-for good
6la^ building boom ended, the province }^0tt a moratorium on new plant construc-*^r0 fWhich 11 later rescinded. This move is
ha  °^ ^ne Province's ability to intervene to
Kr^e ^he processing sector in positive ways. r jiv w' as the speculative capital of the last Tbk! ^e,ars heads for greener pastures, the pro-tf1ic*al government has stood by and allowed .™ng industry to be shut down in com-hfl^ity after community. On April 30, RC.
/foh • S dose down its groundfish opera-^lili uln Prince Rupert. Three hundred jobs On'i00 • lost They follow the 1qss of more than P >a J°bs in that community since B.C.
ifo   S Purchased the northern operations
| Canadian Fish in 1980.
Jjfst Nov. 24, Oakland Fisheries Ltd., hlch is controlled by the Marubeni Corp. of
pn, told its 200 workers the plant would ^jerate in 1982. That closure, now con-^.will eliminate the only major process-. facility in the Victoria area unless action Icaken now.
tj} Tofino, B.C. Packers' processing plant ^tes.     ^uaUy empty. Port Alberni Fish ?1Sm ?t °Perated since 1980. The small fish i« • m Bamfield is closed. Vancouver's Nor-£shut down.
nL Radian Fishing Co., a subsidiary of the ie Z"bankrupt New England Fish of Seattle, JJ most of its assets to B.C. Packers in 1980 M n°w retains only a single large cannery tnj* a seine fleet. B.C. Packers' Port Edward l0%<2iry is gone-Its reduction plant has been 3nKNow Seal Cove is slated for ehmina-ri^L ' * he grim tally undoubtedly runs to more a* ^ 1»000 jobless industry workers. nteht^1 ^e ^ederal and provincial govern-ho u*00^ tne view that private industry be left to run its own show. That mf Sez-faire attitude was a betrayal of the Wrests of the people of B.C. and of
ne foreign firms that came in to exploit 0 cKj>rofits in salmon and herring have i-e x' ^hey have not argued that shore wages .irltsk 0 high. They have not argued that our
"°---* 1----u ~j.---
o------- ^
erji cannot be sold at a profit. ;er^°st cynical of all is Weston's B.C. ul\ ers> which anticipated tremendous pro-Thk opportunities from the current crisis.
He Weston itself wallows in cash — a com-iy ;i «v spokesman admitted recently the firm ;r^^ Fanning with cash . . . surplus to our qs — R C Parkers eliminates 300 more
i°\rinvest in tuna canneries in the ilSf. uPpines. Prince Rupert groundfish fish-i.C^ whose production can no longer be b.O in the north, have been invited to 3lA ^ to Vancouver. Evidently the fish can #V °cessed and sold, but will be purchased ,nt ^ on Weston's terms. P •
" Jta*1^^ Pr°fit has been allowed to subvert e^e Public good. The firms that forced their *S,^o lri^° ^e industry and established near 1VrioPoly control have a responsibility they ^1 v- Processors — Weston and Marubeni 3 Mild Ve a^ — claim it is their right to cream the Vl-8^ an(* ^eave *he problems for industry n# kers to solve. We say they are wrong.
BETTY UNDERWOOD
When Oakland Fisheries slammed the door on Its Victoria processing plant last November, It not only signalled the possible loss of 200 Jobs, but the elimination of a way of life and a standard of living which cannot be replaced.
For Betty Underwood, who put 22 years Into the plant as a skilled fllleter, the closure came as a shock, not only because she wasn't expecting It but because the lob means so much to her and her family.
"It helped me to raise my kids; I started there when my son was Just a baby," she says. "We heard rumors the plant was bellying up, but when we asked the bosses they said no. Then, boom — closing down. That's a horrible feeling."
At 49, Underwood knows finding a new Job which pays decently Is going to be difficult, especially with the unemployment rate climbing to Depression-era levels.
For many, Including Underwood, the battle to save the plant has shifted to the provincial government, which appears to hold the final trump card on the fate of 200 livelihoods and the economic well-being of Victoria.
"I really cant see why the provincial government can't do something," she said. "I know the fish could be sold... I think they can make money here with good management."
Railways, airlines, telephone companies — in all these industries, big business is required by government to maintain low-profit operations as the price of reaping the financial rewards of high-profit ones. Why should the fishing industry be any different?
3. The Aftermath
WORKERS with decades of experience in the fishing industry have lost their jobs in recent weeks. These lay-offs are not comparable to those in other industries, where a reviving economy may restore production. There is reason to believe jobs lost in the fishing industry will be lost forever.
The groundfish B.C. Packers refuses to buy from Canadian fishermen in Prince Rupert now will be available for foreign fleets if Canadians are unable to deliver the production to Vancouver. A share of our hard-won groundfish markets will be lost. Skilled work crews with unparalleled experience will be dispersed.
The Prince Rupert closure will strip $5 million to $7 million a year from the local economy. The jobs lost are more than the total number of permanent jobs expected to be generated by the Ridley Island coal port.
In Victoria, 200 industrial jobs will be lost. The only major outlet for nearby fish stocks will be eliminated. Small businessmen who service the local fishing fleet will be hit hard. Fishermen will lose another competitor for their catch. B.C. Packers' dominance on the south coast will be unchallenged.
The government must act now to reverse a trend that theatens to destroy the fishing industry as the keystone of our coastal economy.
DAVE DUDOWARD
Dave Dudoward heads a family of three and wants to work.
For three years he has worked at B.C. Packers' Seal Cove plant In Prince Rupert and now faces unemployment because of BCP has decided to halt ground fish production on the north coast.
It Just doesnt make sense to Dudoward. He sees an obvious contradiction between B.C. Packers' earlier statements about the success of the operation and their most recent statements as they announced the closure.
"There Is not a scale In our freezer, It's all been sold, but then they turn around and say there Is no market," he said. "There Is a hell of a market for It."
With so many out of work, Dudoward predicts he and many of his co-workers will have to head out of town If they hope to find any work at all.
Quick action by the provincial government Is needed, he believes, If the Jobs of the Seal Cove workers are to be saved and the groundflshery on the north coast protected.
"They can stop B.C. Packers from creaming the crop by discontinuing their full fishing license and telling them to take It all or get none," he said. "How they can say they aren't making a good profit Is beyond me."
Our coast economy's
eif Public'good. The firms that forced tneir *
is^y into the industry and established near •__1     • a 1
i i^opoly control have a responsibility they      ^| *||*¥Tl \TO I     1C    CI T    CTCI K K*y. Processors - Weston and Marubeni      J^UA V A V CUL    Xk3    tti JiCUW
aedVeall — rlaim it. is their riehtto cream the