Fisherman's Road

I posed the following question in the House of Commons on Thursday, Oct. 27th: Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans made a recommendation for the government to create a task force into the management of the snow crab fishery in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. We know that the Conservatives are not the best at taking advice. If they were, they would be examining the management of the fishery as a whole . Fair enough. How about today we take a look at one fishery problem at a time? Will the Conservatives listen to the committee and create a task force into the management of the snow crab fishery? Response by Fisheries and Oceans Minister Keith Ashfield: Mr. Speaker, as the member should know, this was a record year for Atlantic snow crab prices . I congratulate the fleets on their successful season. The long-term economic prosperity of the snow crab industry is my priority and that of the department. We are committed to ensuring that the snow crab stocks are managed sust

I spoke in the House of Commons on Monday, Oct. 24th, against Bill C-18, an act to dismantle the Canadian Wheat Board. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak on the Canadian Wheat Board from the perspective of a Newfoundlander, a Newfoundlander with a particular interest in the Newfoundland and Labrador fisheries. Last week, for example, I introduced my private member’s bill — the Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries Rebuilding Act. But I rise today to speak on the dismantling of the Canadian Wheat Board. To speak out against the dismantling of the wheat board. The bays and harbours, the cliffs and craigs, the fishing grounds of Newfoundland and Labrador may be a world away from the Western provinces, but fishing and farming have much in common these days in Canada. What fishing and farming have most in common at this particular moment in our history is that they’re under direct attack by the Conservative government. In the Prairies, the Conservatives are attacking the livelihood

It may be time to change the words to the NL classic as the fishery fades away On Friday, Oct. 21 st , I debated my Private Member’s Bill in the House of Commons. The following is my 15-minute speech, followed by links to the questions and answers that followed, and to the speeches of the Conservative, Liberal and NDP speakers. Madam Speaker, my private member's bill — Bill C-308 — is An Act Respecting a Commission of Inquiry into the Development and Implementation of a National Fishery Rebuilding Strategy for Fish Stocks off the Coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. The short title of my bill, the title that cuts to the chase, is the Newfoundland and Labrador Fishery Rebuilding Act. The key word is “rebuilding.” We must rebuild. We must rebuild what was once one of the world's greatest protein resources — the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. We must rebuild what has been lost to us. We must rebuild the fish stocks and use them as a foundation for life after oil, as a foundation for

The following questions were posed on Friday, Oct. 21st, in the House of Commons: Mr. Speaker, cuts to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans have left our fishermen feeling like they have been set adrift in a sea of uncertainty, written off by the Conservative government. The boom has been lowered on the resource conservative council and on the search and rescue marine sub-centre in my riding of St. John's South-Mount Pearl, but with another $57 million in planned cuts, we know there’s even more to come, worse to come. Which part of our fisheries, of our culture, will the Conservatives set adrift next? The following is the response of Fisheries and Oceans Minister Keith Ashfield: Mr. Speaker, strategic review is an opportunity to assess the performance of all departments within government. It also allowed us to ensure that we are responding to the priorities of Canadians. We have a responsibility to spend money prudently and where it will do the most good. We must

I posed the following question Thursday, Oct. 20th, in the House of Commons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the Prairies the Conservatives are attacking the livelihood of farmers. On the West and East coasts the fisheries are the target. Their decision to gut the Department of Fisheries and Oceans shows they are completely out of touch with the needs of fishing communities. Mr. Speaker, the government’s buddies on Bay Street cannot feed Canadian families. Why do the Conservatives have it in for Canada’s primary producers? The following is the response of Fisheries and Oceans Minister Keith Ashfield: Mr. Speaker, the strategic review was an opportunity for the department to assess the performance of its programs. It also allowed us to ensure that we are responding to the priorities of Canadians. DFO is making steady progress in modernizing and improving our program and policy approaches to meet the needs of Canadians today and the future. And my follow-up question: Mr. Speaker, we know gove

I posed the following question on Wednesday (Oct. 19th) in the House of Commons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Canada has one of the worst search and rescue response times in the world. A recent incident off Bell Island , Newfoundland showed just how bad it is. After emergency flares were fired off in the area, the Canadian Coast Guard called in a provincial ferry – full of passengers – to help in the search-and-rescue effort. It then took the Canadian Coast Guard over 3 hours to arrive on the scene. Mr. Speaker, this is not about a limo service from a fishing lodge, this is about human lives. How long would the Minister be prepared to wait in icy water before being rescued?

