Is Newfoundland and Labrador Afraid of DFO?

Last year the government of Prince Edward Island filed a law suit against the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The suit alleges that the Province is being short changed on quotas and as a result is not receiving its fair share of a publicly owned resource. Federal representatives attempted to have the case thrown out of court but the Supreme Court of P.E.I. denied their motion. Ottawa is now appealing the court’s ruling and that appeal is scheduled to be heard next month.

Central to the case is the premise that the Fisheries Minister has absolute power when it comes to granting, denying or setting quotas. The Province contends that regardless of discussions with stakeholders or any scientific evidence presented, ultimately decisions can be made by a single individual, the Minister, behind closed doors. The factors that lead to those decisions are unknown to this is a major concern. The process provides far too much room for political or other influences that might impact decisions and without public scrutiny it is impossible to know one way or another. The suit seeks to have these “omnipotent” powers removed from the Minister and for the process to be made fairer and more transparent.

Is it just me, or does this case, cry out for the involvement of Newfoundland and Labrador stakeholders. Remember, this is much bigger than a question of who gets how much of a fish quota. If the Federal government is denied on appeal and if PEI eventually wins its case, it would set a precedent that could change the way DFO and every other federal department functions in the future. For decades DFO has been accused of mismanaging stocks and passing out quotas for political reasons. A case like this one could change all of that and more.

Several groups including the Sierra Legal Defense Fund, The Ecology Action Centre, Living Oceans of BC and Earth Action have been given permission to intervene in the case. These groups intend to make arguments to the effect that DFO, as an arm of the Federal government, has the obligation to protect and properly manage a publicly owned resource. They are likely to contend that successive Ministers have been negligent and perhaps even corrupt in the way stocks have been managed and as a result the department should be held more accountable to the public for its decisions.

Can you see a voice here for Newfoundland and Labrador in this case? I sure can. Who better to back up the arguments of these groups and to discuss the impact of existing DFO management practices? The reality is that stocks have been devastated, mismanaged and practically annihilated thanks to the political maneuvering and inaction of the federal government? With 20,000 people in the Province directly dependent on the fishery and that fishery collapsing around their ears, the Province is slowly dying. This is a prime opportunity to make arguments for changing the way things are done. It is also an opportunity to change the way the province deals with DFO and every other government department, departments that have made a gaem out of toying with the Newfoundland and Labrador since 1949.

This is a chance for Newfoundland and Labrador to finally get a voice in Ottawa. If the courts rule that DFO is required to share with stakeholders the logic behind their decisions, it will mean that the same holds true for other departments. For example, what about the Department of Immigration (remember all those immigrants who’s deportations have caused so many local problems), the Department of Defense (think 5 Wing Goose or why there is such a small military presence along Canada’s Eastern flank) or how about the Department of Natural Resources (think upcoming Churchill Falls developments, offshore oil, etc.). The list is endless.

Here is a chance to go even further than PEI had intended to go. Over the years the federal government has done little to protect Atlantic stocks from foreign and domestic overfishing, in fact they’ve all but encouraged it. By not providing enough personnel, DFO has also forced the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador to hire its own inland fisheries officers to protect freshwater species. Over the years DFO has produced scientific results and played political games that have led to a situation where nearly every commercial species on the Atlantic coast is on the brink of extinction. By virtue of abandoning the task entrusted to them, DFO has essentially given up all rights to manage the resource and an argument could be made to turn control of those resources over to the adjacent provinces.

Yes indeed, here is an opportunity that begs for the participation of Newfoundland and Labrador stakeholders, yet where are they? Where is the Premier? Where is the Provincial Fisheries Minister? Where are the Earl McCurdys of the world? I’ll tell you where they are. They’re sitting around discussing the carcass of the provincial fishery with none other than the Federal Fisheries Minister himself. Likely hoping he’ll provide them with a few hand outs or at the very least “help to facilitate” yet another band aid solution. In other words they hope to get some sort of a pay off, hush money if you will, that will allow everyone to continue hiding their heads in the sand and leaving the mess to yet another administration to worry about.