'This is certainly not a bail-out’, Williams says

By Dave Bartlett

Transcontinental Media/The Telegram

If this year’s shrimp fishery goes belly up, the province says it will step in to help the most vulnerable workers in the industry get by.

But when Premier Danny Williams and Fisheries Minister Tom Hedderson addressed reporters Thursday afternoon, June 12, at Confederation Building, the details of an income support program were as scarce as caplin in November.

The government did commit to make sure plant workers and fishermen in the shrimp, lobster and sealing industries won’t go hungry. “They don’t have to worry, there’s going to be bread on the table,” Willliams said.

But how much bread and on whose table will have to be worked out.

The provincial cabinet met last Thursday morning and had a lengthy discussion on fisheries issues.

Williams said although the industry is complicated and has a boatload of systemic problems, the current global recession has further complicated the lives of workers, most of whom live in rural parts of the province.

Williams said there would be grey areas of who may qualify for provincial aid, but any program would focus on the low end of the income scale, such as plant workers, inshore fishermen, deckhands and those who work in seal tanneries.

The shrimp industry was singled out because thousands of workers depend on that fishery and, at present, harvesters and processors are at an impasse on price.

Williams said he hopes both sides can reach an agreement and save this year’s fishery, but he said the government can’t interfere with that process, only be on standby to help the workers if consensus is not reached. “At this point we don’t want to write off the shrimp fishery,” the premier said.

Lobster fishermen may also be taken care of, depending on how far a federal package, announced Wednesday, goes.

Hedderson admitted the $65 million over five years for the four Atlantic province’s and Quebec doesn’t appear to go far enough. But the province is still trying to get the details on exactly how fishermen in this province may benefit.

Hedderson said he’s hoping Ottawa will also step in to help fishermen, who are worried about making ends meet. “We would like federal participation ... we will ask for federal participation,” he said. “Whether or not they will, that’s another story.”

Williams also said the province is still committed to the rationalization of the fishing industry through licence buybacks and early retirement and will pay a third of the cost for those programs if, and when, Ottawa steps up.

When asked by reporters if it’s reasonable to bail-out an industry with so many systemic problems, Williams answered, “This is certainly not a bail-out.” He said the province is only interested in protecting people whose livelihood has been put in jeopardy due to circumstances beyond their control.

Williams said the province will spend as much as necessary to help the workers, if an income support program becomes necessary.