Pending privatization of fishery leaves many concerned

With Bill C-32 still winding its way through the legislative process in Ottawa, many of those involved in the fishery on the North coast are expressing concern as that should it go forward into law, their very livelihoods may be at stake.

Nathan Cullen the local MP for Skeena- Bulkley Valley has been fielding a growing number of requests to find a way to shut down the legislation, which many fear will provide more power to DFO and squeeze out many of the long time participants in the fishery.

The Daily News featured the latest developments with the legislation as the front page story in Friday's paper.

MP VOWS TO KEEP FIGHTING FISHERIES 'PRIVATIZATION' BILL
Nathan Cullen says feds are pushing on with legislation that fishermen oppose

By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Friday, May 30, 2008

Pages one and three

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The government of Canada is currently moving ahead with a bill that will amend the Fisheries Act in ways that many fishermen and stakeholders across the country vehemently oppose, say critics.

Bill C-32, introduced in November 2007 in its current form, is a piece of legislation that the government says will amend the Fisheries Act to "respect the sustainable development of Canada's seacoast and inland fisheries." As the bill's summary reads, it "sets out management principles governing the exercise of responsibilities under the Act, and provides tools and authorities to improve the ability of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to properly manage fisheries and fish habitat."

But the bill is being opposed by many stakeholders across the country, especially in areas including Northwest British Columbia where Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen has been hearing a great deal of opposition to its passing into law.

"The Fisheries Act still moves ahead, and we're getting huge amounts of letters from folks all around the Northwest asking me to do what I can to kill the bill," said Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen.

"The bill has been proposed by government and would essentially complete the privatization of our public resources which is our fish. We've let the government know on no uncertain terms that this bill cannot exist in it's present form, and just about every fisherman across the country is opposed to it."

There's a general consensus among fishermen that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is trying to blackmail fishermen into agreeing with Bill C-32, because there are things they want changed with the 139-year-old Fisheries Act.

Stakeholders see many problems with the bill in its current form, particularly a lack of owner/operator clauses that would make sure fisherman can continue to fish, and that it seems to provide opportunities for those with money to buy up licences and force fishermen to earn even less money than they are making right now.

Some stakeholders also see a lack of aggressive resource and habitat conservation in the language used, and overall do not see any of the measures outlined in the preamble operationalized in the act.

"This is a bill the government introduced last time, and it takes fisheries in the wrong direction," said Cullen. "There's a bunch of problems we had with it, and I don't think there's a single commercial fisherman across the country who supports it, nor any other major group. This is a DFO bureaucrat-written bill that takes a full run at the Fisheries Act by pushing it in the wrong direction and in a negative way."

The Opposition fought against the bill when it was first introduced to Parliament as Bill C-45, forcing the government to kill their own bill and then re-introduce it in late November 2007.
Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn said then it is not realistic to govern a $12-billion fishing industry with laws that were drafted before British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador were a part of Canada. Hearn also said it is not acceptable to have a system that allows politicians to determine who gets what fish without any type of public accountability.

"The bill also goes against what we're trying to do up on the Skeena, which DFO is involved with, returning more local control to the communities," said Cullen. "This bill is just a bureaucratic nightmare, and we haven't been able to find any significant support within the fishing community, other than a few token individuals. It gives more power to DFO, and it allows hidden agreements to take place between the minister and others without public consultation. There's a whole series of problems with it, and none of it has to do with accountability."

He said fishermen and other stakeholders are hoping that a Parliamentary Fisheries Committee will hold consultations about Bill C-32 and about what actual changes will be made to the Fisheries Act before it is passed into law.