Fisheries committee  We feel that fish, when they are in the water, are the property of Canadians and the responsibility of Fisheries and Oceans. Once they have been harvested, their quality is our responsibility, but fish in the water are the responsibility of Fisheries and Oceans.

Fisheries committee  We are afraid that what we harvest will no longer be worth anything.

Fisheries committee  We would like you to ask Fisheries and Oceans to compare the effects of the contamination that occurred in St. Ambroise with what will happen in the Baie des Chaleurs. In other words, you need to ask whether fish are at risk of being contaminated. If there is no risk of contamination to fish or habitats, we do not see a problem.

Fisheries committee  This is one of the first times that I have ever seen such a large segment of the population mobilized on an issue, whether for culture or another issue. We have seen people from the Gaspé Peninsula, the Baie des Chaleurs in New Brunswick and First Nations people come together to denounce the arrival of this plant.

Fisheries committee  People feel abandoned. An environmental impact assessment usually needs to be conducted. There is an expectation that the people who are supposed to protect us should do their duty. There should at least be an environmental impact assessment on a proposed toxic-waste incinerator.

Fisheries committee  It comes from the United States, which is also our main buyer of consumer goods. We need to be cautious because we know the extent to which Americans are able to block access to markets.

Fisheries committee  Fisheries management techniques have improved over the years. Studies are conducted on fish stocks and a determination is made as to what part of the stocks can be harvested. This allows fishermen and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to help boost and improve the health of the stocks.

Fisheries committee  As industries set up around the Bay, places become contaminated and fishing areas are closed off. It used to be that you could fish anywhere in the Bay. Now, in the Baie de Caraquet, which is adjacent to the Baie des Chaleurs, shellfish harvesting is banned. In the Eel River Bar area, there is a ban on clams, because they are contaminated.

Fisheries committee  I did a study on the species in that place in the early 1980s, and it was already contaminated. That was over 25 years ago. But if you look at each area in succession, it is small areas that are becoming contaminated one by one, and the effect is cumulative because it is no longer possible to decontaminate unless you stop the contamination process and clean up.

Fisheries committee  It was when I learned what the project was about that my concern grew. We know that fines are usually immediately imposed when there are small oil spills. Fisheries and Oceans is very strict about any form of contamination by fishermen and seafood-processing plants. We would never have thought that the plant could be set up without an environmental impact assessment being conducted first.

Fisheries committee  Not really, no.

Fisheries committee  Yes. Generally speaking, there is a belief that less-educated people will defend themselves less. Back home, like in Prince Edward Island, people depend on the fish habitat and are aware of it, regardless of their education. Their parents and grandparents fished and their families still depend on fishing.

Fisheries committee  My presentation will be in French. First, I would like to thank the committee for having us. The Acadian Regional Federation of Professional Fishermen is made up of the members of the Association des pêcheurs professionnels membres d’équipage, the Association professionnelle des crabiers acadiens, the Association des crevettiers acadiens du Golfe and the Association des senneurs du Golfe.