Mr. Speaker, there have been several attempts to come to this Legislature, over the years, to have a motion of support to do just that. As well, there have been numerous meetings to deal with all of the fishermen and to get a consensus to do that. Unfortunately, those efforts have failed. I am not sure about the deliberations that have taken place with the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism and what conclusion he has come to. I know in the past it has always been recommended to all parties who wished to change the letter of the agreement to create more free access to independent marketing, the general thrust was to try to get the consensus of all of the fishermen who are utilizing the Great Slave Lake fishery. We are tied into that agreement and there is a certain process so that we can get out of it. In past discussions, the pros and cons have been put on the table on whether it was better to get out or stay in, and
obviously the stakeholders themselves have not been able to come to consensus that it would be better to get out.
Mr. Speaker, there is a great deal of debate on that issue. Certainly, the Member also knows there is a big question in terms of the interprovincial trade discussion on the viability of the marketing boards, whether it is the egg marketing board or the hogs and logs situation. These have come under debate. The question is, would the fishermen be better off marketing themselves independently from the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation. I would like to say that the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism had been looking into this matter six months ago when the concerned fishermen had come forward and said that we have to take another real serious look at who is benefiting from the fishery, where do they live, whether the subsidy is encouraging or discouraging an open market or a creation of another market. I cannot tell you at this time about the best avenues because deliberations are still taking place within the Department of Economic Development and Tourism. Thank you.