Unions stand with fish harvesters as protests continue in St. John’s

Labour leaders are standing in solidarity with hundreds of fish harvesters protesting in St. John’s for a more equitable stake in the fisheries.

“If harvesters are protesting outside Confederation Building tomorrow, we won’t be going into the lock-in,” Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour President Jessica McCormick told The Independent Wednesday evening.

CUPE Newfoundland and Labrador President Sherry Hillier made the same commitment Wednesday afternoon, saying in a statement that “[a]s long as the fish harvesters are gathered outside the Confederation Building in protest, we will not cross their protest line. As union activists, it’s our duty to show solidarity with fellow workers.”

The Andrew Furey government was scheduled to deliver its 2024 budget speech Wednesday, but protestors blockaded entrances to Confederation Building and prevented politicians and public servants from entering.

Just after 11 a.m. the government announced it was postponing the budget speech “due to an unsafe environment” on Confederation Hill. “Presently, the conditions are unsafe for employees and visitors to the complex, and there is a threat of violence,” reads the statement from the Department of Finance. 

Around 9 a.m. police arrived on the scene with horses. Physical confrontations resulted in injuries to at least one protestor and one police officer. 

“We have an injured member and an injured police officer as well,” Fish Food and Allied Workers (FFAW) Secretary-Treasurer Jason Spingle announced to the crowd just after 12 p.m. Spingle said he “got a report that it looks like his hip was broken,” referring to the protestor.

In the afternoon, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary issued a statement saying two of its horses “were struck by demonstrators which forced the Mounted Unit to retreat,” and that “during one of the ‘rushes’ an officer was injured, and has been sent to hospital for treatment.” 

‘We want free enterprise’

For weeks, fish harvesters have been protesting inside and outside the provincial legislature, at times disrupting proceedings in the House of Assembly. 

At the heart of the matter are policies harvesters say limit their access to the market and which have created a business environment Spingle has characterized as “anti-harvester, plain and simple.”

Last week the union issued three requests to the province: lift all processing caps, grant new processing licenses, and remove restrictions on outside buyers.

“The situation has gotten so severe in recent years that a very large number are now facing imminent bankruptcy due to the cartel-like environment processing companies enjoy here in Newfoundland and Labrador,” FFAW-Unifor President Greg Pretty said on March 14. “When fish harvesters cannot find a buyer for their catch, we have a serious problem.”

John Efford, who helped organize Wednesday’s protest, said last week that harvesters “have been faced with strict weekly limits, unfounded deductions, plants that chose not to process certain species, and others who refused to purchase from certain harvesters.” The power that processing plants have over fishers “amounts to a very toxic business relationship for both harvesters and plant workers,” he said. “More competition and market access for harvesters is needed. We want free enterprise.”

On Tuesday, the government announced it would allow the export of snow crab to buyers outside the province this season. In a letter to the FFAW the same day, fisheries minister Elvis Loveless said he is “committed to raising capacity in the primary processing sector prior to the start of the 2024 fishery,” and that the extent of that increase “will be informed, in part,” by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ impending total allowable catch announcement.

Loveless also acknowledged in the letter that it’s been a while since the government did a comprehensive review of the fisheries, and that he will reach out to FFAW “to seek your views on such a review.”

Movement from the Liberals may be too little, too late for those teetering on bankruptcy. Fishers say they want more than outside market access for snow crab — they want it for all species. 

“We’re not here for anything else, but to get treated fairly, and to get the rights that every other Canadian should have,” Efford said Wednesday shortly after the government announced it was postponing the budget delivery. “And that’s free enterprise.” 

Efford said the only way the budget will go forward is if the government agrees to sit down and talk to the harvesters. “We’ll do it right now, and you’ll have your budget tomorrow,” he said. 

Injunction and the threat of mass arrest

In response to the protest, the government applied for and was granted a court injunction Wednesday. Provincial Supreme Court Justice Robert Stack approved an interim order that empowers police to arrest anyone blocking entry to or “causing a nuisance” near Confederation Building. The injunction expires at 11:30 a.m. Thursday and the government will have to seek another order if it wants further help from the court and the police.

During a press conference Wednesday, Furey condemned the fish harvesters, saying he was “profoundly disappointed that the behaviour of a few could jeopardize a budget that’s for the entire province.”

The premier said he knows “anxieties and emotions run high in the fishery this time of year,” and that fishers “have a democratic right to peaceful protest.”

But he’s taking a hard line on the disruption to his government.

“What is unacceptable is violent protests,” he said, adding “some of the behaviours we saw today will not be tolerated by me or our government.”

Justice Minister John Hogan said fishers are “free to protest, free to express their voice, their opinions, their views. But they’re not free to prevent individuals — whether it’s public service workers, workers of the House of Assembly, or politicians who will deliver the budget as soon as it’s safe to do so — from entering the premises.”

Federation of Labour President Jessica McCormick says the government’s response to the protest may not be helping the situation.

“When tempers flare, things can sometimes escalate. Violence is not condoned. The key is for everyone to de-escalate, engage in open, constructive paths of dialogue, and find a way to a resolution,” she said in a written statement to The Independent Wednesday. “Rushing to court injunctions, closing the House of Assembly and shutting down debate, saying that hundreds may be arrested, and calling in a massive police presence may be counterproductive to achieving that goal.”

NDP leader Jim Dinn also criticized the Liberals’ response. “Instead of threatening confrontation, do what we and others have been suggesting: engage in meaningful dialogue to address issues,” he said Wednesday. “It is hard to talk to people, but it is the best way to achieve meaningful solutions.”

Despite the government’s decision to use a court injunction to quell the protests, union leadership promised a bigger turnout Thursday to continue their fight for fairer market access for fishers.

“Let’s not forget what we are as a province. This province was built on the iron will — the sacrifice — of our fish harvesters, first and foremost,” Spingle told the crowd outside Confederation Building Wednesday.

“We need to make sure that the balance of that wealth is shared fairly.”