Fishing expedition
Federal fisheries minister visits P.E.I. to gauge challenges and opportunities
The P.E.I. fishing industry did not net any funding during the new federal fisheries minister’s first official visit to the province Thursday.
Fisheries and Oceans Minister Hunter Tootoo was here Thursday to gather information, not hand out cash.
“I haven’t made any decisions one way or the other,’’ he said on just how much federal assistance will be injected into the fishing industry here.
“The goal of this trip for me is to get out here and meet all the stakeholders, the governments and everybody to find out what their issues and what their concerns are so I can take that information back with me.’’
Tootoo’s introductory tour of Atlantic Canada as the country’s fisheries minister brought him to the Island Thursday where he met with several representatives from the province’s commercial fishing industry, including the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association and seafood processors, as well as representatives of the P.E.I. Aquaculture Association.
He also met with Premier Wade MacLauchlan and P.E.I. Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Alan McIsaac.
Tootoo said he is eager to build on his discussions of a “number of important topics’’ at the Canadian Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture ministers meeting next week in Montreal.
“I think it’s important that I hear first hand about the opportunities and challenges that will help us move forward together to achieve everyone’s common goal,’’ he said, speaking at a news conference in a provincial government building in Charlottetown.
“As an Inuit, I know how vital fishing is to families, small coastal communities and the entire island of Prince Edward Island to its economy and its way of life.’’
McIsaac said he wanted to impress on Tootoo the need to shore up the shortfall in fish processing workers in P.E.I.
“The need to have workers for our plants, that’s the big thing right now, and the changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is of great concern to us,’’ said McIsaac.
“We have a lot of fish that we need to process.’’
MacLauchlan noted the province is working closely with the industry to address the workforce shortage to help ensure getting “those products to market in a timely and time sensitive way.’’
The premier was receptive to Tootoo’s call to build an economically prosperous fishing industry while protecting the health of marine and freshwater resources for future generations.
MacLauchlan said the province looks forward to working closely with the minister on the environment, climate change and adaptation.
“We on Prince Edward Island are very committed to working on that with you and looking for ways that we can be creative and collaborative here in Prince Edward Island so that Canada can be a world leader in addressing those critical issues,’’ he told Tootoo.