Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs
Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development
January 26, 2015

Standing Strong for Newfoundland and Labrador

Province Calls on Federal Government to Honour its Commitment on Fisheries Investment Fund

The Honourable Keith Hutchings, Minister of Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs, and the Honourable Darin King, Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development, are again calling on the Honourable Ed Fast, the federal Minister of International Trade, to make good on his commitment on the fisheries investment fund that he negotiated with the Provincial Government. Minister Fast was quoted in a media article last week, while in Rome, advising of his intentions to resolve the ongoing dispute with the province. Despite the fact that he has been asked to meet or correspond with the province on his negotiated agreement, this is the first time he has made any public comment on the fisheries investment fund since 2013.

"Minister Fast was the Federal Government representative who negotiated and confirmed the fisheries investment fund, yet he has refrained from any public comments on this important issue until last week. After months of silence, he referenced the fund as a 'slush fund', which is offensive to the people of the province. The Federal Government had designated the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency as the administrator of the fisheries fund. Minister Fast is now not only changing his position on a deal reached between both levels of government, but he is misleading the public by stating that 'we are going to resolve it by continuing to dialogue with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador' and that 'we will continue to reach out to them.' The reality is that Minister Fast has not responded to the letters, he has ignored the province in his capacity as trade minister, has refused to visit the province, and neither he nor his officials have reached out in any way to operationalize this agreed upon fund."
- The Honourable Keith Hutchings, Minister of Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs

The Provincial Government wrote Minister Fast on January 6, 2015, to reiterate the province's position and to advise of its decision to suspend its participation in all trade agreements currently under negotiations by the Federal Government pending the successful resolution of this matter.

"Our government is supportive of the CETA agreement and the benefits our province would receive if the deal is ratified. However, we fully expect the Federal Government to live up to its agreement with Newfoundland and Labrador. Our government's decision to suspend our participation in trade negotiations is a measure intended to shield the province from the Federal Government extracting concessions in areas of provincial jurisdiction without the province's consent. This government is still very much in favour of enhancing trade opportunities for the benefit of all economic sectors of the province."
-The Honourable Darin King, Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development

QUICK FACTS

• The Provincial Government takes offence to Minister Fast's recent comments which reference the fisheries fund as a 'slush fund'. Following months of silence, Minister Fast has not responded to letters from the province, has ignored the province in his capacity as trade minister, has refused to visit the province, and neither he nor his officials have reached out in any way to operationalize the agreed upon fund.
• The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador negotiated an agreement with the Government of Canada to create a $400 million cost-shared fisheries investment fund, which was to be used for industry development and renewal. The agreement was reached as part of Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) negotiations in the spring of 2013 and was officially announced in October 2013.
• In recent months, the Federal Government unilaterally changed the terms of the agreement. New terms introduced by the Federal Government would result in the province having to demonstrate damages as a result of eliminating minimum processing requirements before any funding would flow. The Provincial Government has communicated to the Federal Government that the new terms are not acceptable and that it fully expects them to live up to the agreement as originally negotiated.

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Media contacts:

Kevin Guest Director of Communications Department of Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs 709-729-1983, 730-2320 kevinjguest@gov.nl.ca

Tansy Mundon Director of Communications Department of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development 709-729-4570, 693-1865 tansymundon@gov.nl.ca

2015 01 26                              3:20 p.m.