The MP for central Newfoundland and a section of the south coast is calling on the provincial government to withdraw as a signatory to a pact which kickstarts the process of having a large swath of the waters off the south coast declared a Marine Protected Area.
Clifford Small says such a declaration would be devastating not just to the immediate area, but the entire riding.
The federal government is also a signatory, but MP Small doubts there’s any hope of changing anyone’s mind in Ottawa.
Photo via Parks Canada
He says if the province pulled out, that would kill the pact immediately.
Under such an arrangement, most fishing would be banned and Small says companies considering investing in the province, such as in aquaculture, would look elsewhere.
The Town of Burgeo and the Miawpukek First Nation have also signed on.
Small says the federal government made big promises to Burgeo that it would stand to gain significantly, but he doubts that it would actually materialize.
