The attitude of disinterest, boredom, annoyance and/or anger of many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians toward the fishery, fishermen, and plant workers is a mistake.
The politicians from all parties have played a very partisan and dangerous game with the people of our province as it relates to this resource and bureaucrats both provincially and federally have made it worse by juggling death versus dealing with the continued problem.
The fishery is our history and should be our future - but in order for that to be the case a number of things have to happen.
1. Our history in the fishery must be fully and publicly disclosed and discussed so that all people in our province can learn to respect, value, and protect this vital renewable resource.
2. An injury has occurred and our province - communities and people - are the injured party. We need to assess the injury, determine the party/ies that caused the injury, value the injury, and then do what is necessary to achieve compensation for the injury.
3. Based on the compensation arrangements the province must move forward to develop plans for recovery, science, enforcement, community, environmental and the future.
4. Further these plans must be broken down to include; immediate actions, medium term actions, and long term actions. One to fifty years would be appropriate.
5.The province must desist making new arrangements with "processors" that want to export raw material and must move toward harvesters co-ops and redevelop a marketing division for products either processed or unprocessed of this resource.
The "rationalization" of the fishery which government and others claim is occurring is nothing more that a desperate response to a disastrous situation which has yet to be dealt with properly. Each and every week we are hearing of the closure or downsizing of plants and facilities and communities losing their primary employer.
This is not a sustainable answer to what will bring economic disaster.
Dr. Phil Earle and Gus Etchegary are not sounding the very loud alarm bells for no reason and these retired individuals are not as passionate as they are without reasoned concern. They are as worried as you should be.
The moratorium of our stocks began in 1992 - this caused a massive upheaval in this resource sector and we lost about 80,000 people from our workforce and most from our province altogether.
We should have experienced significant recovery by 2002 and should have been on our way to sustained recovery. This according to the people responsible for managing the resource.
We all know this did not happen and now we are in 2012 - with no reasonable end in sight.
To alleviate the loss of our ground fish sector - we increased the catch of our shellfish. We all know this is not a good thing and eventually will cause further catastrophic consequences.
Despite the catch increase in other species - thousands of people were removed from this fishery and no doubt hundreds of our rural communities have suffered.
Throughout this mess - the kingpins of the fishery needed to maintain and grow profits - so fisheries policy has revolved around keeping them afloat. The latest of course is to give them stocks without the necessity to process. This has resulted in further losses to the people in general but the continued wealth building for those already so endowed.
If you can get your head around the problem it equates to a loss of a billion dollars a year plus the loss of people, loss of communities and devalued assets.
Try and consider the following. Let's say you lost your job in St. John's or Metro - no doubt you would feel the pinch and be worried about your next paycheck - just like the people displaced on the Burin Peninsula. Let's add that you had been at the same job for 20 or so years and have invested in things like a house or property. If you went to sell that asset in St. John's Metro you would enjoy an increase in the value of your asset upon sale. Now for one moment put yourself in a rural community that has just lost it's only significant employer - and then you needed to sell your house. You would suffer major losses as the equity you built would disappear - as the market was no longer there for resale.
Also consider that with the low unemployment rate in St. John's Metro - you may be able to find another job to make ends meet - while the person in the rural community would not have that option. In your case you may be able to keep your home - or sell for a profit and downsize - whereas the person in the rural community would have to sell their property, move and not even have the option to rent out their home - NO Market.
Some of the more fortunate ones in the affected community may be in a position to retire - thereby staying in their own home - that is if they are not still indebted. Let's say they can stay in their own home and actually live another 20 or so years. What services will remain where they live? What will they do with no family remaining in the community? None of these issues are a problem in St. John's Metro - YET.
You see the losses resulting from a collapsed fishery will hurt us all. The worst is yet to come - if we do not fix the problem.
This is only the tip of the iceberg.
For those who are still in their productive work life - the choice will be to move away and find work elsewhere. Where will they pay tax? What will happen with their children? Will they ever come back? Will we lose a significant number of our next generation? If we do - who will pay for the seniors left behind? Who will pay for the increase in personal care home usage? Who will pay the medical bills of an aging population besieged with chronic illnesses - more prevalent in Newfoundland and Labrador?
Then factor in all the boomers who moved away 20 years ago when the fishery first collapsed. Many of these people will return home upon retirement after having paid all their taxes to another province. That places an increased burden on a taxation system that did not receive the benefit of their taxes for the past 20 years. How will these shortfalls be covered?
What about resettlement? You know that government is always looking at that when their finance gurus are explaining the problem mentioned above. Are we going to resettle 100 or more communities? How much will that cost? Where will they move to? If we pick 5 regional centres and move them all there - what will be the increased burden on those cities or towns?
If not resettlement how does government pay for the upkeep of thousands of kilometres of roads - deteriorating badly? How does government afford to keep reasonable health services in those communities?
Now let's talk about the taboo - OIL - what happens when that oil is gone? When will it be gone? What will happen to our cities and regional towns? We have lost two mills, mines, and may lose our last mill. We will have no oil sector and the fishery will be dead.
I will guarantee one thing - if the future plays out as discussed above - the leaders - our politicians of the present day will not be around. They may retire in Florida on the lucrative pension we provide them. They may move to a - then recovered Ontario. Their children will be provided for. Kathy Dunderdale may huff and puff every time her choices are questioned - but she WILL have a pension.
Our biggest problem is that our politically based system is very similar to a quick-buck corporation - concentrate on the now - the next few years - the next election. Unfortunately they see this as their job instead of being the keepers of our future.
If we build Muskrat now - there will be lots of jobs now and make them look good. Unfortunately there are no measurable numbers of long term jobs but there is certainly measurable long term debt. So while the shareholders of Emera will enjoy increased profits through guaranteed returns - we the owners, the taxpayers and ratepayers will suffer.
Our system of immediate political rewards, needs, and votes is also costing us at the Federal level. Right now - I am convinced that Stephen Harper can strip our province of every benefit of "con"federation - and Dunderdale will let it happen as long as the loan guarantee carrot exists.
We need vision and we need it now.
We need leadership and we need it now.
We need a plan and we need it now.
We need action and we need it now.
These games - childish political games - played by incompetent, disinterested, and/or partisan people with an need to satisfy the next polling period - will destroy us.
These politicians who through their own words, excuses, and frustration cause you and me to detest the fishery with them.
You think you can afford to not care about the fishery? Think again.
1 comment:
Excellent summary of the problems we face today, Sue, and that this wretched cabal of so-called leaders is woefully inept at handling.
Most of our former Premiers were surrounded by reasonably competent Ministers but this group is weak and incompetent from the top down. Their vision is limited to the next photo-op and their loyalties are to their corporate buddies, some obvious, some not so obvious.
The fishery itself will always be ill-served if left to politicians and Ottawa mandarins. These people make political decisions based on their own survival rather than what is best for the resource and those who harvest it.
Unless and until we are able to wrest control of the resource from these political forces, the fishery is doomed to failure and possible extinction of, not only the resource, but a people and a way of life. A nonpartisan and local administrative body is desperately needed if this industry is ever going to overcome the mismanagement of the past 50 years.
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