Thursday, November 14, 2024

Nova Scotia election: Liberals promise to establish inquiry into illegal fishing

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HALIFAX — Nova Scotia’s Liberal party is promising to establish a public inquiry into illegal fishing if the party is elected to govern on Nov. 26.

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill issued a statement Friday saying the party would also introduce a minimum-fine policy for those caught buying illegally caught lobster.

There is already a maximum fine of $1 million for illegal fishing, but Churchill said more needs to be done. “We will establish a minimum fine to ensure that everybody who is buying illegal lobsters pays for putting the industry at risk,” he said.

Churchill, whose Liberals are trying to unseat the incumbent Progressive Conservatives led by Tim Houston, also committed to creating a dedicated fisheries enforcement unit and a separate commercial fisheries office.

“The lobster industry is a major economic driver in Nova Scotia,” Churchill said. “We’re ready to act with a zero-tolerance policy that will revoke licences for repeat offenders and guarantee penalties for those who break the law.”

Illegal lobster fishing is a hot-button issue in southwestern Nova Scotia, where Churchill was campaigning Friday in his home riding of Yarmouth. The region is also home to the most lucrative lobster fishery in Canada, where the fishing season will open later this month amid widespread concern about illegal fishing.

Last month, a labour investigator agreed with federal fisheries officers who claimed that heavily armed criminals were posing a threat to their lives. The investigator determined the officers’ protective equipment wasn’t up to the task. The report was in response to Fisheries Department enforcement officers who filed refusal-to-work applications under provisions of the Canada Labour Code.

The investigator found fisheries officers in the Maritime region are having to regularly confront armed people, those with ties to outlaw motorcycle gangs, and fishers convicted of violent crimes. Some officers have been threatened and others have “come under fire” while inspecting fishing gear, the report said.

It remains unclear how many officers refused to work because of unsafe conditions, but they have since returned to active duty.

Responding to Churchill’s plan, Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Kent Smith accused the Liberal leader of shielding Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from criticism.

“We know Zach Churchill defends his federal cousins at every turn,” said Smith, who is running for the Tories in the riding of Eastern Shore. “Once again, when Zach Churchill had the choice to stand up for Nova Scotians or stand with Justin Trudeau, he chose Trudeau.”

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