Above: David Greening photo
Jeff Loder was recently appointed the new Executive Director of the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP) and is seeking a collaborative approach with all parties to address the problems that face the fisheries in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Loder, who has spent a number of years teaching political science and public policy at Memorial University in St. John’s, has an extensive background in negotiations. He’s worked for the province as a negotiator for the Canada-EU trade negotiations and as assistant deputy minister of inter-governmental affairs where he worked on negotiations for NAFTA, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Atlantic Accord and the refinancing of the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project.
These past experiences have led to Loder’s communicative approach to negotiations.
“I don’t view negotiations in that traditional way. For me, negotiations are about solving problems and all problems can be solved,” said Loder. “Negotiations are effectively a public policy discussion about how we’re going to come up with a compromise — come up with an outcome that benefits all — and that’s the mindset that I apply to all negotiations.”
Loder’s early career was spent negotiating fish tariffs, which gave him an opportunity to have a dialogue with both the ASP and the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW).
“That was a difficult file,” said Loder. “It provided a real opportunity to work with both sides, and we got an agreement, for example, on both sides to tackle issues like minimum processing requirements, which fish needed to be duty-free up front and things like that. And I really got a lot of respect for both sides from that process.”
This, along with dealing with other trade issues on both sides of the fisheries, has given Loder a desire to contribute to the fishing industry in N.L.
When Derek Butler, ASP’s last Executive Director, departed the organization, Loder decided to take on the challenges inherited with his new position. In this role, he believes all parties can do better, and that the fishery has not gotten the attention it deserves from a public policy perspective.
“My number one priority, right now, is to ensure that all the stakeholders involved are willing and prepared to work collaboratively to deal with the challenges ahead,” said Loder.
“The issues facing Newfoundland and Labrador can be addressed. There are a lot of individuals and different stakeholders that have a perspective that they’re too difficult to fix, that it’s simply too complex. And there’s a lot of legitimacy and there’s some strong arguments in that. I don’t accept that reality, so my second priority is to work to ensure that ASP, the FFAW, the provincial government and the federal government all sit down and start figuring these issues out in the appropriate way.”
Loder sees his recent appointment, as well as the change of leadership in the FFAW with the inauguration of Greg Pretty as the union’s president as a chance for a fresh start.
“My expectation is that all parties involved will take the same approach, and we will collectively tackle the issues and move the industry forward,” said Loder.
Loder emphasized the need to keep the industry strong going forward, not just for the sake of those in the industry, but for the future of the province.
“At the end of the day, we all have to do better,” said Loder. “The fishing industry in this province is still the most important industry in the province. That’s one of the reasons I took the position, but also because I don’t believe it’s being treated as such. We need to give it the respect it deserves, and we now have an opportunity to kind of start fresh, and we need to get to the table and figure things out.”
In the wake of the global pandemic, changes in the revenue sources of consumers and other economically disruptive patterns in the last few years, Loder says it is an unstable time to forecast prices, markets and supply and demand in the industry. He says that all parties involved are aware of the hardships the industry has faced, and that productive negotiations are the best way to surmount them. He notes that the system in N.L., being the product of government decisions, gives the government a role to play in avoiding the worst of what could be a tough year ahead.
“We have a lot of volatility right now in the markets, we have people in this province — harvesters, plant workers, auxiliary services — that feed into our sector and producers are facing a lot of uncertainty at the moment,” said Loder. “Because of that, we need to move fast, and we really need to start having the necessary conversations to avoid what could be a very difficult year for all parties involved. “
In his first weeks in his new role, Loder has taken the time to understand his organization and the mandate set forward for him by ASP. He intends to extend everyone in the industry good faith for the beginning of his tenure, and work to keep the industry strong far into the future.
“Fish producers are the largest employer in this province, the fishing industry is one of the largest employers as a sector in this province, as a percentage of GDP it produces some of the highest jobs that you can get from a GDP perspective. Oil and gas — $1 billion in GDP in Newfoundland is about 800 jobs. The fishing industry is significantly more than that with $1 billion, and we’re talking a $1.6-billion industry in this province,” said Loder. “Long after the oil and gas stops flowing, and long after we run out of certain minerals, there will still be a seafood industry and a fishing industry in this province and we need to remember that.”
