Mr. Chair, we do not deny that there is ice in Newfoundland. Of course there is ice in Newfoundland, but in the past the Government of Canada has occasionally provided financial assistance to harvesters where there were unusually severe ice conditions that persisted well into the fishing season and the fishers were not able to reach their grounds and earn the income.
Most recently, such assistance was provided in 2007. Ice conditions in 2009 have been much less severe.