Ken McDonald says the federal government’s response to recommendations his committee made regarding corporate concentration in the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery are fair, but he hopes it leads to action.
The Liberal Commons member for Avalon is also chairman of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, which delivered a report titled “Foreign Ownership and Corporate Concentration of Fishing Licences and Quota” to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) in December 2023.
The report contained 19 recommendations related to fisheries on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the country, including developing a strategy with provincial counterparts to reduce foreign ownership and corporate concentration at both levels of responsibility.
The issue of corporate concentration was raised in Newfoundland and Labrador during the recent protests by fish harvesters demanding more free enterprise in the fishery.
Many harvesters referenced the growing presence in the province of Royal Greenland, a fish processing company based in Greenland that has ownership of companies in Newfoundland and Labrador and around the world.
The response
The federal minister responsible for DFO, Diane Lebouthillier, presented the government’s response to the standing committee’s recommendations on April 11.
In its response, the federal government stated it is committed to engaging provincial counterparts to discuss concerns related to foreign ownership and corporate concentration of the fisheries supply chain under each government’s respective jurisdictional responsibility.
“As part of the current ownership review process for the reissuance of fishing licences in the midshore and offshore fisheries in Atlantic Canada, the government will continue to request from any prospective licence recipient a variety of sources of information, such as: the certificate of incorporation; the articles of incorporation showing the ownership structure of the company; and an attestation from a lawyer confirming that the proposed licence holder has met the requirements associated with the foreign ownership policy provisions,” said Lebouthillier’s written response.
The concern
McDonald said the concern is that, without the right strategy, corporate concentration could creep into the fishery and a corporation from outside the province could gain more control than it probably should.
“Most fish plants around the province are owned by Newfoundlanders or Labradorians, whether it's a family operation or individual person that operates it,” said McDonald.
“In that case, most of the benefits stay in Newfoundland and Labrador. It’s the same with the communities that are involved in the fishery: if they didn't have the fishery, they’d have nothing. So, it's good to keep it community-based.
“I think the committee has seen that and recognized that they’ve got to try and preserve what's there in place and enhance it any way we can to make sure the community itself benefits from fishery that’s taking place.”
‘Fishery is here to help the people’
While he thought the government response was appropriate, he wants to see what the federal government meant by “action is ongoing,” as the response stated.
“I'd like to see, instead of just ongoing, I'd like to see something actually completed to be able to say it was this study that highlighted for the government what changes we'd like to see happen or what things we’d like to see improved,” said McDonald.
The MP says the government has to be careful when allowing foreign entities to buy up processing facilities.
“If they own enough of it, they'll control the market; they’ll control the price that fishers are able to get,” he said.
“My outlook on it is the fishery is here to help the people that are fishing the product and the people who are producing it in the communities where it is landed and providing much-needed employment in the rural communities of Newfoundland and Labrador.”
Fishery financing agency
Another recommendation made by the committee was for the federal government to establish an independent fishery financing agency, similar to Farm Credit Canada, within five years.
The federal government was less receptive to that idea.
In her response, Lebouthillier said the federal government already has a range of financing programs in place to support small and medium fishing enterprises, to enable Indigenous access to commercial fisheries and to implement rights-based fisheries.
McDonald doesn’t think that government should be a bank for the fishing industry, noting such industry-specific arrangements can often wind up with debts not being repaid and having to be written off.
Loan board?
The minister’s response references small businesses, including harvesters, being able to use provincial and community loan boards.
There is no loan board specific to the fishing industry in Newfoundland and Labrador.
“I don't think government should be involved, but, if you are going to go down that path and create a fisheries loan board, I think it should be run by the federal government,” said McDonald.
“The federal government has the most to say when it comes to the fishery – the amount that comes out of the water and who is able to do it.
“The province controls the processing part of it, but it doesn’t have a big say in what comes out of the water.”
The standing committee will next meet in Ottawa on Tuesday, April 30. McDonald said the government response will be discussed and any further steps to be taken will be considered by the committee.
