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Judy Foote, Opposition Critic for Innovation Trade and
Rural Development and MHA for the District of Grand Bank, says the province
should be preparing for a major crisis in fishing communities around this
province because of fish plant closures.
"Government’s silence on this issue is deafening," said Foote. "Harbour
Bretton and Fortune are reeling from the recent decisions taken by Fishery
Products International and there is no indication that the government is
prepared to do what it can to ensure the survival of those rural
communities. Government has clearly shown they are not prepared to take FPI
to task even though it has the authority to do so. The government does not
appear to be interested in trying to secure community quotas which has been
put forward as a remedy to the situation in which Fortune and Harbour Breton
find themselves.
"Inaction by the government has unfortunately sent a
message that it is okay to abandon rural fishing communities if the
shareholders involved are not happy with their take of the profits. If the
government is not willing to take action to prevent plant closures they
should at least be putting in place a plan to deal with the fallout of such
decisions by fishing companies, in this case FPI. There is no indication at
this point that the government is even engaged in finding a solution and
that is unacceptable. In the meantime, the plant workers at the fishplant in
Fortune have to engage in protest activities just to try and get a meeting
with FPI. I am calling on the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture to
intercede on their behalf and get such a meeting.
"The Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural
Development should be meeting with people in the communities that have been
impacted and those that are likely to be impacted in the next year if the
present trend continues. They should be developing short and long-term plans
to deal with the crisis that is developing in communities that depend on
fish processing.
"Government needs to be open and honest with the
people of this province and disclose everything they have been discussing
with FPI and other fish processors. Is government aware of other possible
plant closures? For example, what is the future of the FPI plant in
Bonavista, another rural community?
"If what has happened in Fortune and Harbour Breton is
any indication of how the two Ministers most directly involved with the
present situation would deal with such a crisis, then I fear people need to
brace themselves for an even rougher time than they are presently
experiencing in rural Newfoundland and Labrador."
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