Tag Archives: Fisheries Minister Elvis Loveless
Union and Province Come to Agreement on ‘Free Enterprise’
Today, the Provincial Government has released a letter detailing the provincial changes taking place to increase provincial processing capacity and give harvesters more opportunities to sell their catch. The agreement, which stemmed from protests held last month in St. John’s and around the province, responds to harvesters’ demands for free enterprise. “We are pleased with the amount of collaboration and consultation that has taken place to produce the letter from Minister Loveless today. The Minister took the concerns of harvesters seriously and has made tangible changes that will have positive impacts for fish harvesters all over the province,” says FFAW-Unifor President Greg Pretty. “Importantly, I want our plant worker members to know you are not forgotten about, and these changes are expected to have minimal-to-no impact on existing jobs,” Pretty says. more, >>click to read<< 16:19
Fishery protests ’embarrassing for the province’, says head of producers’ association
Fish harvesters gathered in protest at Confederation Building from Wednesday to Friday this week, calling on the provincial government to change capacity limits for harvesters and allow them to sell their catch to out-of-province buyers. A deal accepting those demands was reached Friday afternoon. “Personally, I found it embarrassing for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. That type of signal that we’re sending to the markets, that that’s the level of stability and co-operation we have as the major industry partners, is really unfortunate,” Loder said Friday. photos, video, more, >>click to read<< 08:07
“We got ‘er done” – Fish harvesters reach deal with N.L. government to allow catch to be sold to outside buyers
John Efford Jr. fought back tears as he announced the news to hundreds of fish harvesters standing before him — they’d struck a deal with the Newfoundland and Labrador government to end days of protests. According to Efford — the de facto protest leader — and members of the fisheries union, the provincial government has agreed to let fish harvesters sell their catch to buyers from outside the province, regardless of species. They also said they have commitments on moving caps on processing to promote competition within the industry. “We got ‘er done,” Efford told reporters afterward. “Free enterprise for every species.” more, >>click o read<< 13:22
N.L. protest cause rooted in price-setting systems for fishers and processors
The protest that erupted Wednesday outside the legislature in Newfoundland and Labrador has its roots in a complex, years-long struggle between independent fish harvesters and processors over the price-setting system, industry observers say. Sean Cadigan, a professor of history at Memorial University, said in an interview Thursday that one underlying factor in the tensions is the plunge in prices for snow crab, the province’s most valuable seafood export. From highs of over seven dollars per pound during the pandemic, the price fell to about two dollars per pound last year, creating hardships for harvesters at a time harvesters’ expenses are rising. He said that has combined with long-standing suspicions that harvesters have toward the small group of companies that dominate fish processing in the province. more, >>click to read<< 07:40
Snow crab price talks have broken off, FFAW says
Protest leader John Efford Jr. grabbed a megaphone Thursday to told the crowd that negotiations for a new crab price-setting formula had broken off ahead of the upcoming season. “There’s no agreement to be made,” he told the cheering crowd. “And how can you make an agreement when you’re trying to make an agreement with a colluded cartel that has the support of the government?” While the price-setting process has been controversial in the past, it hasn’t been at the core of the protests outside the province’s legislature this week. The Fish, Food & Allied Workers union and the Association of Seafood Processors have been working with the provincial government to establish a new formula to determine the price. more, >>click to read<< 17:12
Police don riot gear as Furey’s Liberals make 2nd attempt at budget amid protests
It’s deja vu at Confederation Building in St. John’s on Thursday morning, as police and protesters have shown up in large numbers ahead of the Newfoundland and Labrador government’s plans to introduce the 2024 budget. By 6 a.m. NT, dozens of Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officers — some in riot gear — were standing guard in front of the main entrances to the building and a growing number of fish harvesters were arriving on scene. Police were seen having a cordial conversation with protest leaders, urging them to avoid a repeat of Wednesday’s raucous events — particularly with a court-ordered injunction now in place that prohibits protesters from blocking safe access to Confederation Building, which is both home to the legislature and the main government complex. Protest leader John Efford Jr. addressed the crowd a few minutes later. Photos, Video, more, >>click to read<< 06:24
N.L. government seeks injunction against fishermen amid tense protest at Confederation Building
The Newfoundland and Labrador government has gone to the Supreme Court to seek an injunction against fish harvesters who swarmed Confederation Building on Wednesday as part of an ongoing protest over fishery regulations that has led to the postponement of the provincial budget. The government announced the postponement after protesters blocked entrances to the building, refused to let government workers inside and had physical confrontations with police officers and horses. A protester complaining of leg pain and a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer have been taken from the scene in an ambulance. Protest organizer John Efford Jr. called the budget cancellation historic.”And I have a feeling it may be cancelled again tomorrow, the next business day and the next business day until we get what ? Free enterprise,” he said. Video’s, Photos, more, >>click to read<< 10:53
