After "Fisheries Conservation Ambassador Loyola Sullivan and I recently travelled to Spain and Portugal" the Minister spews - as if that's not enough to make any Newfoundlander and Labrador gag or run out and buy some hockey tickets - he goes on in this News Statement to say the following:
I have watched with curious amusement as some people who were responsible for the creation and implementation of the old, failed NAFO system speak out. Unfortunately, they are 30 years too late. Perhaps if they had been so diligent in raising concerns when they were being paid by the Canadian public to do so, our stocks might not be in the shape they are today.
Now this is just the ramblings of a man - who became a boy (Federal Minister) - as he and his leader broke promise after promise to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians - and Canadians. However if one can put aside that the Loyola's both with "fisheries" backgrounds from the shore and both with parliamentary power - opposition and government - are probably just as much to blame as the bureaucrats they take swipes at - then we can see the practical components of the Minister's statement.
What Loyola Hearn is claiming - is that federal public servants did not tell federal politicians and the public that federal policies and international treaties were decimating Newfoundland and Labrador's most important renewable industry.
The truth is - Loyola H is taking a hit for missing significant components of proposed NAFO changes and taking a hit for components that may yet still destroy our fisheries autonomy. Loyola S is taking a hit for bailing on the province and taking a job from Ottawa despite the feds screwing us on equalization - and of course the hockey tickets. This does not change however - the fact that Canada's Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has mused on the feds destruction of our fish stocks.
So let's see the boys in action - take that accusation Minister and present it to your colleagues in Ottawa to see if they will pony up the 500 million a year compensation - until the stocks recover - if they ever do.
Then as if to drive the last nail in the coffin of rural Newfoundland and Labrador - Hearn forgets - once again - that this province is where his heart should be - by stating:
During and after the NAFO meeting, Canada's New Government will be working to ensure our hard fought reforms are fully implemented, and that Canada is now taking its role as a global leader in fisheries management.
2 comments:
You can rest assured had this catastrophe happened to any of the other provinces at the hands of Ottawa, Ottawa would be forced to pony up more than $500 million dollars per year. It would also have had to pony up retroactive pay because of the lost of so many benefits and a pension plan to boot. (I can imagine the infrastructure in rural Newfoundland and Labrador would have gained equity had their been a viable fishing industry created?) So there is a figure that would have to be added to the ledger.
Sue Can you imagine Dalton McGuinty putting up with that? Can you envision him now after we received our payment for the Atlantic Accord using Newfoundland and Labrador as the battering post to get a further $5.75 Billion for Ontario? And he got it with very little ease. And, of course, Quebec just has to utter the words "May I have another bowl of gold, sir? And it is right there, no questions asked.
Newfoundland and Labrador fishers lost not only their livelihood. There was also the tragedy of the oversight of not putting into place a pension plan for them which was bad corporate governance on the part of some entity, and the humiliation heaped upon them by the rest of Canadians, because of the non-transparent way that Ottawa quietly structured the fishing industry to accommodate the Free Global Trade Market Movement that made the industry in Newfoundland and Labrador look like a complete 'welfare industry', so that the rest of the unsuspecting provinces could conduct international trade for their manufactured goods and agriculture products based on the great "enabler" fish quotas. Those province, I don't think had any idea what was happening either?
That process by Ottawa not only killed this province's chance of having a viable fishing industry created for rural Newfoundland and Labrador, but sucked so much self-esteem from all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. All the while the other provinces of Canada flourished by producing manufactured goods and agriculture products to be traded internationally and their self-esteem grew exponentially because of it. Then they looked down their noses at Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, all the while they had no clue as to why things were flourishing in their provinces and tanking in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Of course, it was all chaulked up to us being inept or plain stupid here in this province. All this trauma was brought on by politicians who should never have structured things the way they did.
Fish quotas, as I said before, were the 'enabler' for all that international trade and with that trade came, the added bonus for Ottawa of increased foreign affairs clout. And with that Ottawa gained a lot of self-esteem, didn't it get labelled the number one country in the world for 7 consecutive years? All the while Newfoundlanders and Labradorians were not completely aware of what had happened and neither were the remainder of Canadians. I can only refer to the debacle as probably the biggest tragedy that hit any industry in the whole of Canada brought on by the Ottawa Government.
Sue I will request not only $500 million dollars per year, I want a pension plan put in place, and I want a figure put in plae for what the fishers infrastructure would be valued at, had things been done properly. And I want a big apology from Ottawa for tearing the hearts right out of our bodies here in our beloved home province. Ottawa must address the Canadian people and apprised them of what really happened in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, a place with such a strategic location and so many natural resources that became a 'have not' province in supposedly the best nation to live in the world.
I will recap in point form what I said above.
My recommendations to Ottawa on making things right for the Newfoundland and Labrador fishers and Newfoundlanders and Labradorinas in general would be:
1. Ottawa should remit a $500 million payment per year retroactive to 1992 to compensate the fishers for the loss of their industry and pain and suffering.
2. Ottawa should Create a pension Plan for the bona-fide fishers.
3. Ottawa should give a speech to the country, apologizing to both Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, AND Canadians in general, for the low grade transparency under which Ottawa conducted and exploited the fishery that was passed over to it for maintenance in 1949. It should be explained to Canadians that the Fishery Reform was brought about to accommodate the Free Trade Movement by using the fish quotas as “the enabler” to allow Canadian manufacturing and agriculture industries to blossom by trading in the international trading markets. It also gave Canada foreign affair clout and made it the most endeared country in the world for 7 consecutive years.
4. Ottawa should give an apology to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians for the way that we were treated, and the prime reason why we lost our self-esteem was as a result of the misuse of the fish resource, one of the most valuable resources in Canada. How can we ever forget the relentless attacks by the Globe and Mail and journalist like Charles Lynch and Margaret Wente? It will take a number of generations for us to forget those attacks. I truly beleive both of these journalists made those attacks because they were not aware of how Newfoundland and Labrador's resources were being utilized for the benefits of the other provinces. Ottawa kept everything detail under lock and key.
5. Ottawa should also give an apology to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians for the exploiting of its other resources, namely Hydro-electric energy, Minerals and Oil, which were sent off to the rest of the provinces, aided and abetted by Ottawa, to keep the economies of the benefactor provinces percolating while Newfoundland and Labrador's economy went into the tank.
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