Government Home Search Sitemap Contact Us

Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister John Efford says Jean Charest's idea of combining the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans with three other departments would be devastating for Newfoundland and Labrador and other provinces where there are commercial fisheries.

"The only thing this ill-thought out and shortsighted idea demonstrates is an obvious total lack of understanding of the importance of the fishery to this province and others," Mr. Efford said in commenting on the idea.

Mr. Efford said that with fisheries, agriculture, natural resources and environment coming under the umbrella of one department, "it is almost guaranteed that such issues as wheat or timber that are important to more powerful provinces would take precedence over those for the fishery.

"It can be difficult at the best of times to get federal fisheries decisions that are to our advantage. Indeed, the pressures from other federal departments such as Foreign Affairs have historically had negative impacts on fisheries issues. In a department that includes agriculture, this would be greater."

"The fishery is too important to the survival of rural Newfoundland and Labrador us to have it swallowed up and dominated by other issues. We need a very strong Department of Fisheries and Oceans that is devoted only to our marine resources. We need a full time federal fisheries minister fully dedicated to the complex regional, national and international issues facing the industry," he said.