"These harvesters have been devastated by a circumstance which was beyond their control and in the mean-time, has eliminated a major source of their annual income. I am calling on Trevor Taylor, who is MHA for many of these families, as well as provincial Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, to step up and provide assistance to the affected individuals."

"In tragic instances such as this, government has a responsibility to step in and provide for its people. I am sure that if Minister Taylor is a reasonable man, he will intervene and provide economic assistance to these harvesters, who have been devastated by an act of God."

Mr. Reid questioned Minister Taylor in the House of Assembly yesterday;

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Twillingate & Fogo.

MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. REID: Mr. Speaker, my questions are for the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

Mr. Speaker, the people living in one of the most economically depressed areas in our Province find themselves in another tough situation this week. Mr. Speaker, I am talking about the lobster fishermen and women on the West and Northwest of our Province who have had their livelihoods practically wiped out by two storms in recent weeks.

I ask the minister: What representation has he made to the federal government for financial assistance on their behalf, and to whom?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture and Labrador Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I can tell the Member for Twillingate & Fogo, that, as everybody else is, we are well aware of the situation on the West Coast of the Province, the storm damage that was caused over the past weekend. We have been, through our officials, ascertaining the extent of the damage and we have estimated that it is up somewhere in the vicinity, in property damage, of about $2 million. We have made representation to the federal government, through the minister’’s regional office here in St. John’’s, looking for financial assistance for those people in the former of disaster relief.

Mr. Speaker, that is all I can report on the matter for right now. We are awaiting a response from the federal minister, Minister Efford, and I hope to speak with him this afternoon. I am expecting to hear from him sometime around three o’’clock.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: A supplementary, the hon. the Member for Twillingate & Fogo.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I don’’t know if the minister heard Mr. Byrne, the federal MP for that district, on CBC radio this morning, but he certainly gave the impression that there would be no financial assistance coming from the federal government. In light of the fact that he has now said this, I ask you, as the Minister of Fisheries for the Province: Will you step in with an emergency relief program for the affected individuals?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture and Labrador Affairs.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. TAYLOR: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I agree with the Member for Twillingate & Fogo. I also heard the MP for Humber-St. Barbe, Mr. Byrne, on this morning saying that he didn’’t anticipate any financial assistance from the federal government. However, Mr. Speaker, we will continue to press for this, given the magnitude of the situation. He did indicate that with Hurricane Juan, I believe it was, there was no assistance to people in Nova Scotia. However, Mr. Speaker, I think when Hurricane Juan blew through, no lobster fishery, and, for that matter, not much of a fishery, was on the go in Nova Scotia at that time and there wasn’’t much in the way of fishing gear damage.

Mr. Speaker, we will press the federal government. The harvesting sector, as the member knows, is a federal responsibility and we neither have the programs nor the capability to deal with a problem of this magnitude at this time.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Member for Twillingate & Fogo.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. REID: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So, what the minister is saying is that the provincial government - of which he is a minister - will not give any assistance to those affected people on the West and the Northwest Coast of the Province.