Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's obvious from the Minister's response that he does have a very good grasp of the situation as it stands today, and a bit of the history of it from the past and I'm very impressed with that. Also in reference to his mentioning of a secondment to the Fishermen's Federation, I also want to thank him for that. I think that was a very productive move.
Mr. Speaker, with respect to the support that has traditionally been provided to the fishermen, primarily so far it has been a freight subsidy. Occasionally there have been special programs related to upgrading equipment. There was a program at one time to allow fishermen to purchase vessels. But primarily it has been a freight subsidy. Does the Minister see merit in perhaps expanding that to provide for a little more flexibility? The problem with the freight subsidy is that if the quota isn't accessed then the subsidy isn't accessed, and then this is money allocated by our government which actually never does benefit the fishermen. So could he foresee a subsidy program with more flexibility in it? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.