Judy Foote, MHA for the District of Grand Bank, says with the impending sale of FPI it would appear the future of the three FPI plants on the Burin Peninsula  have been secured following months of uncertainty. This is positive news for the area, yet full satisfaction will not come until people are actually back to work on a full‑time basis. 

The approval for the  proposed sale of FPI announced earlier this week by the provincial government will involve the sale of the Fortune plant to Ocean Choice International (OCI), which will in turn see that facility sold to Cooke Aquaculture. OCI will also operate the plant at Marystown, while High Liner Foods will purchase the secondary plant in Burin. 

MHA Foote says  the Minister of Fisheries reassured her, following questions in the House of Assembly, that the sale of the Fortune plant which has not been operating for over two years  was a "done deal" and that in fact, a sale price had already been agreed between OCI and Cooke Aquaculture.  "That news was most reassuring and, like the people who live in the area, I anxiously await news of the start‑up of the operation.@  

The Liberal MHA says an outstanding issue in relation to the Fortune operation is the raw sewage that is flowing into the harbour.  "The premier has said that if that is the only thing keeping Cooke Aquaculture from operating in Fortune, it will be taken care of. I intend to hold him to that commitment regardless of cost. The problem is that there still has to be an assessment to determine what needs to be done and that will take some time." 

"The news that the employees of the Marystown plant can expect to go back to work after 18 months of unemployment is also good news. While it is unfortunate that employees will be making 46 cents less than their original hourly wage, it is better than the two dollar an hour cut in pay the premier was asking them to swallow during previous negotiations."  

With respect to the Burin plant, Foote says that while government is leading residents to believe High Liner will continue to operate that plant as part of their holdings, she cautions that the penalties involved may not be sufficient enough to deter the company from walking away anytime they prioritize business concerns over employment considerations. "I am hoping these are all needless concerns because the people who work at Burin need to move on with their lives in terms of having constant employment.   

AOverall, the Burin Peninsula has waited way too long for some positive news about all three plants and I am  anxious to see speedy progress towards fully operational facilities in the very near future."