Dunderdale gives up fishery for loan guarantee on Muskrat?

In my opinion the Premier traded the fishery for a loan guarantee on Muskrat in November of 2012 - something she said she would not do.

The media - did a fine job talking about Dunderdale's fine negotiating skills. Really?

Where's the journalism now?

Now it's a win for Newfoundland and Labrador - when in November of 2012 it was extortion?

Kathy Dunderdale quote from NTV news story in May 2013:

The premier and the prime minister signed the terms for the loan guarantee in Happy Valley-Goose Bay on Nov. 30, but the deal almost fell apart the night before. Dunderdale says at the last minute Harper demanded concessions in the fishery to get the loan guarantee. He wanted the province to give up minimum processing requirements at local fish plants as part of a free trade deal with the European Union, known as CETA.
“The prime minister wanted a quid pro quo for the loan guarantee, and you know what I told him to do with the loan guarantee: no quid pro quos,” Dunderdale said. “You (Harper) promised it to the people of the province, you said that the only requirement was that it have a sound business plan.
“Well, we’ve produced it, you give us the loan guarantee, and don’t talk to me about the fishery at the 11th hour.”
Dunderdale says Ottawa continued to push for the concession until the Victoria Day long weekend when International Trade Minister Ed Fast came to the province. Again, she said no, making it clear there would be no trade-off between Muskrat Falls and the fishery.
“There is no linkage between those two things,” she told reporters after her speech. “That has been a point we’ve been making since November. The loan guarantee stands on its own.”

The caveat was:  But the fishery issue isn’t quite off the table yet. Dunderdale said she would consider giving up the minimum processing requirements if the public and industry want that, and if the province gets something in return, such as better access to the European market or an early retirement program. But for now, her position is to keep the rules as they are.

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What Ottawa was looking to have tariffs lifted for the fishery it would be in return for lifting minimum processing requirements. In my opinion Dunderdale was trying to make herself look tough - saying that there would be no quid pro quo and the loan guarantee stood on its own. The more likely truth is that Harper won the day in November and gave the Premier time to make it palatable. Time to get the message and spin right - and time to get people on side who could back her position. The EU was not expecting a lift on processing without a lift on tariffs - give me a break. I choose to use my mind - not to have it spun like a web.

In my opinion - the fishery did get traded for the muskrat loan guarantee - and the Premier did nothing to make sure that the "public" wanted in - she just bagged McCurdey and the seafood processors. 

Dunderdale is - in my opinion - either a participant or pawn.

The question the media should get an answer to now - was the EU expecting to have minimum processing requirements lifted without also agreeing to lifting tariffs? My belief and logic says no. This was a straight exchange. Dunderdale needed more time to get the necessary people on side.

What irony that Sullivan's man in Dunderdale's Cabinet just got put into the Department of Fisheries.

Timing is everything...

Iceland's Fishery gets Thor - we get Harper and Dunderdale

Ahh to be free from the chains that bind us.

Below please read a story from FishUpdate Magazine published today.

 

THE Thor, Iceland's new super fishery protection ship, has begun the 14,000 mile journey from the shipyard in Chile, where it was built, to its new base near Reykjavik.

Sailing through the Panama Canal and calling at Boston in the United States and Halifax, Canada on the way she is expected to arrive in Iceland towards the end of the month.

The new Thor has been under construction since 2007 and will become the flagship of the Icelandic Coastguard's fishery protection which includes three other vessels, two helicopters and a surveillance aircraft.

The fleet's job is two-fold - to combat illegal fishing, along with general policing of the seas, and to provide a search and rescue service for fishing vessels that might get into difficulties.  The Icelandic Coastguard - its motto is "Always Prepared" - was first established in the 1920s to monitor the country's fishing limits which were then just three miles from shore.

For veteran trawlermen in Grimsby, Hull and Aberdeen, the name "Thor" will have an older resonance. It was an earlier Iceland gunboat called the Thor which clashed with British trawlers and Royal Navy frigates during the cod wars of the 1970s. The gunboat would get in close to try to cut the nets of the British trawlers during a long series of fishing dispute. On one occasion it even opened fire on a British fishery support ship. After that episode the Royal Navy was called in to offer protection to the trawler fleet.

Iceland did offer Britain a 65,000 annual catch quota, but this was rejected by the UK fishing industry and the government (which included the then Foreign Secretary Anthony Crosland, who was also the MP for Grimsby)  who wanted a 110,000 ton quota. The dispute ended in eventual defeat for British fishermen when Iceland won its fight for a 200 mile limit.

Newfoundland and Labrador is not their oyster...

This Province and potential opportunities from resource development must not be restricted to a few close buddies or a "special" corporate group.

I recognize that right now - it is difficult for one to question Premier Williams on anything he does - as the "fan power" right now is similar to one NFL player before they found dead dogs on his property.

One example - the Sullivan boys from the Southern Shore. Loyola - after just leaving as the Minister of Finance for the province - emerges to become Canada's new "Fish Ambassador" - Karl - Senior Manager of the Barry Group - has managed to steer assets - quite cheaply into the Barry Group's list of holdings with government guarantees - and just the other day - significant assets of FPI purchased by Ocean Choice - of the Penney Group - with Ches Penney flanked by Martin and Blaine Sullivan President and CFO respectively.

Think about the various potential conflicts or influence here - and within one of our most important resources - fish.

Then let's look at the fibre optic deal - remember that one? Persona - whose chief is Dean MacDonald and his buddy's government pumps a 15 million dollar investment that way - without any Request for Proposals - arguing that anybody that could be in the deal already was - Rogers - Persona - MTS Allstream. That's if first you can get past the potential conflict or influence with Rogers involved - with the Premier's selling of his company Cable Atlantic to them or the Premier's former law and business partner Steve Marshall's brother Ken Marshall remaining in a senior position with Rogers.

