Define Moratorium

Moratorium - A SUSPENSION of Activity

So that's where we are? A suspension of activity?

This suspension of activity has caused the loss of over 40,000 people from our province.
This suspension of activity has caused the death or near-death of some rural communities.
This suspension of activity has caused the loss of relationships and breakup of families.
This suspension of activity has caused the closure of secondary related business and industry.

Moratorium sounds so - clinical - and in some ways hopeful.

This word is not appropriate for the loss of our cod fishery/ground stocks.
This word does not do justice in defining the catastrophic damage caused due to "suspension" of activity.

Somehow Canada - Ottawa - the Feds - have convinced many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians that it's our fault or at the least we are partially to blame.

Listening to Canada - or federal politicians from other provinces make this claim - is - what I can expect. Listening to our own politicians and experts making the same claim is sickening.

So how did Canadian and Newfoundland and Labrador politicians get away with the largest socio/enviro mess ever seen in this country?

1. Announce a moratorium in 1992 and claim that stocks will recover - should have been fixed by 2002. (DID NOT HAPPEN)

2. Announce programs to bridge the gap for fishermen, plantworkers, and communities (DID NOT begin to COVER LOSS)

3. Increase Fisheries Science (DID NOT HAPPEN)

4. Retirement Packages (DID NOT HAPPEN)

5. Then they slowly got us used to words like rationalization, down-sizing, and right-sizing - carefully explaining to us that the fishery was never meant to handle that many people. (BUNK)

6. From there we went to dumping FPI and eliminating marketing.

7. They closed one plant - most other plants and workers shut-up - they feared they would be next.

8. They have and continue to pit one community against another.

9. Downloading federal fishery support services to the province.

10. Pit offshore against inshore - recreational against commercial.

11. Use municipal politicians by offering pavement, arenas, tourism dollars, and water/sewer.

12. Commit to one study after another to delay any real action.

13. Pit urban residents against rural residents.

14. Promote and focus on non-renewable oil assets.

15. Above all - convince us - we were greedy, we took all the fish, and we destroyed ourselves.

16. Marginalize people like Gus Etchegary and Phil Earle.

17. Eliminate the people left with EI changes.

18. Give all fish to kingpins.

19. Over utilization of other stocks.

All of this while the FACT remains that management was the responsibility of the federal government. They were negligent. As a result we were harmed. Therefore we need compensation. 1 billion a year until the stocks return.

The Ministers of Fishery we have had federal and provincial are too gutless, ignorant, or complicit to do what is needed.