After Much Ado – Minigoo Hits Troubled Waters

After huge fanfare to introduce PEI’s newest and only first-nation’s lobster plant operated by P.E.I.'s Lennox Island Band is preparing to file court documents to protect itself from creditors at the close of its first partial season. The news comes as a big surprise to many fisheries watchers because the new operation has only been in production for three months.
CBC News in Charlottetown is reporting that  Minigoo Fisheries workers were laid off following their last shift in the second week of July. That would not be unusual given the end of the spring lobster fishery but the employees are not sure when they can go back to work. Workers were told the company needed some time to restructure and the plant would open in time for the fall lobster season in August.
But, according to theCBC News report, the company is preparing to file court papers to prevent its creditors from pushing the company into bankruptcy. No one from the band is making any public statement.
A recent notice from the band council to the community mentions cost overruns in the construction of the building, insufficient management and inexperienced labour.
'Pretty much everything that could go wrong, did,' reads the undated notice, which said the plant would reopen on August 1.
Company CEO Jon Osmonn resigned earlier this month, saying his resignation was in the best interests of the company. Minigoo spokesman Jack MacAndrew said the company is now working with an experienced seafood processor to find a way out of its present difficulties.