ST. JOHN’S EAST MP NAMED FISHERIES MINISTER

FFAW-Unifor is welcoming St. John’s East Member of Parliament, the Honourable Joanne Thompson, to the role of federal fisheries minister under Canada’s newly sworn in prime minister, the Right Honourable Mark Carney. The Union representing over 13,000 fisheries workers in Newfoundland and Labrador is looking forward to meeting with Minister Thompson in the coming days to outline priorities and assess Thompson’s willingness to right the wrongs of the previous minister.

Diane Lebouthillier notably broke a decades-long promise to Newfoundland and Labrador and prematurely reopened the northern cod fishery to corporate draggers while the stock is still vulnerable. Lebouthillier also allocated the vast majority of the new redfish fishery to the corporate dragger fleet at the expense of the gulf owner-operator fleet, closed the commercial mackerel fishery, and has pushed forward costly electronic logbook policies.

“We’ll be looking to get clear commitments from Minister Thompson on where she stands on our key priorities. Our members have been abandoned by the Liberal MPs they elected, and relationships will need to be rebuilt,” says FFAW-Unifor President Dwan Street.