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Reid calls upon government to bring forward legislative
changes to fishery in coming session of legislature November 1, 2005
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Opposition Leader Gerry Reid is encouraging Fisheries Minister Trevor Taylor
and Premier Danny Williams to bring forward legislation in the coming
session of the House of Assembly that will ensure any changes to next year’s
fishery will be in place well before the fishery opens. Reid is asking
government to establish a strengthened Final Offer Selection (FOS) process
and scrap the current Raw Material Sharing (RMS) system that has created
chaos in this year’s crab fishery. "I have been lobbying government for months to get involved and do something to help this year’s struggling fishery," said Mr. Reid. "After hearing the concerns of the FFAW, I am hopeful that this government will finally wake-up and realize that there is a crisis occurring in the fishery in this province. While there are many factors that led to this crisis, government’s forced RMS system contributed to these problems. "Over the past several months, this government, particularly Minister Taylor, have been silent on fishery issues in the province. The only time we hear the minister speak is when he states that there are too many plants and too many fish harvesters. Instead of trying to fix the problems that exist in the fishery, he seems more intent on looking for excuses for his inaction. It is time the minister did something constructive to help the people of the province who depend on the fishery for their livelihoods. "While there are several factors negatively impacting the fishery, many believe one of the biggest problems currently facing the industry is the lack of a collective bargaining mechanism that would allow the fishery to open in a timely fashion. Currently, fish harvesters believe they are receiving an unfair price for their product. There is no mechanism in place that resolves pricing disputes, except another strike that would shut down the fishery. Government must realize these problems exist and make the necessary legislative changes in the coming session of the legislature to ensure the fishery is not thrown into chaos again next year. "I encourage government to act quickly to ensure that a strengthened FOS system as an acceptable price setting mechanism is in place for next year’s fishery. While this will not address every problem that the industry currently faces, it is certainly a beginning to fixing the problems that exist."
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