Statement made on 06 May 2009 by Senator Catherine Callbeck
Hon. Catherine S. Callbeck:
Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. The lobster industry in Atlantic Canada is in major crisis. The prices are very low and some fishers cannot sell their catch. The Honourable Neil J. LeClair, Minister of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Rural Development in my province, says that a potential collapse of the lobster industry will hit Prince Edward Island harder than the collapse of the auto industry has hit Ontario.
In recent years, the Prince Edward Island Fisherman's Association has requested the federal government to establish a lobster licence buy-back program. That program eases the pressure on the fisheries and helps older fishers to retire in dignity. Does the government plan to put in place a lobster licence buy-back program?
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