Opposition Fisheries Critic Gerry Reid asked the Fisheries Minister to clarify when he first heard of the possibility that the plant at Fortune might close. In response to this question, the Minister revealed that the Premier has had a number of meetings with the senior executive of FPI since last April. In responding to the question the Minister also said, "It is not for me to divulge FPI’s corporate strategy - what they are going to do or not. They have to have that discussion with the union, then it is up to them when they release that publicly."

Reid also asked the Minister to tell the House of Assembly what he knew about the future of the Bonavista plant and the Minister avoided answering the question. The Liberal Fisheries Critic concluded his questions by asking for an all-party committee of the House of Assembly to attempt to do what is in the best interests of the employees of FPI in the Province. This request was rejected by the Minister.

Oliver Langdon, MHA for the district that includes the community of Harbour Breton, asked a series of questions specifically related to the future of the FPI plant in that community. "I have been trying all week to get a commitment from the Minister that he exercise whatever influence he has to see that the quota currently processed in Harbour Breton will remain with the town if FPI ceases operation. I have not yet received a satisfactory answer from the Minister on this very important issue and I intend to keep putting the pressure on until I see some evidence that he is doing something to keep the quota in Harbour Breton."

The Liberal MHA says he also wants to get a clear indication of the actual state of the plant and information on how much work actually needs to be done before this plant can be operational again. "The company first tried to say that the state of the building was the reason they had to close the plant. Once we asked for the release of the engineering report, they started to talk about the availability of resource for the plant as the main reason for closing. It is important at this point that we get an independent assessment of this building and an indication of how much work needs to be done before this plant can be put back into operation."