Mr. Speaker, this tradition made it into the application process for the government's fish harvester benefit as a recognition that the traditional wage earner COVID benefits did not work for fishermen. The application the government put forward stated five situations which qualified for benefits. It recognized the centuries of pay structure for fishermen. DFO's application stated one of the types of fishermen's pay that was eligible, “sharepersons...who are crew members who earn a share of the revenue”, which is bang on. Therefore, why is the government taking it back from them? It is bait and switch, the Liberal approach to everything.
The federal government is demanding that 4,193 Canadian fishermen repay $25.8 million in COVID-relief assistance. More than half the fishermen issued overpayment letters are in Nova Scotia.
Travis Nickerson of Clark's Harbour in my riding received an overpayment letter. Travis said that the situation was a mess. He said, “They gave me something when I really needed it, and now they want it back.” Nickerson is paid a share of the catch. He saw his income drop in the first half of 2020 when COVID-19 crushed the demand for lobster worldwide.
The share-based earnings are evident, and there is record of employment, like all other fishermen. It is easy to see, yet the government seems to have its own departments fighting each other. It is time for the Minister of Fisheries to step up and do her job for all fishermen.
I will be relentless in speaking out for our fishermen, our forestry workers, our agriculture workers and our tourism businesses. All are being ignored and harmed by the government. When the chapter of the government is written in the history books, it will be a slim chapter of achievement. It will likely be titled with that great quote from Kim Campbell “Style without substance.”
As my friend Peter MacKay once said, it will take more than fancy socks and curly locks to run a government that cares about the hard-working Canadians in our resource industry.
This war on the resource industries has to stop. It is time for the government to recognize that the social programs we love, the jobs in Toronto office towers and the competitive advantage we have as a country are all as a result of our resources. Destroying them puts all of what we cherish at risk.