Mr. Speaker, these vague promises will not make fish appear in the boats of east coast families.
Fleet separation is crucial for small-scale fishers. We are talking about over 10,000 independent fishers, over 20,000 crew members and thousands of other indirect jobs in our coastal communities. Putting an end to fleet separation will kill tens of thousands of jobs.
Will the minister protect east coast jobs or is he going to sacrifice the fishery to benefit large corporations?