Fisheries committee  There are definitely improvements to be made. We also need to give some thought to rationalization in the industry. Mr. Desbois was talking about this earlier; there has been a significant increase in the number of stakeholders in the crab fishing industry. This is happening in o

Fisheries committee  There you have an excellent example of a regulation that acts as an obstacle to stabilizing fishing activity. It is allowed in one direction, but not the other. Why? That is the question we should be asking. These are similar, overlapping regulations that result in a fisheries ma

Fisheries committee  About 800 people are working in the plants.

Fisheries committee  That causes a problem in that the processing plants are not operating for quite a number of weeks, which means that the workers are quickly laid off. In our area—the Rocher Percé RCM and, to some extent the Bonaventure RCM—we set up an employer group so that, when the crab fishin

Fisheries committee  It is always difficult to comment on that sort of thing. At the same time, I do think there are a couple of starting points. There are a few basics that must be considered before we can develop a model of governance that would really reflect the realities in the different areas.

Fisheries committee  Yes, we will make that study available. There is a first section presenting an analysis of the governance chain, as well as a diagnosis. After that, we worked on the costs of the insecurity caused by the current management system. But it is not only the federal government that is

Fisheries committee  Unfortunately, I am not aware of who sits on that independent commission, but if the communities are not involved and cannot influence the commission, it will be difficult to arrive at something that respects the individual circumstances of each. The Conférence régionale des élu

Fisheries committee  I think that, where fisheries management is concerned, there are other ways of working than simply having someone make decisions from a central point and filter them down to the communities that depend on these fisheries. It seems to me we could show some imagination and find gov

Fisheries committee  I would like to thank the Standing Committee for coming to our region to see for itself the reality we have been facing since early spring. This situation obviously has an extremely prejudicial effect on all our maritime communities. I particularly want to stress its impact on ou

Fisheries committee  Allow me to add a comment. The region had to acquire a railroad with some federal assistance, because it had been abandoned by a private company. We noted to what extent this type of infrastructure can be compared to wharves. When maintenance and repair work goes undone, the cos

Fisheries committee  More than that.

Fisheries committee  Yes. In all of the region we have 1,080 permits, but it's not the same thing with fishermen--donc, 600 ou 700 pêcheurs, probablement.

Fisheries committee  We have been trying to diversify our economy for some years. We have to some extent succeeded, because of the wind energy that is being developed in our region. Among young people aged 24 to 35, migration to our region is positive—young people are coming back to settle in the reg

Fisheries committee  Mr. MacAulay, there are a lot of places like Grande-Vallée in our region. For example, at the Anse-à-Beaufils fishing wharf, there's an old factory which is being turned into an entertainment centre and exhibition hall. There's even a bar and a restaurant. The focal point is the

Fisheries committee  Now that you know who I am, I will not take my name card with me.