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Opposition Leader Gerry Reid says he was surprised to learn today that
Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Tom Rideout was not consulted by Fishery
Products International (FPI) before the company undertook a major corporate
restructuring in the United States. Reid is once again calling for a public
inquiry to find out exactly what is happening within the company. Last
Friday, FPI circulated an internal memo to staff that stated Mr. George
Armoyan was taking over FPI’s marketing and secondary processing division in
the United States. Under the direction of Mr. Armoyan, FPI is now dividing
its American division into four separate parts. This is the most profitable
portion of the company and has traditionally subsidized the less profitable
groundfish operations.
"Over the past few weeks, FPI announced that it was closing fish plants
and laying off hundreds of workers," said Mr. Reid. "Last week, we find out
from the Minister of Fisheries that the company was shipping fish to China
for processing without permission. Now, we find out that the company has
undertaken a major restructuring of their American assets without consulting
the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador who created the company and
govern it with the FPI Act. Even the minister does not know what is
happening within the company and this once again demonstrates the need for a
public inquiry into the operations of FPI.
"When the current Board of Directors divided FPI into three divisions it
said that each division would have to sink or swim on its own. We now see
the groundfish division sinking, with plant closures and hundreds of
layoffs. Mr. Armoyan is now going to divide the American division into four
parts, including a new Canadian division that includes the secondary
processing facility at Burin. What impact will this have on the operations
at that facility?
"Mr. Armoyan and Mr. John Risley have very close personal and business
ties. Between Mr. Armoyan and Mr. Risley, they now own approximately 30 per
cent of FPI. Both of these individuals sit on a number of boards together,
and in fact Mr. Armoyan sat on the Board of Directors of Clearwater Fine
Foods until recently, a company owned by Mr. Risley. Given the close
relationship between these individuals, I fear that the spirit and intent of
the FPI Act is being compromised with regard to its share restriction. I
believe an independent public inquiry is the only way to ensure the people
of the province get the truth behind the current happenings at FPI."
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