Then there was the whole mess of Aurora Energy appointing Dean MacDonald to the Board when the company is involved in uranium potential for energy - even though Dean at the time was the Chair of Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro including the responsibility of the Lower Churchill Development. Although MacDonald quit the Aurora Board within a couple of days after Sue's Blog and then media pointed out the potential conflict - we are left to wonder what type of influence Aurora has and more importantly Altius - which as at January 2007 held a 10% interest in Aurora - 30% Rambler gold-copper mine - 37.5% interest in Newfoundland and Labrador refining corporation (you know the refinery proposal) and then there was and is their proposal for financing the Lower Churchill project described this way:

Altius has also made a proposal to the provincial government for financing the Lower Churchill hydroelectric project. Its proposal was put on the three-bid short list; its proposal (involving a royalty foundation for provincial residents) has the benefit of benefiting the local populace, a sensitive issue in a poor province where many projects have been sold to outside interests. Altius’ proposal could also be combined with other financing proposals. Currently, the provincial government is working on the development plan. Once this plan is complete, after three or four months perhaps, then it will turn again to the financing proposals. If successful, Altius would likely end up with a free-carried interest generating cashflow, for very little initial cost.

So there we have the fisheries - minerals - oil and gas - hydro - and communications all wrapped up in a little corporate gang.

For more specifics refer back to the following posts:

Dean MacDonald Please Resign

Why it's okay to question Dean and Dan on the Fibre Optics

The Fibre Optic Deal and Lobbyist Part 1

The Fibre Optic Deal Part 2

The Fibre Optic Deal Part 3

The Fibre Optic Deal Part 4

Political Patronage "Persona"fied

Now we can fight with Ottawa (as we should) but there is no plan to correct the deficiencies in our federation - and it will do wonders to keep our eye off the ball.

Williams is becoming the master of red herrings - to cover for:

rural Newfoundland and Labrador decimation,

FPI fiasco,

Paper Mill in Stephenville,

the Metis,

continued loss of our graduates and job fairs to Alberta,

Danny's friends and colleagues and positions of influence,

no energy plan,

net outmigration,

high unemployment,

giveaway of wind power resources - in part to the Government of Italy,

Persona and fibre optics,

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro hires Summa to lobby Ottawa on the Lower Churchill - including the employment of Timothy Powers - a strategist for the federal Conservatives - while Danny launches an ABC campaign,

Failure to release MOU with Hebron partners.

Keep your on the balls being juggled by Williams while he attempts to divert your attention with nationalistic heroism.

Closer to home - Fish Lobbyist

Newly minted Conservative MHA Keith Hutchings - he was just a provincial lobbyist for the Association of Seafood Producers - ending 2007-01-12. He was lobbying on behalf of these employers to the Workplace Health and Safety Commission. Do voters know this? Does Trish Dodd and the Injured Workers Association know this?

When on with Randy Simms - Simms asked tell us a bit about yourself - he did not say -I am or was just a paid lobbyist for the Association of Seafood Producers. In that wonderful fishing district of our province - and Keith who claimed that the fisheries collapse is tough but you know aquaculture is the way of the future. Gee - where did he get that theory from?

Does the fact that he lobbied for the Seafood Producers Association have any bearing on his opinions round the caucus table?

Why not ask people we elect or who want to be elected - who were they working for. Why not ask those people we pay?

You see the red-herring of a blogger not identifying who they work for - is just that - raise the invalid - to hide the valid.

You see Keith worked for Loyola Sullivan when he was PC leader - did he ever work for the WHSC? Loyola - whose brothers are involved with Seafood Producers!

I guess Keith had great contacts within government.

Once again - I ask - what are the MHA's for or the MP's - get a lobbyist.

Maybe the Independent and Ryan Cleary could do some research on what a lobbyist is - who they work for - how much they are paid - and what they are lobbying for.

FPI must be purchased by the Province

If Fisheries Minister Tom Rideout was in anyway accurate in reflecting ongoing talks with FPI and their "committee" analysing options for the sale of the company's assets - a new level of arrogance has entered our fisheries industry.

That is very hard to do considering the pompous actions of many of our processors in the past. Not too long ago FPI and the Barry Group proceeded on with a sale of the Harbour Breton plant - had already started renovation work on the plant - before government sanctioned the sale. The government clearly embarrassed negotiated a position where the contract was dated reflecting the actual time government gave the two parties its "permission".

We know one of the parties in the current tangle is FPI and if one of the other is the Barry Group - it would be normal that they proceed on despite legislation or the protests and threats of the Minister.

In either case - the break-up of this company is sinister enough with respect to the new board and whatever objectives they claimed to have had - and the objectives they actually reached. There are far too many secret negotiations going on here - in what ultimately could lead to a new level of monopolization in an industry that is already controlled too much by the corporate sector.

We also have to deal with the lucrative marketing arm and offshore assets as well as the quotas currently held by FPI.

For all these reasons - it would be prudent for the NL government to buy out the shares of the company at a negotiated value that more clearly reflects an average of share value over the past 3 years. After that is done an open and transparent process can begin including the determination of what ultimately we want our fishery to look like - including federal legislation - the dispensing of FPI assets - a new federal-provincial plan on management - and meaningful public discourse with stakeholders and the people of the province.

When the corporate fishery was in trouble before - the Crown stepped in and slowly privatized the newly formed company (FPI) - with appropriate legislation to protect the taxpayers investment. It is time to repeat the process.

Currently the only thing we are driving is a process of escalated share value for some of the same people who have torn the company and rural Newfoundland and Labrador apart.