The FFAW says Ottawa’s decision to reopen the commercial northern cod fishery has opened the stock up to the Russians and other foreign fleets who contributed to the stock’s decline.
President Greg Pretty says the union’s court case against the federal government is resulting in a “treasure trove” of documentation on how Ottawa made its decision.
The documents show that federal fisheries minister Diane Lebouthillier ignored the advice of her own staff, who cautioned against reopening the fishery, choosing instead to lift the moratorium, and allow NAFO members access.
Greg Pretty says the province’s six Liberal MPs followed suit in “lockstep” with the decision.
Pretty told Tim Powers on VOCM that the union knew something was afoot when the red fish fishery was reopened after decades, and they immediately sounded the alarm.
“You can’t hit in the big leagues unless you can see the change-up coming, and we saw that in red fish. When they passed over the red fish quota to corporate Canada, then we knew, and we started fighting and we met those MPs and to their eternal shame, all they did was blink at me.” Pretty says the decision to reopen the commercial fishery “opened the gates to the Russians again, and the Spaniards and the Portuguese who did it to us in the first place.”