Moderation of Comments Now in Effect at Web Talk

Hi folks,

Like the rest of you, I am all for open and spirited debate. Unfortunately some visitors to this site lately have been less than respectable to others and have been using language and comments in an effort to attack others.

Due to this I have decided to moderate all comments for the time being. As always, you are free to comment on any subject however before they are posted they will be reviewd for content. I can assure you that this is not an attempt to censor anyone and all comments that do not contain off colour language or racist slurs will continue to be posted regardless of the writer's stance on the issue.

This process may involve delays in the comment being posted on occasion and for this I apologize however I feel it is ultimately in the best interest of open discussion that we do not become the target of hate based comments.

Sincerely,
Myles Higgins
Web Talk - Newfoundland and Labrador

INCO Begins Shipping Labrador Ore to Ontario

News reports from across the nation are all touting INCO's success on moving its first shipments of nickel out of Labrador ahead of schedule. One very happy group, and rightfully so, are the folks in Sudbury where the nickel concentrate is about to land and be processed.

The following are a few excerpts from an article on the Northern Life website out of Sudbury, Ontario. You can just feel the joy.

“Inco's first shipment of nickel concentrate left Voisey's Bay, Labrador Wednesday making its way to Sudbury for processing.”

“More than six months ahead of schedule the first shipment will be transported to Quebec City before coming to the Copper Cliff smelter by rail…”

“Production at Voisey's Bay is expected to ramp up in the coming months which is good economic news for this area, since all nickel concentrate will be refined here for the next couple years until a refinery is constructed at Voisey's Bay.”

“The first phase of the Voisey's Bay project is expected to generate about 110 million pounds of nickel concentrate annually.”

Well, its really great news to hear that everything is going so well up there in Sudbury. I just hope INCO is equally as diligent in ensuring that the refinery at Voisey’s Bay and the Hydromet production smelter at Argentia are also put into production 6 months ahead of schedule.

These resources are being stripped out of the land in Labrador, which must contend with the enviromental impacts, and shipped to Ontario to provide jobs for the fine folks up there. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the average working Joe in any Province. I also understand that the plan which was agreed upon by the company and the Province is being followed moving forward. Never the less I still believe that the people who must endure the impacts and who provide the resources should recieve the primary benefits as well.

I mean after all, six months early on a 110 million pound per year operation equals an extra 55 million pounds going out of province doesn’t it? Add to that the fact that ore will continue to ship to the Copper Cliff smelter for the next “couple of years” and the numbers don’t take long to add up.

What will the final tally of raw exported product be I wonder, 200 million pounds, 500 million pounds, dare I say more?

It makes me long for the day when the word on every politicians lips in Newfoundland and Labrador was, “not one teaspoon full will leave this province”.

I know, that term was brushed aside when the agreement to build the Hydromet facility in Argentia was inked and a large donation was made to Memorial University, but that didn't do much for Labrador and it certainly doesn’t mean we need to stop being vigilant on the issue.

The company swears that any ore shipped out of Labrador at the start of the operation will be bought back to the Province for processing, from other sources, at the end. My worry is, once the ore is gone from Labrador, what does the Province have as leverage to ensure that INCO stands by that agreement?

Does anyone remember back when negotiations were underway for this project? Back then INCO said it could not build a smelter in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador because it needed the ore to supply its operations in Ontario. They needed a new supply and like any reasonable business, they didn't want to see an existing smelter shut down with people thrown out of work if they didn't have to. Nothing wrong with that but that wasn't going to help the unemployed in this province so a deal was finally brokered that would see the Province "eventually" undertake processing. As a result, an experimental hydromet facility was built in Argentia with the promise of a production facility in a few years (bye the way, I still think if it was a all feasible, the facility should have been built in Labrador, but that's another issue)

Remembering these facts are important because when you consider that INCO is already scouring the earth looking for enough ore to keep its current smelters operating at full capacity one has to wonder where exactly they plan to find a supply for Argentia that will make up for the hundreds of millions of pounds that are being shipped out as I write this.

