Jane Groenewegen

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Mr. Beaulieu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s my pleasure today to recognize Grade 6 students in the gallery today along with their chaperones and teachers. Two of the teachers I’d like to recognize are Mrs. Rita Moizis, Ms. Jennifer Tweedie, and students – and bear with me, colleagues, as we go through these names quickly, and students can stand – Austin Cayen, Braiden Charlton, Jason Griffiths, Jarret Larkin, Sylvia Lockhart, Mackenzie Mandeville, Elizabeth Nimegeers, Jasmine Norn, Kenneth O’Connor-Moran, Davida Patterson, Jeramiah Pierre, Sonia Roach, Jayda Sabourin, Sean Smith, Ethan Walsh, Abby Webster...

I have the greatest respect for the commercial fishers that are out there on this lake trying to carve out a living commercial fishing, but the fact is there’s only a handful of them and there’s two million pounds of fish could be taken from that lake on a sustainable basis. I know about the Take a Kid Trapping but what about take a kid fishing? What is this government doing to create interest in that commercial fishery as an industry and to get more people involved in that industry as fishers, if not from the North then from other places?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My questions follow up on my Member’s statement today and it is about the commercial fishing industry on Great Slave Lake.

Mr. Speaker, I have stood to speak of this many times in this House, but it’s time for some innovative and creative action on the revitalization of this fishery. I would like to ask the Minister responsible if the department could take action to bring some new blood into this fishery. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up in my Member’s statement today from my colleague from Hay River North’s statement the other day on the commercial fishery, something that’s also very dear to my heart.

Mr. Speaker, the strength of our economy is diversity, and as a government we have no trouble responding with lots of resources to big-ticket industries like oil, gas and diamonds. Today I want to talk about a resource that has too long been virtually ignored.

On our doorstep, literally, we have a world-class product and potential for an amazing commercial fishery. Its...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We had a comprehensive plan to revitalize the commercial fishing industry. It is an industry that is here on our doorstep. It is renewable. It is sustainable. We need to get more people involved. We need to find a better market. Will the Minister commit to undertaking an initiative to see that happen within his department?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There are so many opportunities to market our fish outside the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation and as the Minister knows, just about every other jurisdiction in Canada has now left the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation. They mishandled their opportunity to market fish on behalf of the freshwater fishers in this country and in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories. In my opinion they did not do a good job. We could market all the fish from Great Slave Lake to one desk, to one buyer to be distributed, but our government has never taken on the...

Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. Minister Lafferty.

Thank you, committee. Sergeant-at-Arms, would you please escort the witnesses into the Chamber?

Mr. Lafferty, if you could introduce the witnesses for the record, please.

I call Committee of the Whole back to order. We are dealing with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment. Minister Lafferty, do you have witnesses to bring into the Chamber?