(Translation) Thank you, Mr. Speaker and good afternoon. Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to congratulate the new Commissioner of Official Languages. She is going to have a very big responsibility. Because it's my right to use my own language, I wanted to start off like that. (Translation ends)
Mr. Speaker, as you know, Pangnirtung Fisheries is the largest private employer in Pangnirtung. When the fishing season is open, welfare payouts are cut by as much as 70 per cent. Unfortunately, this hasn't been a good year for the fishery in Pangnirtung, due to very unusual weather. First, there was a lot of snow early in the season. This meant that the ice on Cumberland Sound did not thicken up as it usually does. Then, between February 17th and 19th, a very strong windstorm came up. The ice, which was only about nine inches thick, was torn apart by the very strong winds. Sixteen of my constituents were on the ice, fishing, when the storm came up. They lost a lot of fishing gear. Even people whose fishing shacks had been hauled up on the land had losses when their shacks blew away. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the ice has never stabilized since this storm.
There have been a series of smaller storms, which were just enough to keep the ice from freezing properly again.
The ice on Cumberland Sound is now very loose. The mix of tides and wind produces a rafting effect where two edges of ice come together. The end result, Mr. Speaker, is that with the season almost over, my constituents have only been able to catch about 40,000 pounds of fish this year...
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.