Tag Archives: Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo

Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo, citing “addiction issues,” has resigned

hunter-tootooFisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo, citing “addiction issues,” has resigned from the federal cabinet and is leaving the Liberal caucus.Dominic LeBlanc, the government’s House leader, will assume Tootoo’s cabinet responsibilities.A statement from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office says Tootoo is “taking time to seek treatment for addiction issues.”Tootoo, the first northerner to take on the role of fisheries minister, issued a brief statement saying he was stepping down in order not to distract from the important work of his colleagues.Tootoo said he has “decided to seek treatment for addiction issues” and asked for “privacy at this time.” Read the rest here 20:38

Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo open to audit to assess efforts to ensure fish farms don’t harm wild salmon

hunter-tootooThe Trudeau government, now helping B.C.’s controversial aquaculture sector expand, would welcome an outside auditor to assess its efforts to ensure fish farms don’t harm wild salmon, Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo said Monday. But the minister wants to gauge public and stakeholder reaction to his department’s first official accounting in B.C. later this month of its response to the 2012 Cohen Commission of Inquiry into the Fraser River sockeye fishery. The impact of fish farms became a key issue before Cohen, who heard numerous witnesses alleging that pathogens and sea lice in the pens along the B.C. coast posed a danger to migrating wild salmon. Read the rest here 08:43

Nova Scotia cautions Trudeau government over marine protection goal

Nova Scotia used its first meeting with Canada’s new fisheries minister to express caution over the Trudeau government’s plan to greatly expand hunter-tootoo, a move that could close designated ocean and coastal areas to economic activities like offshore energy development and fishing. The province’s energy minister, Michel Samson, delivered the message Tuesday during a Halifax stop by federal Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo. The first item in the mandate letter from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau instructs Tootoo to work to increase the proportion of Canada’s marine and coastal areas that are protected to five per cent by 2017 and 10 per cent by 2020. Read the article here 15:26

Canada’s new Liberal government says it is currently developing priorities for the lobster industry

hunter-tootooCanada’s new Liberal government is in no rush to implement Stephen Harper’s promise aimed at wooing voters in Atlantic Canada during the recent federal election of $20 million in funding for lobster promotion and research. Harper made the pledge Sept. 10 in New Annan, P.E.I. and promised $5 million for research and $15 million over three years to the Halifax-based Lobster Council of Canada to promote lobster sales. Fisheries and Oceans Canada would not address Harper’s promise, saying new Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo is developing priorities. Read the rest here 08:44

Liberals to reopen Maritime Rescue Sub-centre in St. John’s

hunter-tootooNew federal Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo and the Liberal government will reopen the Maritime Rescue Sub-centre in St. John’s. The Nunavut MP signed the mandate given to him by new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a letter nine days after he was sworn in as the minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The sub-centre was closed in 2012 despite loud outcry from advocates and fishermen. Provincial and municipal politicians — such as St. John’s Mayor Dennis O’Keefe —have lobbied since to have it reopened. Read the rest here 08:32

Trudeau directs reopening of Coast Guard base, action on Fraser salmon

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has formally directed new Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo to reopen the closed  that had become a flashpoint for local criticism of the Harper government. The Kitsilano base was closed in 2013 – vessels and staff were shifted to Richmond – but pressure from B.C. politicians to reopen it intensified after a slow response earlier this year to a spill of fuel oil from a freighter in English Bay. Trudeau released his mandate letters outlining the priorities for each new federal cabinet minister Friday. Read the rest here 17:00

First Nations seek meeting with fisheries minister

Members of the First Nations Wild Salmon Alliance in British Columbia have written to federal hunter-tootoo, requesting an urgent meeting to discuss plunging salmon returns in the province’s rivers. The alliance’s Chief Bob Chamberlin says six million sockeye salmon were forecast for the Fraser River this year, but only two million fish arrived, while 14 million pink salmon were expected, but barely one-third showed up. Read the rest here 18:56