Gail Shea

[Business of Supply, May 28th, 2009]

Mr. Chair, as I have said before in the House, that was an administrative error. It should not have gone out under departmental letterhead.

[Business of Supply, May 28th, 2009]

Mr. Chair, I know that fishers are having a tough time in this economic downturn. What has happened in the markets is affecting all sectors across the country and the fishery is no different. The government has committed to reviewing the licence fees in the industry and we will be doing that over the next little while.

[Fisheries and Oceans, May 28th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to supporting fishers, we have provided access to credit. We have provided money for marketing. We are supporting the lobster council. We have doubled the budget for small craft harbours. I must add that the member has a number of small craft harbours in his riding and he voted against money to fix them.

[Fisheries and Oceans, May 28th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I know that fishers are doing what they can to cut their costs in the short term. In discussions with the provinces, I know that the provincial loan boards and some banks are providing flexibility for some short-term relief. The Business Development Bank and EDC have also been working with the industry to provide access to credit.

In the medium and long term, we are supporting the industries that must help the market recover so fishers can get a fair price in the marketplace.

[Fishing Industry, May 27th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I just want to explain for the hon. member the relationship between supply and demand and why it was so important to invest in marketing money for the lobster industry.

Advertising impacts the buying behaviour of people. The buying behaviour of people affects demand and increased demand brings an increased price. That is why we have invested in the lobster industry.

[Fishing Industry, May 27th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to supporting fishers, our government is there. We have provided access to credit to many fishers and many fishing businesses over the last six months. We have established the community adjustment fund, which allowed us to invest $10 million in lobster marketing for eastern Canada. We supported the development of a lobster council.

We have doubled the budget for small craft harbours. We are spending record amounts of money upgrading our Coast Guard fleet, which assists the fishing industry.

We are the same government that provided $750,000--

[Fisheries and Oceans, May 13th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I just want to clarify for the House again that the member did go out and make public statements that there would be ice compensation. Prior to that question in the House, he announced a fictitious program to his constituents. Now he cannot deliver and he is panicking.

[Fisheries and Oceans, May 13th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this is a great opportunity to clarify this matter.

I did inform the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development that my office had a call regarding ice compensation and that I would check it out. I checked out the ice conditions with my department and the ice conditions are not unusual for this time of year. Many fishers are delayed by ice conditions in the spring.

However, what the hon. member is not telling the House is that he went out prior to asking me or the minister of HRSDC anything about ice conditions or ice compensation and promised compensation to his constituents. So, he has some explaining to do.

[Lobster Industry, May 13th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, the lower market demand, of course, is something that is affecting the price. That is not something within the government's control. However, what we can do is support the industry and marketing initiatives so that the price can come up.

As I said to the hon. member, we are there for the lobster industry. We have provided a lot of support to the entire fishing sector in the last budget, but the member, who has a harbour in his very own riding that is going to see the biggest retrofit ever, voted against the budget.

[Lobster Industry, May 13th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the lower market demand, of course, is setting the price. It is not something that is within the government's control.

However, I can say that we have addressed the issue of access to credit, which is something that was identified when we carried out consultations prior to the budget. We have established a community adjustment fund, which would address industries and communities in need, and we have invested in a marketing program to promote Atlantic lobster.

We are supporting the lobster industry and we will be convening a meeting of all the stakeholders, but the member voted against the budget that was very beneficial to the industry.