Office of the Official Opposition
Wakeham resolution demands Premier get personally involved in resolving fishery crisis
For Immediate Release
(March 13, 2024, St. John’s, N.L.): PC Party Leader Tony Wakeham (MHA, Stephenville – Port au Port) is leading a special debate in the House of Assembly on Wednesday demanding the Premier step up from the sidelines and take a hands-on role in working to resolve the crisis threatening the fishery and all who rely on it, for the second year in a row.
Wakeham said, “The steps of Confederation Building and the galleries of the House of Assembly are filled for another week with frustrated fish harvesters and other Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who are appalled by the Premier washing his hands of the crisis threatening their livelihood and our fishing communities’ future.”
“The fishery is the most important industry in our province and it’s outrageous to see the Premier ignore the crisis while another fishing season hangs in the balance. A true leader of Newfoundland and Labrador would be rolling up his sleeves and doing whatever needs to be done to make sure harvesters can go fishing, plant workers and everyone else in the industry can get on with earning a living” Wakeham said.
In the legislature in the lead-up to the debate on Tuesday, Wakeham hammered the Premier with specific questions that the Premier avoided answering: Do you believe in free enterprise in our fishing industry? Do you believe that government legislation has helped create corporate concentration within the processing industry? When the fish processing board recommends granting a processing license, why does it sit on the minister's desk? Is the Premier confident that every single issue that he heard in his travels with his minister this past summer are being addressed at this meeting with the FFAW and the ASP? Wakeham told the Premier “Because that's not what we're hearing on this side. I simply ask on behalf of everyone here, on behalf of people in rural Newfoundland and Labrador and their communities: Will the Premier get directly involved?”
Wakeham said a PC government he leads will be proactive in addressing issues threatening the stability of the fishery and as Premier he will take a personal hands-on role in bringing all sides together to work on resolutions that will get rural Newfoundland and Labrador working and fishing communities prospering.
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Contacts:
Ashley Jackson-Politi
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(W) (709) 685-3161
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