Mr. Speaker, in a moment I will be asking for unanimous consent. There has been a considerable amount of misinformation on that side of the House in regard to the minister's decision to award the lucrative surf clam contract to his colleague's brother and those with close family ties to the Liberal Party of Canada.
The minister, along with the Prime Minister, have repeatedly said this was about reconciliation, and they have misrepresented the previous government's commitment to the indigenous participation with this fishery.
Yesterday at committee the minister's most senior staff acknowledged the commitment of the previous government to aboriginal participation in this fishery. In order to clear up the government's inaccurate misrepresentation once and for all, I would like to seek unanimous consent to table the Government of Canada 2015 news release, which states:
With this increase in TAC, the Integrated Fisheries Management Plan provision for new entrants has been triggered and, as such, Fisheries and Oceans Canada is commencing a process to introduce a new entrant or new entrants to the fishery. This process includes consultation with the current licence holder, industry and First Nations and will conclude in the coming weeks.