N.L. budget postponed after protesting fishers block legislature
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — A protest that descended into a chaotic confrontation between mounted police officers and fishers outside the Newfoundland and Labrador legislature on Wednesday morning delayed the release of the provincial budget.
Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officers tried to disperse the crowd blocking access to the legislature but were largely unsuccessful and two people — including a police officer — were taken away from the scene on stretchers.
Protesters said the province’s fishery is over-regulated and the handful of established processors and buyers are acting like a cartel, pushing down prices.
Later in the day, the government said it had obtained a court order preventing anyone from blocking access to the building, with Premier Andrew Furey saying the budget will be presented once it’s safe for staff to enter, adding that he hoped that would be today.
Public servants felt intimidated and threatened by the protesters, Furey told reporters, adding that he was disturbed to see video of people in the crowd “punching horses and assaulting individuals.”
“Let me say first and foremost that this is unacceptable . … I’m profoundly disappointed that the behaviour of a few could take over and jeopardize a budget that is for the entire province,” he said.
Finance Minister Siobhan Coady had been scheduled to release her 2024-25 budget on Wednesday with an expectation that the books would be balanced. However, the scene in front of the Confederation Building became confused and disorderly when two constabulary officers rode their horses into the crowd as police tried to disperse the fishers. Protesters yelled, some fell over and there were shouts that people were being injured.
The mounted officers engaged with the crowd for about 20 minutes, as protesters formed a line to push back the horses. The police on horseback eventually pulled back, as protesters cheered. An ambulance came to the scene to assist an injured protester, who was screaming in pain, and drove the person away.
Furey said that while he realizes emotions about the fishery run high, and there’s a right to peaceful process, “what is unacceptable is violent protests. Some of the behaviour will not be tolerated by me and my government.”
Justice Minister John Hogan told reporters he expected the police to take steps to allow the budget to proceed.
Earlier in the day, Jason Sullivan, a fisher from Bay Bulls, N.L., blamed the tensions on government, saying fishers feel “backed into a corner.”
“We’re trying to go fishing but there’s only four or five buyers and now they’re acting like a cartel and we’re not getting good prices.”
In the parking lot outside the legislature, fisherman John Efford grabbed a microphone after the confrontation had died down, threw his fist in the air and yelled, “What do we want?”
“Free enterprise!” the crowd roared back. Efford said the fishers won’t stop protesting until they achieve their goals.
Jason Spingle, secretary treasurer of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers union, said Efford, not the union, has been leading the current movement.
In an interview after his speech, Efford said he wants more processing companies operating in the province.