One also has to wonder what will evenually happen when the need arises to ship ore from other parts of the world to supply Canadian smelters. If it comes down to a choice of keeping Newfoundland and Labrador supplied or to continue to supply Ontario, who will win that fight? My guess is that with the political clout and influence the voters of Ontario wield, Newfoundland and Labrador might as well simply walk away and forget about it because, "not one teaspoon full will come into the Province".

Can Atlantic Canada's Fishing Industry Learn from its Oil Industry?

I don’t believe I’m telling anyone something they don’t already know when I say that there has been nothing but problems with the fishing industry in Newfoundland and Labrador since the province joined confederation.

After joining Canada, the Province handed over control of the industry to the federal government who swiftly placed DFO in charge of its mismanagement. Under their mismanagement and with the constant meddling of federal politicians from one end of the Country to the other, stocks have collapsed, plants have closed and entire communities have disappeared over the past few decades.

As we sit today, there are calls to place some species on the endangered list, an act that would serve to prevent Canadian fishers from utilizing stocks but have no impact on foreign fleets plying Atlantic waters. Fish plants continue to close and nobody seems to know exactly how many fish are out there. Basically the industry itself is racing to become exactly its management has been for years, non-existent. Where will it all end?

There have been calls from the Province begging the federal government to forget its agreements with NAFO and enact unilateral custodial management outside the 200 mile economic zone. So far those cries have fallen on deaf ears. Not surprising really when you consider that for years Ottawa has traded fishing rights to foreign fleets like a 10 years old trades hockey cards. Besides, in reality, what good would custodial management really do when there are not enough ships and aircraft available to enforce it?

Some have come forward with the idea of doing away with DFO and introducing joint management of the industry by both the federal and Provincial governments. A novel idea and one that might just catch some ears on Ottawa, after all, if nothing else, allowing the Province to have an equal say in management would at least ensure that all the problems could no longer be blamed solely on the feds. That might just sell up on the Hill.

I mean something has to be done right? It’s clear to anyone with half an eye and as deaf as a post that the status quo isn’t working. At least with both levels of government involved there may be some tempering of the approach to the science and management side of the equation and the political ambitions of each level may be tempered by the other.

These were some of the thoughts running through my mind the other day when, purely by chance, I decided to pick up a copy of the Province’s recently release discussion paper on “Developing an Energy Plan for Newfoundland and Labrador”. As I started to read through the pages (an interesting and worthwhile read by the way), I was struck nearly dumb by the content of page 22 and more specifically by the section on Offshore Regulation.

With my mind still twisting around fisheries issues, as soon as I started reading about the management structure for the Province’s offshore oil industry, I couldn’t help but see an opportunity and perhaps even a model for the fishing industry.

Here is an excerpt from that section:

“The Accord, (referring to the Atlantic Accord) recognizes “the equality of both governments in the management of the resource”, and the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) was established to mange offshore petroleum related activities on their behalf. Appointed jointly by both governments, the C-NLOPB was to serve as the single agency responsible for regulating offshore oil and gas exploration and development. The C-NLOPB issues and administers petroleum exploration and development rights, regulates offshore exploration, development and production, approves benefits and development plans, and administers the registry of petroleum interests in the offshore.”

WOW!!!

The section continues with some further detail on certain specifics of the board’s function and division of responsibilities, etc, but doesn’t it sound just great?

What a novel concept, allowing the people who are most closely connected, who some might say “own” the resource, to actually have some control over how it is managed.

I especially like the quote, “the equality of both governments in management of the resource”, what a statement. I can only imagine how many federal politicians must have had their family jewels placed in a vice for them to agree to that statement, but our current Provincial Fisheries Minister might want to think about taking those vices out of the toolbox and heading back up to Ottawa.

Just imagine a C-NLOFB or Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Fisheries Board. A board that recognizes the equality of both governments in management of the resources, a board that manages stocks, sets quotas, issues licenses and enforces regulation.

A single agency responsible for regulation of the fishing industry. A single agency that gives the Province has an equal say with Ottawa. A single agency that would keep federal politicians from dealing away quotas in order to help textile or aircraft industries in their own Provinces. A single agency that would ensure some control by the very people who rely on those resources.

The C-NLOFB, I like the sound of it.