Councillor Adey looks to rally Council members to the cause of local fish workers in Prince Rupert

Councillor Nick Adey led the discussion on the state of the North Coast
fishery and the impact that a poor season is having on the community

The dire situation facing those who work in the North Coast Fishery made for some discussion at Monday evening's city council session, as Councillor Nick Adey brought the topic up for review and offered some suggestions for this fellow Council members to consider for their next gathering in October.

As part or his overview of recent events, Councillor Adey  recounted for the Council members his recent conversation with Joy Thorkelson, the President of UFAWU-Unifor at the Fisherman's Hall and the dire nature of the situation on the North Coast.

His review explored the concerns from the local labour leader and former city councillor making note of a letter that the labour organization has sent to the Federal Fisheries and environmental ministers as well as their provincial counterparts.

As part of his presentation, Councillor Adey highlighted the various elements of that letter that the union has forwarded to both Federal and Provincial officials, noting the following:

"Basically there's three parts to it, one it describes the impact on workers in the coastal communities including many First Nations coastal communities, and they are significant it's been a very tough year. 

And then it spends a little bit of time talking about causes, and of course this is where you can open things up to debate, but they are very clearly focused on climate change as one of the big pieces of that puzzle for why things have been so difficult."

The Councillor also highlighted for Council the two "asks" that the union has made of the Federal government in response to the crisis.

The first that the Federal Government recognize this as an emergency and respond in terms of support, pointing to the relief offered during the past wildfire and flood situations in Central British Columbia.

 They also asked for a meeting with Federal officials, though he was not sure if any progress has been made on either request.

City Council may host a presentation next
month from Joy Thorkelson, President
of UFAWU-Unifor to provide details
on the dire nature of the fishery on the
North Coast

Looking ahead to City Council's October calendar, the Councillor suggested that if the situation has not been resolved by that time, that Council should invite Ms. Thorkelson to City Council chambers  to provide an update on the situation.

That could be something that may provide Council with some guidance as to how they could assist, with the councillor observing that there may be a role that City Council could play in raising awareness of the situation.

As well, he observed that City Council could provide for a letter of support towards the actions that they are taking to advocate for their members.

Mayor Lee Brain thanked the councillor for bringing the issue to the attention of the Council members and then asked that he interface with Ms. Thorkelson prior to the next Council session in October to provide for a timeline for the initiatives that he suggested and to set in motion those elements.

Councillor Barry Cunningham also offered some thoughts on the issue, noting how we are reaching a crisis situation on the North Coast similar to what was found in Newfoundland during the Cod crisis years ago where the Federal government did step in to help.

He expressed his belief as to how everyone needs to work together and that the Federal Government needs to realize that the situation facing West Coast fishermen is the same as that which faced those on the East Coast.

He also observed that he was in favour of any action that would put pressure on the Federal government to recognize that the Salmon industry in BC is in a crisis situation if not an emergency situation, noting how it requires immediate action and the sooner the better.

"I think that the Federal government has to recognize that this is the same situation on the West Coast that happened on the East Coast, where they stepped in and gave financial support to every community and every fisherman and it doesn't seem to relate to the West Coast.  And I can't understand why we are two coasts one country, but I would support anything that puts pressure on the Federal government"  -- Councillor Barry Cunningham

He also noted how the troubles of the fishery are obvious in Prince Rupert where the heydays of the fleet coming to town and money in everyone's pocket are gone and may never come back.

The city's potential entry into the discussion comes as UFAWU-Unifor and a number of First Nations leaders raised the alarm on the 2019 fishery and the hardships that the poor returns and lack of employment opportunities have brought upon residents of the province.

As we noted yesterday, a media conference in Vancouver on Monday reiterated the call for action from the Federal government and how the situation has reached a crisis level in British Columbia.

The prospect of the city at least providing for a letter of support for the call for Federal involvement would no doubt be welcomed by UFAWU-Unifor, last month we observed that as the union had first raised their concerns about the evolving crisis situation for the fishery earlier this summer, their call for action and support from officials around the Northwest had pretty well fallen on deaf ears in the early going.

Since then, the union has heard back from the Province and gained the support of outgoing MP Nathan Cullen towards bringing the issue to the attention of the Federal government; though as noted in our item from yesterday, the response from the Federal government did not provide for any firm indication of any federal help pending.

And with the federal politicians now in campaign mode, that topic may be kicked down the road to after October 21st.

Which means that the City may yet get to explore its options in October, as they learn what help towards that cause they may be able to deliver following the next gathering of Council member.

You can review the Council members discussion of the theme from the City's Video Archive starting at the 59 minute mark.



For more notes on the state of the Fishery in British Columbia can be found from our archive page.

For a look at some of the other themes from Monday's City Council session see our Council Timeline here, as well as a wider overview of past Council discussion themes from our Council Discussion archive.