Federal Fisheries Minister Hires "Mini Me"

Thanks to the re-instatement of the office of the “Ambassador for Fisheries Conservation” (yes the post existed before under former American Idolizer contestant Brian Mulroney) Canada now has:

A Federal Fisheries Minister
A Federal Fisheries Ambassador
Multiple Provincial Fisheries Ministers (do they have one in Manitoba?)
Countless Federal and Provincial deputy ministers
NAFO representatives
Thousands of DFO scientists, technicians, enforcement officers and general staff
And hundreds of outspoken fisheries activists

The only thing we don’t have is fish.

The fish we need. What we don’t need is another layer of bureaucracy and, with no insult intended to Loyola Sullivan, we don’t need another highly paid government representative flapping his gums on orders from the Foreign Affairs Office.

Simply put, the Harper government has opted for the path of least resistance when it comes to Canada’s needs. While they still don’t understand the importance of the fisheries, they have realized that the environment is a major issue for Canadians and with that realization is the need to address fisheries conservation. That doesn’t mean they intend to actually do anything about it. They see the problems but, like past governments, they also see the formidable task ahead and have decided it’s much easier to appear to be doing something than to actually do it.

Suddenly Harper has become “The big green machine”. He started by firing his former Environment Minister for releasing a laughable clean air act. Never mind that it had his finger prints all over it. Then he started running around his office like a madman recycling whatever tired old Liberal programs he could find lying about the floor and re-introducing them under the Conservative banner. Of course it never occurred to him that while those programs were in place green house gas emissions continued to soar and the state of the environment declined. It doesn’t matter you see because Stephen Harper is in the process of re-painting himself in such a pretty shade of green nobody will ever be able to find him. They won’t be able to tell if he’s the Prime Minister or some happy little leprechaun that just wandered onto the Hill.

Now in his latest environmentally unfriendly move we find ourselves paying the tab for Canada’s newly minted “Ambassador of Fisheries Conservation”. A patronage appointment that’s sure to be a win, win for the Conservatives. Unfortunately it won’t do anything for fisheries conservation.

With this recycling of a Mulroney initiative Harper is able to personally thank Loyola Sullivan, a long time supporter, for his tireless efforts. He can also spread the blame around a little more so it doesn’t all stick to him or his Minister of Fisheries (especially with this year’s seal harvest only a few months away and the latest science showing population levels down slightly). I can almost hear the response coming out of the Fisheries Office in Ottawa when Rebecca Aldsworth calls:

“Oh, hi Rebecca, I’m afraid you’ll have to speak with Loyola about that.”

“…Loyola, which Loyola?”

“Sorry, I didn’t quite hear you Rebecca. You’re breaking up, it sounds like you’re in a zodiac that’s about to be rammed.”

In another plus for Harper, with an election looming this appointment may even convince a handful of voters in Newfoundland and Labrador that he’s serious about fisheries issues. He won’t convince many of them mind you but there are a few dim bulbs in every box. Most of them are the same ones that insist on voting for Gerry Byrne every election.

Regardless of these minor perks, the big bonus for Stephen Harper is being able to bill this move as another example of how he has magically transformed himself from a bean counting corporate apostle to a tree hugging, alfalfa munching environmentalist, accent on the “mental” part.

Do we really need an “Ambassador for Fisheries Conservation” at a cost of $500,000 a year? Everyone knows the problems that exist in the fisheries. Everyone knows what needs to be done, including the Fisheries Minister. He shouted about it hard enough while he was in opposition. The problem is that nobody will actually do what needs to be done, not even the new “Ambassador” because even if he wants to make a difference he won’t be allowed to do it. In Harper’s world Federal Ministers can’t even speak publicly without his personal approval so what chance does a lowly “Ambassador” have, especially a “Fish Ambassador”?

Anyone who saw the press conference last Thursday will no doubt have noticed that it was the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peter McKay, who made the big announcement about this new “Ambassadorship”, not the Fisheries Minister, which would have been the logical choice. This wasn’t accidental. Foreign Affairs took the lead, with the Fisheries Minister bringing up the rear, because Ottawa wanted to send a clear message to our trading partners around the world that it was business as usual in Canada. It was also meant to ensure that the new Ambassador clearly understood what the Minister of Fisheries already knows. Nothing is done in the fisheries portfolio without the explicit blessing of the Foreign Affairs office.

When you pit the needs of the fisheries against the interests of foreign affairs, and Canada’s international trade agreements, fisheries issues don’t have a hope in hell. As much as Loyola Sullivan’s heart may be in the right place, like the other Loyola before him, he’s now entered the twilight zone. There’s no turning back now and there’s no better way to take the fight out of any public figure than to hand him a plum federal position (Ever notice how quiet things are in the Commons these days with George Baker collecting dust in the Senate?)

We won’t hear anything from Loyola Sullivan again until the proverbial crap hits the fan and Harper, McKay and Hearn need a sacrificial lamb to feed to the masses.

If Harper was serious about protecting fish stocks he wouldn’t appoint another impotent mouth piece. Instead of paying lip service to fisheries issues he’d invest in sound science. He’d take control of the fisheries out of the hands of vote hungry politicians and give it to a board comprised of federal, provincial, scientific and industry representatives. He’d extend the 200 mile limit past the nose and tail of the Grand banks and the Flemish Cap and he’d assign a half a dozen destroyers to patrol our waters with a clear mandate to shoot if necessary. If nothing else he’d start by saving the taxpayers a cool $50 bucks a month and get rid of that direct phone line running between the offices of the Fisheries Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. That move alone would be a major step forward.