Mr. Speaker, each member of this Chamber is charged with the responsibility of coming to the House and sharing the importance of various issues from the ridings they represent with other decision-makers. Certainly the people in Cape Breton—Canso have charged me with the responsibility of bringing what is going on in the region to this Chamber.
With the difficulty we are facing in the lobster industry and the entire fishery, many families, many Canadians, are facing hardships they have never experienced before.
When we speak with fishermen at the end of the wharf, whether it is in Torbay, Glace Bay, Grand Digue, Grand Etang, Wadden's Cove or Baxters Cove, the fishery is in a great deal of peril. The fishermen are concerned about the lack of interest on the part of the government and the lack of investment. The recent investment of $65 million does very little to impact on their personal situation. The fishermen are also concerned about the helpers who work on the boats with them and whether they are going to qualify for employment insurance following this meagre season.
When the revenues are down, the catch is down, the price is down, fishermen have to cut back on their expenses. Sometimes the first one to go is the helper on the boat and they have to do more by themselves.
These people are certainly going to be challenged in the weeks ahead, as they are faced with the reality of not having enough to qualify for employment insurance.
I have spoken with people in the industry. I spoke with Sandy Evans today. He is a great champion for workers within the fishery and the industry. I have spoken with Judy Smith and Patsy Jamieson from the Canso area, who I do not really agree with sometimes, but we have had some very clear and frank discussions. However, one thing we can agree on unanimously is that people are going to be hurting this year. People are going to face hardship this year if actions are not taken, even if there are interim actions to address the current situation within the fishery.
If the government does not move, if the government does not take some type of action, people are going to be hurting.
The position of this party has been clear. Our leader has articulated this very clearly to the government. It was something we put forward and we would have hoped the government would have been able to act on it. A uniform national standard of 360 hours is something we continue to advocate for. We think this would be a great stimulus to put money in the hands of those who most need it.
These people are facing peril in very challenging times. I know that the parliamentary secretary is a good, decent honourable man. What is his government going to tell these people when they are up against it, when they cannot put food in fridge when they do not qualify for employment insurance? What is the response of this government going to be to those people?