1-^ 



Motts^ of Commons J9^b^t^$ 



FIFTH SESSION-SEVENTH PARLIAMENT 



SPEECHES 



OF 



H. W. ALLAN, MP. and ^. McCxRECJOR, MP. 



ON THE 



FISHERIIiS OF THI: GRFAT LAKES 



OTTAWA, FRIDAY, Stii JULY, 1895. 



Mr. ALLAN. Mr. Speaker, I desire to 

 refer to the fishery interests of the Great 

 Lalies, and to say a few words respecting 

 the fishery policy of the Government. You 

 will recollect. Mr. Speaker, that I brought 

 this question before the House at the last 

 session of Parliament. (3n that occasion my 

 time before six o'clock was very limited, and. 

 being unable to be present after recess. I 

 was prevented from entering into the dis- 

 cussion of the subject as fully as I in- 

 tended. The then Minister of Marine and 

 Fisheries followed in a veiy lengthy speech, 

 giving an elaborate review and defence of 

 his so-called fishery policy. The hon. gentle- 

 man was evidently verj' proud of that great 

 effort, for his speocli was i)ut in pamphlet 

 form and widely distributed throughout the 

 fisliery districts. I am very glad that he did 

 so. l)ecause his defence was simply no de- 

 fence at all, and the people wore enabled to 

 see tliat there is practically no justification 

 whatever for the extraordinary and ruinous 

 fishery policy of this Government. 



The hon. gentleman's speech was a very 

 characteristic one— slightly tinged with ex- 

 travagance in tone and a trifie reckless 

 in statement. In fact, all the important 

 statements made by the hon. gentleman 

 were utterly without foundation. The 

 most important statement he made was 

 that our fisheries had been depleted, whicli 

 be ascribed to overfishing in Canadian 

 waters. If that statement were true, it 

 would remove, to a very great extent, 



the ground of complaint against this 

 fisliery policy, made not only to-day, 

 but for years past. The charge has 

 been that Canadia.QS were not permitted to 

 fish— that they were not permitted to enjoy 

 the profits of the vast trade that has been 

 carried on for many years in the Lake Erie 

 fisheries. Overfishing ! Why, Sir, the 

 statement is absurd. An examination of the 

 statistics bearing on this subject will con- 

 clusively prove that. When we look at the 

 comparative catch on both sides of the lake, 

 what do we find ? That in twenty years 

 the American fishermen have caught, on the 

 American side of Lake Erie, not less than 

 800,000,000 pounds of fish more than have 

 been caught on the Canadian side. Hon. 

 gentlemen from Nova Scotia can compre- 

 hend the magnitude of these figures. Why, 

 Sir, it would take the entire catch of the 

 24,000 fishermen of Nova Scotia for eight 

 years to make up this excess. The annual 

 catcli in Lake Erie on the American side 

 has been double tlie entire Canadian catch 

 of fisli in the wliole chain of lakes — I.#ake 

 Superior, Lake St. Ciaiir, Lake Huron, Lake 

 Erie and Lake Ontario. The American fish- 

 ermen have ciiuglit eiglit fisli to our one, and 

 this has been going on continuously ever 

 j since ISTO. and in fact in all the past 

 1 years of wliioh wo have any re<'ord. The 

 people have protested against this policy 

 for years. Year by year they have been 

 pointing to the fact that, owing to the policy 

 ' of the Department of Fisheries, a vast and 



