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| Joy Thorkelson and Conrad Lewis at Prince Rupert City Council Monday, the provided an overview of a troubled fishing industry for council members |
Joy Thorkelson made her return to City Hall on Monday evening and much like when she was a City Councillor over much of the last decade, the fishery was the focus for her commentary.
The head of UFAWU-Unifor was at the Council session after an invitation from Councillor Nick Adey who made note of the troubled fishery at the September meeting and suggested Council invite their former colleague to provide an update on the 2019 season.
As we've reviewed on the blog for much of the last few months, the call for help from the union had fallen on pretty deaf ears at all levels, with little in the way of engagement found for what has been one of the toughest years on record.
"It's been a disaster and we've really had no help from the politicians" -- UFAWU-Unifor President Joy Thorkelson speaking to Prince Rupert City Council on Monday evening.
In a thirty seven minute overview, Ms. Thorkelson rattled off a range of issues that are facing the fishery, noting of the limited fishing opportunities, missed projections by DFO and pointed towards climate change as one of the key elements of the crisis this year.
Her report on the fishery made note of a string of closures and delayed fishing opportunities that left boats tied up and plant workers sitting at home waiting for a call to work.
(Some late season springs being unloaded at the Canadian Fish Plant
last week, for most of the summer the docks
were quiet for much of the fishing season)
The UFAWU-Unifor President pointed towards ocean and climate issues as the main issue facing the industry, she also observed how contamination from fish farms is a contributing factor for southern fisheries; but as the North doesn't have that problem her conclusion is that climate change is the main cause of the current issues that have impacted fisheries along the Pacific coast.
She then outlined how the union is looking to make the case of those climate change concerns as it seeks out federal assistance, noting how they have continued to have difficulties in getting that message across to the senior levels of government and continue to try to receive the same kind of assistance that is provided for east coast fishermen and fish workers.
The lack of attention for the fishery was also a key part of her notes for the Council members, with the unions calls for assistance becoming somewhat of a football as they get kicked around from ministry to ministry in Ottawa.
Noting how the season had been a disaster she explained the frustration that the union has had in trying to get the attention of the politicians, making note of the climate issue that they have raised she wants the governments both federal and provincial to review all of the elements that have contributed to the troubles of this year.
She also called attention towards a number of programs that the Federal government offers for other resource industries and communities, how similar initiatives should be offered to the fishery and the North Coast.
The often heard call for adjacency and protection for a local owner/operator fleet was also delivered to the Council members, with the UFAWU-Unifor rep noting how larger and larger numbers of Canadian fish are being sent overseas for processing, only to return to our local supermarkets.
Ms. Thorkelson also reinforced the need to keep the fishing industry vibrant as it could provide for a fall back for this community, noting that while development of the Container Port has been the saviour of the community, she noted that global shifts in trade could have an impact on the local economy and how the fishery could help to cushion any potential troubles.
As the Monday presentation was winding down, Councillor Adey asked Ms. Thorkelson a number of quesitons related to the state of the industry with his final question getting to the key point of the invitation to speak to Council as he asked what role local governments can play towards a solution to the concerns that the union has.
She outlined how the local government could assist in putting pressure on the Federal and Provincial governments, making note of the social issues that come from lack of work fall to their overview.
At the local level she observed how someone should talk to the Port Edward harbour authority to approach the two levels of government to seek out assistance for those in the fishing fleet.
Mayor Brain inquired if it would be helpful if someone from City Council accompanied the union should they gain meetings with Federal or provincial ministers.
Thorkelson noted that would be of great value and very helpful as it would show that communities care about the issue and are willing to speak to it. The Mayor agreed with her that the issue at the moment is to try and gain a meeting with someone at the Federal level to get the issue some attention.
While council may have remained silent on the fate of the local workers for much of the summer, making the theme of climate change as her focus will certainly make for a good strategy to enlist the Mayor in her cause.
Environment and the many issues related to it have often been themes on sustainability that he has been passionate about.
With the mayor expanding on his views as he delivered his sustainable city initiative last year, Mr. Brain is also a member of the Mayor's Climate Leadership Council where issues related to climate change make for a provincial focus.
Towards working with UFAWU-Unifor, the Mayor outlined how the city will be in touch to work on a strategy moving forward.
Councillor Adey did caution all on Monday however, that the timing may be off at the moment as there is a Federal Election campaign currently underway and how the political landscape may change later this month.
A wider overview of the UFAWU-Unifor presentation can be found from our Council Timeline feature here,
The full discussion with Council an also be viewed from the City's Video Archive, it leads off the work of Monday evening.
For more items of interest on the North Coast Fishery see our archive page here.
For further background on City Council Discussion themes see our archive here.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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