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Minister objects to federal government acceptance of IPAC recommendations Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Gerry Reid today expressed his objection to a recent federal government decision to accept the recommendations of the Independent Panel on Access Criteria (IPAC) report. "This decision is a slap in the face to this province," said Minister Reid. "Minister Thibault�s decision will ensure further erosion of our fishery in the future." In a release issued November 8, Minister Thibault accepted the IPAC recommendations and stated that the new access framework will guide all decisions on new or additional access to Atlantic commercial fisheries which have undergone substantial increases in resource abundance or landed value. "In other words" said Minister Reid, "if the price of fish increases, the federal government could consider providing access for new users." The Province of Newfoundland and Labrador advised the federal minister that it rejected the panel�s report based in particular on their use of equity as an access principle, and on their definition of adjacency. "The panel�s definition of equity and inclusion as an access principle is unclear and open to interpretation," said Minister Reid. "The panel says that the fishery is a common property resource which should be managed in such a way as to not create or exacerbate excessive interpersonal or inter-regional disparities. Realistically, one person�s equity in another�s inequity. Using the principle of equity means every time a fishery along our coast increases in landed volume or value, groups from outside the province can come in and demand access. Under the definition outlined by IPAC, the federal government will have to decide each and every time. This is an additional stick with which the federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans can be beaten by non-Newfoundland interests in their attempts to gain access to waters adjacent to Newfoundland and Labrador." "Even more troubling," said Minister Reid, "is the panel�s definition of adjacency. We have people in �inshore� (less than 65 foot) vessels fishing at the 200 mile limit and beyond. These fishers are right out on the edge of the continental shelf - we consider this adjacent. In fact, the province proposed a clear definition of adjacency for the panel, based on consultations held with industry and community groups. This definition would see those provinces which border on NAFO zones being considered adjacent, both inshore and offshore. Minister Thibault has rejected this definition - in other words, if a resource is 70 or 80 miles off our east coast, access for non-Newfoundland and Labrador interests could be considered. "For us adjacency has always been the primary consideration in determining access - anything else is totally unacceptable. I have discussed these issues in detail with Minister Thibault on a number of occasions, but he has chosen to ignore our provincial concerns and accept the IPAC recommendations." The minister spoke with Minister Thibault on November 7 and asked him to delay his announcement for a week, to allow a meeting with his federal counterpart to stress the importance of rejecting the IPAC recommendations and to look for a new approach to handling the fishery in the province. "How often and how loudly must we say this is bad for the people of this province before the federal government actually listens and does something," said Minister Reid. "The decision to accept the IPAC recommendations is yet another magnificent example of the federal government�s pejorative policy of ignoring the concerns of regional interests and is an insult to those closest too and most dependent upon the fishery. I remain firmly convinced that Ottawa has no concept of the challenges we face in the fishing industry in this province and has no intention of acting in the best interest of our provincial fishing industry or those that rely on it for their livelihoods." Media contact: Elizabeth Matthews, Communications, (709) 729-3733. 2002 11 08 5:00 p.m. |
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