QUESTION PERIOD — Fisheries and Oceans
East Coast Fishery
June 26, 2025
My question today is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate.
Leader, when John Cabot discovered Newfoundland in 1497, it is said baskets were lowered over the side of the Matthew and were immediately filled with fish. When Canada joined Newfoundland in 1949, jurisdiction over the greatest food resource in the world was transferred from the Government of Newfoundland to the Government of Canada under the Terms of Union — in my humble opinion, a major mistake.
Throughout the years following, regardless of the political stripe here in Ottawa, our fish were used as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations, and in many instances, our fish were traded off to foreign nations in return for job creation in different regions of Canada. Thus, in July 1992, John Crosbie announced a moratorium on cod fishing, and overnight, 40,000 people lost their livelihoods in our province. That would be equivalent to 600,000 people in Ontario losing theirs.
As we start to work with new trading partners in light of the Trump tariffs, can the government assure the people of Newfoundland and Labrador that our fish will not be on the negotiating table this time and will not be traded off in order to create jobs in other provinces?
Thank you for your question. As the Government Representative in this chamber and as a former deputy chair of the Fisheries and Oceans Committee, which was an enormous learning experience and a privilege to work with you on, Senator Manning, I can assure you this government will work to protect all sectors of our economy and all regions as it engages in discussions with current and potential trade partners.
Let me also take this opportunity to note that I understand that you have been renamed as Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. I think it’s a record — 14 years, perhaps, in the same role — and a testament to the qualities that you bring to that role, which I witnessed first-hand as deputy chair. Thank you for the question.
Flattery will get you everywhere. The 1992 cod moratorium not only caused the loss of 40,000 jobs overnight, but also resulted in the loss of a way of life and our culture and heritage, of which we Newfoundlanders are so proud.
Leader, will you ask the members of the government, the Minister of Fisheries and other relevant ministers to include Newfoundland and Labrador in the discussions when they put fish or anything else that relates to our province back on the table?
Senator, it would be my great pleasure to do that, and I will add to my request that they send me to Newfoundland, at my own expense, to verify that is the case.
