THE FISHERMAN, DECEMBER 16, 1996
Season's greetings to the men and women in the fishing industry. Qood health and happiness in 1997.
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DFO acted without regard to the public interest, judge rules
The fisheries minister and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans were given a sharp slap on the wrist last month by a Federal Court of Canada judge for their undemocratic methods of consultation with fishermen.
In a judgement issued Nov. 29, Federal Court judge Douglas Campbell struck down the "current owner requirement," (COR) introduced by DFO as part of the halibut individual quota system (ITQ) in 1990, and ordered new trial proceedings to determine
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THE EMPLOYMENT TRANSITION CENTRE FOR FISH HARVESTERS
Temporary Labour Pool for Fishers and Related Workers
Funding is in the works for a temporary labour pool to operate out of the Job Skills Development Program newly relocated at #201, 2280 East Hastings Street, Vancouver.
This program will have a start-up date of December 1. The function of the program is to provide access to temporary jobs and on-call labour for industry workers wanting extra funds to help out over the coming holiday season. Some funding for transportation allowances and training will be available through the program. There will also be a tool crib set up for those who cannot afford to purchase their own.
If you are interested in being on the Temporary Labour Pool list call 254-8845 and ask for Suzanne Thomson or Wendy Seaton.
This program is sponsored by the: Commercial Fishing Industry Council Human Resources Development Canada
United Fishermen and Allied Workers' Union Ministry of Education, Skills and Training
how to compensate those fishermen whose quota allocation was arbitrarily cut by the requirement.
The decision will likely result in increased quota, as well as catch-up compensation, for as many as 44 halibut fishermen, some of whom have waged a six-year court battle to have the discriminatory requirement overturned.
But the more dramatic impact of the judgment has come in the comments by Judge Campbell who issued a detailed outline of the consultative meetings that led to the establishment of IVQs and COR and concluded that it was a process devised and managed by DFO to achieve the objective set by DFO in the beginning. "Even though it was billed as a consultation, I find that the process entered into between DFO and the licence holders was in fact a support-building process for a quota system to which DFO was committed before the process began," Judge Campbell stated in his reasons for judgment.
That conclusion may not come as a surprise to many fishermen who have seen DFO use the consultation process many times to carry out a pre-arranged agenda. But it has particular force coming from the Federal Court of Canada.
"It's a scathing judgement," said Vancouver lawyer Murray Smith, who piloted the case through the courts for Nanaimo halibut fishermen Bob Carpenter and other plaintiffs. The suit was launched six years ago.
What made it even more distressing, Smith said, was that he had repeatedly emphasized to DFO that the COR provision was unlawful and urged the department to resolve the issue out of court to "save both the plaintiffs and the taxpayers of Canada a lot of money.
"But DFO never turned back from their course," he said.
The case goes back to 1990
when DFO went to the industry with the intention of implementing ITQs in the halibut fishery. The industry had earlier toyed with the idea of quotas but they were rejected by a majority of
LORNE IVERSON ... a demonstration of how DFO operates.
BRUCE TURRIS ... managed the results.
licence holders on the Halibut Advisory Committee.
However, in September, 1989, DFO sent out letters to halibut licence holders with a discussion paper on ITQs and announced that meetings would be held to consider a quota system. Surveys were also sent out, soliciting industry views on ITQs.
Several memos between then regional fisheries director Al Lill and Pat Chamut, former Pacific regional director, surfaced during the court case, showing how DFO was effectively seeking to stage-manage the industry position on ITQs.
In one, Chamut wrote to Lill, stating that he wanted "to encourage industry representatives to give careful and favourable consideration to the ITQ (quota) proposal by pointing out the benefits to fishermen and the resource. As a tactical point, it would be useful to identify industry leaders whose opinion has a lot of weight with their peers and try to obtain their support..."
Chamut also requested a briefing note from then resource allocation chief A. Gibson which stated: "As per your request, provided are specific points which are considered important to emphasize and would be useful in convincing halibut fishermen to agree to individual quotas. General points:The idea to introduce ITQs into the halibut fishery came from halibut fishermen, not DFO...."
"In the period October, 1989 to June, 1990, DFO led a very elaborate and energetic consultation with licence holders on the implementation of a quota system," Judge Campbell stated in his ruling. "I find that DFO wanted a quota system to result from the process and managed the process