Fisheries minister commits to lifting processing caps, looking for outside buyers ahead of 2024 crab season
Fisheries Minister Elvis Loveless says he’s willing to meet some of the demands tabled by fish harvesters and their union amid continued protests. In a letter written to the Fish, Food and Allied Workers union on Tuesday — and on the eve of announcing the provincial budget for 2024 — Loveless told union president Greg Pretty the province is committed to raising processing capacity “in the primary processing sector” prior to the start of the 2024 fishery. However, the extent of the increase will be informed, in part, by the total allowable catch that is yet to be announced by the federal fisheries minister. Further, Loveless said his department will issue an expression of interest for outside buyers for the 2024 snow crab fishery on Tuesday. more, >>click to read<< 15:44
FFAW pleads with fisheries minister to open market, arguing harvest too much for local processors
The Fish, Food & Allied Workers union (FFAW) formally urged Fisheries Minister Elvis Loveless to open the fisheries to outside buyers in a letter on Friday, following a week of intensifying protests from harvesters. The letter is a response to Loveless’s own letter from Thursday evening, in which he requested a plan from the union that would guarantee the jobs of all FFAW members, harvesters, and fish plant workers if the market opens. “Any decision to allow outside buyers must consider the impacts on all partners in the seafood industry, and particularly on fish plant workers,” Loveless says in his letter, adding that if such a plan is presented by the FFAW, the government will consider opening the market to outside buyers for snow crab. more, >>click to read<< 19:38
Tensions run high as crab harvesters call on N.L. government to introduce outside buyers
More than 150 fishermen led an anger-fueled protest on the steps of Confederation Building on Tuesday, calling on the Newfoundland and Labrador government to free up the fishery and allow harvesters to sell their product to outside buyers. Under the current rules, harvesters are only allowed to sell their catch to processors in the province at a price agreed upon by the Fish, Food & Allied Workers union and the Association of Seafood Producers. Harvesters are calling on the province to give them more control over where they can sell their catch and how much they can sell it for. “The plants are telling us when to come and when to go and how much crab to bring…. So we need some free enterprise to be able to go as we please and fish as we please,” said Dwayne Maher, a crab fisherman of more than 30 years from Salvage. Photos, video, more, >>click to read<< 20:52
One fish, two fish, redfish, dead wish – Something fishy’s going on, and Furey and Hutchings should be getting us answers.
It seems the Trudeau and Furey governments have some things to discuss—namely the well-being and future of west coast fishers and their communities. On Thursday, fishers and political leaders from the province gathered at a FFAW-Unifor-organized demonstration in Corner Brook to condemn DFO’s recent redfish quota allocations as the commercial fishery prepares to reopen following a nearly three-decade hiatus. Dozens of fishers watched as members of Furey’s caucus and cabinet expressed confusion and outrage at their federal counterparts. leader Tony Wakeham, AFN Regional Chief Brendan Mitchell, and fishery magnate Bill Barry also shared their indignation. PC leader Tony Wakeham, AFN Regional Chief Brendan Mitchell, and fishery magnate Bill Barry also shared their indignation. more, >>click to read<< 14:25
Seafood-pricing system is flawed and a new one needs to be in place by end of January, says report
A new report from the Newfoundland and Labrador government says the current seafood price-setting process is flawed, and it outlines the need for a formula-based system that would improve the industry for harvesters and plant owners. The report was sparked by a tie-up in the spring that delayed the start of the snow crab fishery. Prices were set at just $2.20 per pound at the start of the season, and the Fish, Food & Allied Workers union and Association of Seafood Producers failed to produce an agreeable pricing formula. It says the current process for price setting, which is done by a panel, is flawed — and that the panel has an “impossible task” when faced with a fluctuating market. >>click to read<< 17:56
Royal Greenland buying 4 more N.L. fish plants – FFAW raising red flag over corporate concentration and foreign ownership
A Crown corporation owned by the Greenland government is set to become the largest fish processor in Newfoundland and Labrador, dramatically changing the landscape of the province’s fish-processing industry. In a deal recommended by the Fish Processing Licensing Board and approved by Fisheries Minister Elvis Loveless, Royal Greenland is taking controlling interests in Quinlan Brothers fish plants in Old Perlican, Bay de Verde and Baie Verte. Royal Greenland subsidiary Quin-Sea Fisheries will take over valuable crab, shrimp and other processing licences owned by Quinlan Brothers. Royal Greenland is also taking a controlling interest in St. Anthony Seafoods in a partnership with Clearwater Seafoods. >click to read< 17:29
