"I am very disappointed that this government has turned its back on these west coast fishermen, some of whom live in the Bay of Islands," said Mr. Joyce. "It is unfortunate that government stated in their press release that the loss of this equipment would not have a significant financial impact on the provincial economy or the livelihoods of these fishermen. I’ve spoken to some of these fishermen and they feel that this decision will have a major impact on their livelihood. They are also disappointed that they have been abandoned by this government.

"While it appears this government had no intention of providing assistance to these people, they raised hopes by announcing a review of their circumstance. They maintained the position throughout the process that they did not have money to undertake this program, but still left the impression they would do something. It is unfortunate that they raised the hopes of these fishermen when they had no intention of providing any funding.

"I hope Minister Taylor will not use this same approach when the next storm approaches. Disaster assistance funding is in place to help people in these circumstances. This government’s approach and decision was unfair and ultimately will hurt west coast lobster fishermen. I suggest they review their process to ensure that this same circumstance does not occur again in the coming months."