostly frozen lobster, known as popsicle packs, leftover from last year's harvest.
So not only is the demand falling on the one hand, but the supply is relatively high. Of course, that creates a problem in the market, and the price is quite low.
Let me assure the House that the government is working with the provinces to boost lobster marketing efforts. Perhaps I will get to refer to this later on, as we come back to this in the weeks ahead.
Clearly, in the short and medium term, lack of demand and low prices threaten the viability of many businesses in the lobster industry. Harvesters who rely on borrowed money to finance their operations are particularly vulnerable. They either need to repay their debts or need more access to capital to maintain and invest in their enterprises.
These are some of the things that our government has been working on. Clearly, the lobster industry faces a multitude of complex and interrelated problems, and there is no magic bullet solution. As we get to speak about this later, we will outline what our government is doing to address these challenges.