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Jim Bennett, Leader of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador, is
calling on Federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn to request an
investigation into the business dealings of Fishery Products International (FPI).
FPI was established in the 1980s to protect and create employment
opportunities for the people of this province. A 15 per cent ownership
restriction was implemented to ensure that no one individual or company
would have a controlling interest of FPI. This was supposed to ensure
that interests of the company remained in Newfoundland and Labrador, and
in the best interests of our people.
"In 2001, a group called NEOS failed to take control of FPI and remove
the 15 per cent ownership clause," said Mr. Bennett. "However, the Board of
Directors was changed and several individuals who were direct competitors of
FPI came onboard. Since that time, many questionable decisions have been
made by this company and their debt load has skyrocketed. Clearwater Fine
Foods, a direct competitor, was paid $1.4 million by FPI to compensate for
the investment in promoting the failed NEOS bid.
"After reviewing the direction this company has taken, the public needs
to be assured that direct competitors who have a 15 per cent share interest
in FPI have not been colluding to weaken the company. This sounds similar to
a corporate raid and is certainly not in the best interests of the people of
this province. The people of this province, the people who originally built
this company , want to know if these competitors have accomplished through
the backdoor what they couldn't accomplish through the front door in 2001. I
want an independent investigation to determine if the new board is trying to
dismantle the company so that their interests will be served by eliminating
a competitor, while picking up the pieces of a valuable company at a
fraction of their value.
"I have written Minister Hearn, our representative in the Federal
Cabinet, to express my concerns and request that the Department of Justice
conduct an investigation into the business dealings of FPI. I am suspicious
as to the real intentions of the FPI Board of Directors. I am
asking for an investigation into what, if any, laws may have been
breached under the FPI Act, the Canadian Corporations Business Act and laws
governing the Toronto Stock Exchange. I am hopeful that this type of
investigation may finally lead to some answers."
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