House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 57% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 28th, 2009
Madam Chair, there is a duty to inform and to consult. The consultation has been completed. I hope that the minister will not allow mobile gear access to turbot in the Gulf of St. Lawrence area. We have a bycatch fishery here which, if she awards this turbot to a fleet in a directed fishery, she basically has to explain where the bycatch resource will come to be able to keep the other fisheries open. Will she explain how she would do that?
Business of Supply May 28th, 2009
Madam Chair, this is a very good opportunity for the minister to actually say where she stands on this issue.
In these economic times, the fiscal downturn that this country has experienced, but most in particular that the fishing industry has experienced, the shrimp industry has now effectively shut down. Is she or is she not going to award shrimp to those who do not fish it, who do not process it? They just simply broker it out on a royalty charter for profit for their own back pockets and watch as legitimate fishers in this industry declare bankruptcy.
Is that the responsible action that the minister intends to uphold?
Business of Supply May 28th, 2009
Madam Chair, I think, with the minister, it all depends on who is going to get the fish.
I would like to ask the minister a very direct question. Shrimp prices are now at rock bottom. The shrimp industry of Newfoundland and Labrador is now effectively closed. Is the minister going to award shrimp from the NAFO regulatory area, the northeast coast of Newfoundland, to P.E.I.? Yes or no?
Business of Supply May 28th, 2009
Madam Chair, Mr. Guy Greenham asked me to raise this with the minister because he wrote to the minister and she has not bothered to reply to him.
Let us talk about a public policy issue then. I will ask the minister, in these tough times is it ever a good decision to give fish to those who will not fish it, to those who will not process it? They will just broker it off as a royalty charter for their own profit and at the expense of the traditional industry. Does the minister think that is a responsible thing to do at this time in the fishery?
Business of Supply May 28th, 2009
Madam Chair, well, under identical circumstances, which is exactly the circumstances that we are talking about, will Guy Greenham get the same treatment that Eugene Kean got. Eugene Kean applied three times under appeal. He lost three times under appeal. Guy Greenham applied in a similar fashion. He did not get his appeal. They were the exact same circumstances.
Will the minister intervene and provide some relief, some transparency and some fairness to this process?
Business of Supply May 28th, 2009
Madam Chair, she is the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. She does speak to those issues. Fairness and transparency are important parts of fisheries management.
I will ask the minister again. Can Guy Greenham of Pacquet get an appeal directly to the minister for his core status, yes or no?
Business of Supply May 28th, 2009
Madam Chair, when these special considerations are made, are they available to all fishermen? I know of examples where people have written the minister asking for special consideration to be made and she has refused them outright and she has not given any reason why.
For example, Guy Greenham of Pacquet has written the minister asking her why she upheld the decision to allow Eugene Kean of Renews a core licence after Mr. Kean appealed and lost three times before an independent licensing body. Mr. Guy Greenham applied under the exact same circumstances. He did not get any consideration from the minister, but if one lives in the former minister's home town of Renews, one gets the licence. Even though one has appealed three times and lost, the minister upholds and changes the appeal.
Why can Guy Greenham not get that kind of consideration?
Business of Supply May 28th, 2009
Madam Chair, I beg to differ because at the bottom of the press release a government official was used as the contact for that partisan press release. Obviously government resources were indeed used for that.
Since we cannot get an answer on that, I will ask a question out of empathy that maybe the minister can answer.
If a fisherman breaks his back or is diagnosed with cancer, the minister has ruled that no one else can be temporarily designated to operate his vessel and fish these licences while he recovers. The only two options available to him at that point in time, when recovering from a temporary illness, are bankruptcy or sale and get out of the fishery.
Why did the minister make that policy decision?
Business of Supply May 28th, 2009
Madam Chair, could we have a review then? If we cannot have a review right away of licence fees, which is so badly needed, could the minister inform this committee exactly how much money was paid back to the public treasury when public funds entrusted to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans were used to prepare and to distribute a political press release as if it were an official document of the Government of Canada, including preparation fees, distribution fees as well? How much money had to be paid back?
Business of Supply May 28th, 2009
Madam Chair, in these very difficult times, why will the minister not rescind the licence and monitoring fees that fishermen must pay the government, fees that they definitely cannot afford to pay right now? Why will the minister not rescind those fees?