Fisheries committee  I can't give you the exact numbers because a lot of the information that the province used to put out in regard to canning of fish was stopped a while back because they needed three plants, three canning operations, to be going so that they could get an average. Giving out that information....

Fisheries committee  Adjacency gives us the opportunity to bring that economic future back for the people of the north coast.

Fisheries committee  As someone who has worked in the plant a lot of the time, I remember when we used to watch all the groundfish being cut in the north. Now we see it being loaded into the back of a semi and trucked out. I've watched all of the halibut that in the old days used to come in on the so-called lottery fishery that would employ us for two months in the freezers and in the fresh fish department at Atlin.

Fisheries committee  I was just talking to a friend of mine who came in about a week ago, and he had gone out halibut fishing. He actually leased some quota. He got $9.20 a pound for his halibut, but the price for him to lease it was $7 a pound, so he was basically going out fishing halibut for $2 and a bit of change per pound.

Fisheries committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name is Arnie Nagy. I've been working in the fishing industry for 37 years. My family's history as members of the Haida Nation goes back generations. Since time immemorial, fishing has been important to us. Growing up, I witnessed how big the fleet was here in Prince Rupert, how important the economic opportunities were that those boats generated for the people of Prince Rupert and for the people of the outlying coastal communities who came to Prince Rupert to work.

Natural Resources committee  It was stated to me that I'm being used by the Americans on the agenda that I'm pushing forward to protect our coast because I do not support the issue of tankers along our coastal waters in the north. It was a statement that I had—

Natural Resources committee  It was an issue—

Natural Resources committee  What I do with my union here in Prince Rupert is fully funded by our membership on the dues that we collect as part of our mandate to represent the workers in the—

Natural Resources committee  None coming for the work that I've been doing for the last 32 years has gone into my pocket. The majority has been voluntary on my behalf, and it has actually cost me thousands of dollars over the years in wages that I won't accept to represent our membership. To me, it's a principle of protecting my industry—

Natural Resources committee  I represent between 4,000 and 6,000 members close by. In the area in the north that I represent, my members number about 3,000 people. The proposed Enbridge project would run pipelines at the headwaters, crossing some of the tributaries and streams on the Skeena River, and the tanker traffic coming out of Kitimat places our industry at risk from both ends.

Natural Resources committee  I represent between 4,000 and 6,000 members depending on the type of fisheries that are going on.

Natural Resources committee  I represent between 4,000 and 6,000 people in the commercial fishing industry in British Columbia. In the north, I represent about 3,000 members. The plan is for the pipeline to go through the Skeena River and the tributaries. A spill up there or an accident on the pipeline would send that water—

Natural Resources committee  Thanks to you, Mr. Chair, and also to the rest of the committee, for allowing me to speak to you today. My name is Arnold Nagy. I'm here on behalf of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers' Union--Canadian Auto Workers. I have worked in the fishing industry for the past 32 years.