FFAW-Unifor Filing Application for Injunction to Delay the Management Plan for Northern Cod
July 19, 2024
The Union representing fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador is filing a formal challenge against the June 26th decision made by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Diane Lebouthillier, in federal court.
The Fish, Food, and Allied Workers Union (FFAW-Unifor) are also filing an injunction to delay the recently announced management plan for the 2J3KL Northern Cod Commercial fishery until the judicial review is complete. The Union believes that the decision to allocate 11% of the TAC to Canadian and International offshore draggers blatantly disregards both best science and policy, as the stock remains in the cautious zone, therefore, is not in keeping with the provisions within the Fisheries Act.
“We have undertaken substantial legal consultation since June 26th and we are now well positioned to take this unreasonable and unfair decision to federal court,” says Greg Pretty, FFAW-Unifor President. “You just can’t lift a 32-year moratorium and ignore an over 40-year commitment without any meaningful explanation. We are making sure that this serious breach of public trust and public duties owed to Canadians, and Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in particular, will have appropriate consequences.”
Not only did DFO violate the Fisheries Act by failing to publish reasons for amending the current Rebuilding Plan, but the decision also reneged on a longstanding commitment by successive federal fisheries Ministers to prioritize the first 115,000t of Northern cod for the inshore and Indigenous groups. The history of this commitment was compiled in a Submission by FFAW and presented to the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister Lebouthillier on July 11th.
“We have no faith that there were any balanced or informed reasons for the decision, and it’s blatantly obvious to Canadians, whether connected to fisheries or not, that was purely politically motivated. At this point, since the Minister has deserted her statutory obligation to present any reasoning, we are pursuing the court to get the accountability that is owing,” Pretty concludes.
The FFAW will be filing the injunction and application for judicial review early next week.
FFAW NORTHERN COD CAMPAIGN WEBSITE: WWW.SAVEOURCOD.CA