If you can first put aside the learned hatred of everything fish for one moment - then we might start pulling on the same oar.
Ottawa is responsible for the collapse of the fishery as they control the management of the stocks and fishing grounds.
20 years after a moratorium slated to last 10 years - we are collapsing further.
This is not the time to downsize or rationalize - we will not have an industry left. All we will witness is GDP and that will be attributable to unprocessed fish being gouged by a few corporations.
Now is the time to seek a real solution.
We have lost a billion a year since 2002 when the moratorium was supposed to be over. That did not happen.
Because of that we have lost twice that - as we have also lost transfer payments (per-capita) - due to population loss - that pays for transportation, health, and education.
We have also lost communities, investment, families, depreciated asset value, and future industrial potential.
If we demand that Ottawa - pay up - 1 billion x 10 years = 10 billion so far and counting.
Why are we rationalizing?
Why are we downsizing?
Because we have lost our fishery!
That is not acceptable.
We need our fishermen for science, research, and industrial planning.
We need our plant workers to work on new product lines.
We need these people and our provincial government to work on markets.
Is this a reasonable ask?
Of course it is - the feds bail out agriculture year over year to preserve food security, communities, families and that industry. Remember that the feds are not even responsible for drought, floods, market woes, and foreign subsidization for our competitors. They still pay - year over year.
Of course it is - the feds bailed out Ontario when the auto-makers collapsed and industry suffered in Central Canada. Billions and billions. They were not responsible for that occurrence.
They are responsible for the loss of the ground-fish stocks and are responsible for not protecting the fishing grounds. They are responsible for bartering our fish stocks away to foreigners so that other provinces would get manufacturing and industrial investment.
Instead our politicians are sucking their thumbs and doing nothing to correct this problem. We have suffered a grave injury and we are entitled to compensation.
Instead our politicians are looking for ways to boot people out of the fishery with a package.
Instead our politicians are looking to downsize and rationalize.
There is no rationalization - there must be compensation.
Then 25,000 of our people per year could be doing something beneficial - to help rebuild stocks, develop product and markets, and foster growth in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.
Why is it that Newfoundland and Labrador is not demanding what is just?
Why do we keep letting the feds off the hook?
Why are we allowing not only the continued loss of stocks but downsizing science, SAR, and other critical assets to this industry?
Why indeed!
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