I asked the following question on Monday (Oct. 17th) in the House of Commons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Resource Conservation Councils aren’t the only thing being cut from DFO. News has broken in recent days that further cuts to the science branch of Fisheries and Oceans are coming. This branch has already been gutted. Do Conservatives really expect to manage our future fishery without any science-based planning and with NO INPUT from the fishermen who work our seas? John Crosbie once asked , “Who hears the fishes when they cry?” Well, Mr. Speaker, who hears the fishermen when they speak? The following is the House of Commons response from Fisheries and Oceans Minister Keith Ashfield: Mr. Speaker, our government has made tremendous investments in science since 2006, including $30 billion to upgrade 16 laboratories and sites across the country, and $36 million to construct 3 new science vessels. The government has focused on marine science. We have invested $14 million to complete m

The following story was published Friday (Oct. 14 th , 2011) on the VOCM website . Born on Fogo Island, Zita Cobb says the two biggest threats to outport culture are what she describes as today's "big-box-franchise" mentality, and a cod fishery on the brink of extinction. Cobb is behind one of the largest projects ever attempted to preserve even a small portion of rural Newfoundland. With the help of family and locals on her home island of Fogo, Cobb is constructing a $25-million artist and hospitality escape. She says this is a precarious time for the province because, if something isn't done now, Cobb believes we are going to become disconnected from our sense of community and past. The most tragic thing that could happen, she says — and it's happening now — is for a son not to understand his father's life. If that cultural and familial distancing continues, she says, we risk losing rural culture and mindsets that are so fundamental to this provi

"Newfoundland is in silent crisis, and has been since the closure of the inshore fishery in the early 1990s. Increasingly, St. John’s highly concentrated economy resembles a sort of miniature Hong Kong amidst an increasingly deserted province. Outmigration is stealing a whole generation of Newfoundlanders. The outports are becoming just places 'where the parents live,' and the larger centres outside St. John’s have become dominated by old-age homes." — Rex Murphy, National Post , Oct. 15, 2011.

The following article is published in today's Halifax Chronicle-Herald . DFO mum on resource cuts Leaked memo: Fisheries to change from yearly cycle By PAUL McLEOD Ottawa Bureau Tue, Oct 4 - 4:53 AM The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is looking to cut its resources for monitoring and regulating fish stocks, according to an internal government memo. The communique from assistant deputy ministers Siddika Mithani and David Balfour to regional directors says DFO wants to move all fisheries to a multi-year cycle, as opposed to being re-evaluated each year. The memo was leaked to NDP St. John’s South-Mount Pearl MP Ryan Cleary, who provided a copy to The Chronicle Herald. Pressed for clarification Monday, Nova Scotia-based DFO staff referred the issue to head office. Ottawa staff did not return a request for comment by deadline. Cleary said the federal government is dismantling the science wing of DFO. "From all reports, DFO’s science branch has been gutted, reduce

I made the following statement today in the House of Commons. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Newfoundlander Nancy Riche – a champion of feminism, a giant of the union movement, and a fighter for social democracy. Nancy rose from humble beginnings as a clerk in St. John’s to become a key voice in Canadian labour during the 1980s and ’90s, rising to the position of secretary-treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress. Nancy Riche was a feminist, socialist, activist, and trade unionist. Nancy was probably best known in Newfoundland and Labrador for her work with the provincial New Democrats. The NDP are on the verge of an historic breakthrough in my home province, and it’s due in large part to her work. What was Nancy like? Nancy was admitted to hospital late last week after suffering a heart attack. She was waiting for surgery and demanded – demanded - to carry out a telephone poll from her hospital bed. She was a tireless worker, advisor and friend to everyone. Nancy passed

I gave the following statement Monday morning (Oct. 3rd) during a national news conference in the Centre Block of the House of Commons. Welcome and thank you for coming. I’ve called this news conference to announce that I will be tabling my private members’ bill later this afternoon in the House of Commons. The bill is entitled An Act Respecting a Commission of Inquiry into the Development and Implementation of a National Fishery Rebuilding Strategy for Fish Stocks off the Coast of Newfoundland and Labrador . The short title - the simple, straight-forward title - is the Newfoundland and Labrador Fishery Rebuilding Act . It was in 1992 that John Crosbie, then-federal Fisheries and Oceans minister, shut down the northern cod fishery off Newfoundland’s northeast coast and Labrador, the first such commercial fishery closure in Newfoundland and Labrador’s 500-year history. When the fishery closed an estimated 19,000 fishermen and plant workers lost their jobs. Another 20,000 jobs were direc