Hearn lives up to a Promise...

of delivering federal funds to aquaculture projects in this province.
I hope this is the beginning of federal commitment to Newfoundland and Labrador in the abused and battered fisheries sector.
The feds through a 10.5 million dollar commitment and the province with another 10 million have attracted a private sector involvement of 135 million in the aquaculture sector.
If the feds would commit a couple of billion over the next 3-5 years to fisheries science - monitoring - aquaculture - and education in this province - not one community would have to close and outmigration would be ground to a halt.
We need income stabilization, market development fund, creative and constructive science initiatives, and new policy regarding harvesters.
We must not let a few big processors take over from where the foreigners left off. Community quotas are a must and fishermen must be able to operate without undue influence from the processing sector.
We need the same commitment to the fishery as the agriculture sector enjoys. Farms in Canada are subsidized to compete with global competition - the fishery should receive the same.
When the dollar goes up - the farms are helped
When other countries subsidize agriculture - the farms are helped
When droughts or floods harm the crop - the farms are helped
When insect infestation harms the yield - the farms are helped
When market prices drop - the farms are helped
When science is needed - the feds supply the cash
It is time the fishery was treated equally - and that's all I want our Minister to do!