The Crisis of Our Lifetime
I grew up in the schooner days when cod was king, after being absent for a while.
I returned to the fishery in 1976 and cod was still king. In reference to cod, it was called fish and is still today by the people in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.
The year 1990 was a disastrous time — we lost our cod and turbot after long years of fishing on the spawning grounds by Canadian and foreign draggers. In the winter of 1991, the Canadian draggers went to the Grand Banks looking for cod and ...
PM Should Honour his Father’s Fish Promise
A provincial fishery advocacy group, the Fishery Community Alliance (FCA), is calling upon Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to honour a commitment made by his father in 1971, as a way to help protect and rebuild depleted fish stocks off Newfoundland and Labrador that belong to the Canadian people.
I was part of a team of fishery advocates from 14 groups, the Save Our Fishery Association (SOFA), which undertook a mission to Ottawa in October 1971, to highlight the politically motivated decisions ...
Long on Fish Tales, Short on Facts
Cooper Institute Distorts the Story in P.E.I.’s Lobster Industry
As advocates for Prince Edward Island’s seafood processors, we feel compelled to respond to the recently released Safe at Work, Unsafe at Home: COVID-19 and Temporary Foreign Workers in Prince Edward Island by the Charlottetown-based Cooper Institute.
Its authors used questionable methodology to promote simplistic solutions and to disparage the reputation of our members.
Over the last decade, acute labour ...
All Unions Should Have Term Limits
I wish to reply to Barb Dean-Simmons’ article, Not all members of FFAW will get to vote for interim secretary-treasurer, published in The Telegram’s Sept. 29 edition.
Not only was the byelection to replace retired secretary-treasurer Dave Decker reserved for members of the FFAW executive, but when nominations opened, the 2,600-plus inshore harvesters who signed FISH-NL cards in the fall of 2019 were blocked from running for the office.
The FFAW executive unilaterally changed the ...
The Fishery Was and Still is Our Reason for Being Here
I recently watched Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey on Issues and Answers, NTV, Oct. 25, where he mentioned the fishery and that was the reason for us being here.
I have mentioned that statement many times in my articles to the news media and open line shows over the last 40-plus years.
The last six years, under the leadership of Premier Dwight Ball, the word fishery was barely mentioned. He did say one day when a reporter questioned him about the fishery that he knew very ...
Our Fishery is Not Only Neglected, But for Sale
Imagine our centuries-old fishery taken over by a foreign country.
Imagine a minister of fisheries representing our province’s interest rubber-stamping this proposal.
Imagine the recommendation coming from a five-member, all-male board with little experience.
The unimaginable above is truly our reality for our iconic industry.
Denmark recently bought interests in the Newfoundland and Labrador fisheries, with the aim to now purchase additional fishing companies. Those Newfoundland ...
A So-Called U.S. Charity Receives Money from the Federal Government
The following letter was addressed to Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Bernadette Jordan and Minister of Environment and Climate Jonathan Wilkinson.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is an American-based animal rights organization headquartered in the U.S., but propagandizing worldwide.
The IFAW is a multi-million-dollar animal rights activist group. It has built its multi-million-dollar brand attacking the people and Parliament of Canada ...
University Helps Out Local Fishermen
Memorial University may be closed, but on the upside, it has given us access to one of its parking lots in Corner Brook to allow local fishermen to work on fishing gear while the pandemic is ongoing.
We have been working there since early May and will be in great shape for the autumn/winter herring fishery.
Purse seines require a large flat area to be mended properly. After the federal government privatized our city’s port facilities, we lost access to the dockyard and warehouses. We ...
Former Fishery Officer Reflects on Current Lobster Dispute
Rewind to the years 1999 and 2000.
After the Supreme Court of Canada’s Marshall I and II decisions in September and November 1999, the Canadian Government spent nearly $600 million buying back commercial fishing licences from commercial fishermen and turning them over to First Nations along with boats, fishing gear and training.
At the time, this was supposed to integrate native communities into the commercial fisheries and satisfy the moderate livelihood requirements in the Supreme ...
We Are All Treaty People
Sierra Club Calls on Canada to Uphold Peace and Friendship Treaties and Mi’kmaq Right to Fish
The Sierra Club Canada Foundation condemns the racism that Indigenous people are experiencing as they practice their right to fish in Nova Scotia and stands in solidarity with the Mi’kmaq in the spirit of Truth and Reconciliation.
Sierra Club calls on the Government of Canada to act immediately to uphold its obligations under the Peace and Friendship Treaties and recognized by the ...
