|
Judy Foote, MHA for the District of Grand Bank and Opposition Critic for
Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, says she has more questions about
the future of the fish plant in Fortune and the fishery in general following
questions she asked the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture in the House
of Assembly. The Liberal MHA asked the minister for an update on the
interest that Cooke Aquaculture has expressed in the FPI plant in Fortune.
While the minister said Cooke Aquaculture is still interested, an interview
with a spokesperson for the company on CBC Radio clearly left the impression
that while the company is interested in Fortune, there is no commitment to
Fortune as they are also looking at other sites in the province. "In fact,
the spokesperson said that in considering other sites the company may have
to look, as well, at building a plant to suit their needs," said Ms. Foote.
"She also said that wherever the company locates it will be about two years
before there will be any product to harvest. When asked about the company’s
request for a quota, she said it has been made clear to the government that
to see any activity at the plant in Fortune before that would require a
quota of fish"
In the House of Assembly Foote asked the Minister if the government would
enforce the FPI Act and force FPI to turnover the quota that it has
traditionally processed in Fortune to Cooke Aquaculture so it can once be
again be processed in Fortune for the benefit of the people and communities
who rely on the fish plant in Fortune. "Instead of taking the question
seriously, Minister Rideout said the government cannot force FPI to turnover
its quota under the FPI Act and suggested that I didn’t know what I was
talking about and that quotas are assigned by the federal government. If
Minister Rideout doesn’t believe the government has the authority under the
FPI Act as it presently exists, all it takes is for the government to use
this sitting of the House of Assembly to amend the act so it can be done.
"As for quotas being assigned by the federal government, the federal
Minister of Fisheries, Loyola Hearn, is on record as saying that fish are a
common resource and owned by the people. Taking such action should meet with
the approval of Minister Hearn and the quota can be assigned to whomever is
interested in operating the plant in Fortune. Such action would ensure that
Cooke Aquaculture would be able to move into Fortune quickly and may indeed
be the catalyst needed to ensure the company would locate in Fortune.
The MHA impressed on the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, who is
also the deputy premier, the seriousness of the situation on the Burin
Peninsula and the urgency of moving quickly to deal with it. "People are
being forced daily to leave their homes and move to other parts of the
country in search of employment. With the federal government’s recent
proposed cuts to cod quotas in 3PS by 35 per cent to 40 per cent and
additional cuts to crab quotas the seriousness of the situation is
escalating daily. Such a move by the federal government would spell disaster
for the fisher people who harvest the fish in 3PS and for the fish plants
and their employees who depend on the product.
"I am concerned deeply that we are heading down the same path as Harbour
Breton, where its fish plant closed over 17 months ago and, despite an
interest by the Barry Group of Companies in operating that plant, it is
still idle. The plant in Fortune has been closed for a year and, without a
quota, even if Cooke Aquaculture decided to locate its business in Fortune,
the people and communities affected would be looking at another two years
before there was any meaningful activity in Fortune. How does the government
expect people to survive under such circumstances, certainly not on make
work projects while waiting for something to happen? Without this government
taking some concrete action soon to deal with this serious situation, people
will continue to leave the Burin Peninsula and I have to wonder if that
isn’t part of the strategy of the Williams government."
|