Conservative Motion to Extend Recreational Food Fishery Would Have Added Red Tape to Process: Fisheries Minister
Opposition MP Jonathan Rowe tabled a private member’s motion this week calling on Ottawa to extend the recreational food fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador to 7 days a week from the current three, but the federal fisheries minister says it’s not as simple as that.
Rowe condemned the province’s four Liberal MPs for voting against the motion, but Minister Joanne Thompson says approving the bill would have added “unnecessary red tape” to the process.
Thompson says it would have meant new fees to make up for the added cost of monitoring, and as she says, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians “shouldn’t have to pay to catch cod.”
The federal government recently conducted a comprehensive survey on the food fishery, and she says she’s committed to improving the food fishery for this province.
Premier Tony Wakeham agrees with MP Rowe that the fishery should be open seven, not three, days a week.
“Newfoundlanders and Labradorians deserve the opportunity. It’s called the food fishery for a reason – it’s part of our tradition and people should be able to supplement their food supply,” says Wakeham.
