For those of you who wonder why I and others ask questions about natural resource policy - read below.
Don't be so cocky about brushing off the questions regarding Muskrat Falls.
FIRST PUBLISHED August 24th 2007
What has Premier Williams managed to do that other Premiers could not?
...allow the destruction of FPI.
I am upset today as a Newfoundlander and Labradorian - are you?
While equity in non-renewable assets is the order of the day for Williams - valuable renewable assets and associated business get the thumbs down.
A Nova Scotian based company ends up with the lucrative North American marketing arm of FPI - yahoo!
How many Sullivan's does it take to consume FPI?
Give me a penney and I'll tell you.
This is pathetic and deserves as much negative attention as the Hebron MOU deserves positive. The fishery until Danny Williams became the Premier - was referred to as the backbone of our economy. Nowadays - I think the government MHA's are careful or told not to say that.
As most of us should have observed by now Dean and Danny have a fetish for oil and gas and that is where the focus has been. It is nice to have the diversity of natural resources we have - but with Williams it will be oil oil oil and soon gas gas gas. The Premier just does not have the same protective passion for renewable - generational resources like the fishery - hydro-power - and wind.
Today I will focus on the fishery. Regardless of how the Premier or his top-spinner Ross Reid might plan and roll out announcements during polling period or just before an election - they are just inadequate when it comes to that resource of the sea.
Danny is the man to fight Ottawa over equalization (oil revenues primarily) and fallow field legislation - but when it comes to the fishery - he is impotent. The grand fisheries conference a year or so ago - has produced nothing new.
Do you see Williams pulling an ABC because there is no early retirement package - or inadequate federal money dedicated to science - the failure of the ground-fish stocks to recover well past the originally predicted time-frame? You have not heard a peep from him on proposed changes to the federal fisheries Act or the NAFO shenanigans brought to light by former DFO official Applebaum. Oil is sexy to St. John's, the business and construction labour communities - whereas fish is just this nuisance that the rural crowd keep pestering him about.
There is no doubt about it - Williams just does not have the guts - knowledge - interest - or some combination of them to take on the feds over the fishery - and further - the display of bravado to big oil companies - is just not present with the fish merchants. For some reason the Barry's - Penney's - and Risley's of the world are just too tough.
Here's a portion of the News Release put out by Highliner Foods International on the purchase of a portion of FPI assets:
High Liner Foods Incorporated today announced it has signed an agreement with FPI Limited and its subsidiary, Fisheries Products International Limited, to purchase its
marketing and manufacturing business.
FPI's marketing and manufacturing business consists of its North American
value-added food service and retail frozen seafood businesses. In 2006, the
business had sales of $452.9 million and gross profit of $43.5 million.
"This acquisition will be an important milestone in pursuit of our vision to become the leading value-added frozen seafood company in North America..."
So if they become the leading - where are we?
Just to put that in perspective:
Highliner
The company began in 1899 with the founding of W.C Smith & Company, a salt fish operation located in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia -- the current home of our head office and one of the most modern and diversified food processing plants in the world.
FPI
Fishery Products International is an industry leader in harvesting, processing, global sourcing, and marketing a wide selection of high quality seafood products. From its corporate headquarters in St. John’s, FPI manages primary and value-added seafood processing plants and a fleet of modern harvesting vessels.
From the few words which I have highlighted - can you see the problem already?
Please remember when the legislated restrictions are finally gone - the guarantees have a very short time-frame. The rural communities affected by this deal today - no longer have the protection of socio/economic policy attached to the harvesting of the resources adjacent to them.
First problem:
The Provincial Government has achieved a five-year agreement for the sustained operation of existing FPI facilities.
What happens then???
Second problem:
...we have made it a condition of sale that FPI and OCI proceed expeditiously with the transfer of the Fortune facility to Cooke Aquaculture. Is Cooke still interested? I thought not. (That's if you buy into Aquaculture being a panacea to replace the wild fishery) More on that in the next post.
So what happens now?
Third problem:
Sold to Highliner -
FPI's marketing and manufacturing business consists of its North American
value-added food service and retail frozen seafood businesses. In 2006, the
business had sales of $452.9 million and gross profit of $43.5 million. I wonder who benefits from that now?
What's the provincial portion of tax lost etc...What does Nova Scotia gain - and what does Newfoundland and Labrador lose?
NO EQUITY IN OR FOR THE FISHERY!
That's the real problem - so tilt your glasses and toast the man of the hour Danny Williams who has done what no other Premier could do before him - allow the destruction of FPI.
I will conclude by saying: In my opinion it's much tougher to make your million on a crab boat or prosecuting ground-fish than it is to make it off - let's say a bunch of poles and wires capable of bringing sports - news - and whatever else into your house!
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