Tag Archives: severe ice conditions
Ottawa to offer ice compensation to iced-in fishermen in N.L., Quebec
The federal government announced Wednesday it will provide emergency financial assistance to fish harvesters kept ashore by severe ice conditions in areas of Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec. Up to $5 million in funding is being set aside for payments to eligible applicants who fish out of ports in the most ice-affected areas.,, The release notes that eligible applicants must be fish harvesters who had established and exhausted an Employment Insurance (EI) fishing benefits claim based on their fishing activity in 2018, who are not receiving or eligible for any EI benefits, and who fish out of ports in the identified ice-affected areas. >click to read<20:00
FISH-NL calls on Ottawa for ice compensation for west coast harvesters
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) is calling on Ottawa to extend EI benefits for fish harvesters on Newfoundland’s west coast impacted by severe ice conditions in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. “Some harvesters and their families are having a hard time of it. The heavy ice means they can’t go fishing, and the wolf is beating at the door,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL, in calling for ice compensation in the form of an EI extension. >click to read<17:15
Income bridging desperately needed for harvesters and plant workers without income due to ice
Harvesters and plant workers are struggling to feed their children and pay their bills, with some having been without income for over two months due to severe ice conditions that prevents the fishery from starting in many parts of the province. The situation has gone from bad to dire, and action in the form of income bridging from the federal government is long overdue. Having gone without any income for over two months, many harvesters feel they are left with no other option than to risk their gear and their own personal safety in order to go fishing through pack ice conditions. click here to read the press release 09:10
FISH-NL to Government of Canada – Stop stringing along harvesters impacted by severe ice conditions
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) is calling on the Government of Canada to stop stringing along the province’s inshore harvesters and start making decisions regarding help for those impacted this year by severe ice conditions. “This delay by the Government of Canada is a form of mental torture,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “Harvesters are continually told a decision will come soon, a decision will come tomorrow, but tomorrow never comes. Meantime, harvesters, their families, and rural communities are suffering.” click here to read the press release 11:07
Renewed calls for income bridging as harvesters and plant workers experience worst ice situation in decades
Severe ice conditions continue to affect people working in the fishing industry. Harvesters and plant workers have been without income for several weeks, some for over two months. Over the past few weeks, FFAW leadership has met with the senior DFO officials, Premier Dwight Ball and fisheries minister Steve Crocker to emphasize the dire situation hundreds of families are experiencing. Repeated calls by the FFAW, provincial government and affected individuals have resulted in the federal government acknowledging the situation, yet action has not been taken to provide income support. click here to read the press release 15:55
FISH-NL calls on Ottawa for ice compensation/gear replacement
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) is calling on Ottawa to extend EI benefits for fish harvesters on Newfoundland’s northeast coast impacted by severe ice conditions. FISH-NL also says harvesters who lost crab gear should be compensated because the federal government should not have opened the fishery in their areas. “Some harvesters and their families are having an extremely hard time of it,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL, in calling for ice compensation in the form of an EI extension. “They can’t go fishing because ice conditions haven’t improved, and they ran out of EI benefits weeks ago.”,,, John Gillett, an inshore fisherman from Twillingate, wrote the following letter today to federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Dominic LeBlanc, click here to read the press release 15:44
