Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question today is for the Minister of ITI as well. My colleague Mr. Yakeleya raises the issue of domestic product for a domestic market. We have long had a lately untapped resource in the way of our fishery and for years we’ve been asking the government to do what they can to make the fortunes and life of the fishermen better. I’m, of course, speaking of the fishermen on the Great Slave Lake and the quota of fish that does not get harvested from that lake, which is determined by the Department of Fisheries to be sustainable.
Mr. Speaker, a landmark decision has now been made by the fishers of the Northwest Territories on Great Slave Lake in that at their last meeting they voted to be removed from the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation. This is something that the government was never prepared to move on until the fishermen voted to have this happen. Now that it has been voted upon and the majority said yes, we want out of this legislation, we want out of this monopoly, we want the opportunity to market our fish differently and through different channels, what are the next steps? What is the Minister going to do next to aid and assist the fishermen to find markets and process their product? Thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Minister responsible for Industry, Tourism and Investment, Mr. Bob McLeod.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, obviously, the first step is to identify what the legal requirements are. As I mentioned before in previous questioning, there are liabilities that were agreed to at the time that the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation was established. So when you move a motion to remove yourself from an entity, there are some liabilities that have to be dealt with. So that would be the first step, Mr. Speaker.
I’d like the Minister to identify what he means by liabilities. Could he list some of the liabilities of being removed from the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation regime? Thank you.
There are some ongoing costs with operating the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation. There are liabilities that have been cumulated through the operation of Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation. At the time of incorporation, I understand there were some considerations that were agreed to by all of the different parties that agreed to participate as part of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation. I understand that there was legislation that was passed by this House to allow our participation as well. So we would have to deal with that part of it also. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Minister doesn’t sound very supportive of the vote from the fishermen to be removed from the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation. Again, I don’t really understand what the liabilities are. Is he talking about financial liabilities? Is there some outstanding debt that needs to be paid? Do we owe something to the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation? I’m not understanding that. And as far as the legislation passed in this House, what is the department doing to bring forward whatever change in legislation needs to be enacted in order to see our fishery stand alone from the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation? Thank you.
The Member just asked me what I saw as the first steps that would be required. I can certainly sound more enthusiastic, but there are liabilities in it and we are waiting for the formal transmission of the motion so we can determine what is required on our part. As I said, we have proposed in the budget some funding so we can begin to develop local markets and opportunities for fishermen. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Final supplementary, Mrs. Groenewegen.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, pardon me if I sound excited about this, but we’ve been talking about the Great Slave Lake fishery here for years and always felt that a big impediment to the fishermen, realizing the potential in the industry was the monopoly by the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation. So I would hope now that with the motion I’m sure that will be conveyed formally to this government, that the government will begin to put together a plan and a strategy to assist the fishermen to process and market their product. Could the Minister please tell me if such a plan will be forthcoming? Thank you.
We’d be very pleased to be able to work with the fishermen to identify opportunities and plans to work with them in setting up their businesses so they can market Northwest Territories fish which, similar to the fur, is some of the best in the world. One of the things we have to do is work with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans to determine responsibilities in terms of dealing with fishermen on Great Slave Lake. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. McLeod. The honourable Member for Hay River South, Mrs. Groenewegen.
