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Gerry Reid, Opposition Fisheries Critic and MHA for the
District of Twillingate-Fogo, says legal opinions related to the potential
sale of Fishery Product International’s (FPI) value-added and marketing arm
should be released publicly so everyone in the province is informed about
the debate that will almost certainly come before the House of Assembly in
the coming weeks. "The sale of FPI’s value-added
and marketing division could have a major impact on the future of FPI and
fishing communities in this province," said Mr. Reid. "The Premier
continuously states that he has conflicting legal opinions as to whether
this transaction can happen under the current FPI Act. The Premier has also
stated that he will bring this issue to the House of Assembly for a free
vote. If this is the case, now is the time to release these legal opinions
so all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians become educated on this issue.
"Members of the House of Assembly will be expected to
vote on this issue in the near future, however, we have not been given a
copy of these legal opinions. If government wants to have an informed
debate, we must have a sufficient period of time to review these opinions.
It is not good enough to give us this documentation a day or two in advance
of the vote.
"Government has neglected the FPI issue from day one.
As a result, we have the people of Fortune and Harbour Breton being
blackmailed by the company in an effort to secure the sale of their
value-added and marketing division. This is an unfair, unethical and
mean-spirited attempt by the company to sell off their most valued asset.
"This issue is of great importance to the future of
the fishing industry in Newfoundland and Labrador. If government is serious
about having an informed debate, all information must be released to the
public for analysis. I look forward to the timely release of these
documents."
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