Irresponsible and Misleading Statements Do Not Help New Ferolle

Statements recently made by opposition fisheries Critic Jim Bennett require significant corrections, as they are filled with inaccuracies regarding the status of operations at the fish plant located in New Ferolle.

“Mr. Bennett claimed the Provincial Government has agreed to move the whelk licence out of the community, but the plant owner has yet to even submit an application to do so,” said the Honourable Derrick Dalley, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. “Mr. Bennett may have made assumptions based on a recent newspaper ad placed by the plant owner to ensure transparency regarding his intention to request a transfer, and to give interested parties an opportunity to provide input to the licensing board before it makes a recommendation to me. However, the ad certainly does not take the licence out of the community, and Mr. Bennett was irresponsible in creating such an impression.”

Mr. Bennett’s misleading statements that the Provincial Government sold the plant to a processor who had no business plan also require correction. The Provincial Government used a request for proposals process in 2006 to identify a new operator for the plant. The province’s independent licensing board received proposals from interested parties, and then made a recommendation to the Minister that was supported by people in the community. That recommendation was accepted, and the plant and its assets were transferred to the current operator.

"This issue is ongoing and important to the people of New Ferolle,” said Minister Dalley. “Mr. Bennett needs to stick to the facts instead of playing politics by making ill-informed comments and spreading misinformation. The Provincial Government stands by its track record of supporting rural communities, and if workers become negatively impacted by new developments at the plant, employment supports offered by a number of government departments can be used to provide assistance.”

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Media contact:
Jason Card
Director of Communications
Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture
709-729-3733, 699-0470
jasoncard@gov.nl.ca 

2013 06 12                                  2:40 p.m.