Minister launches probe after fisheries not paid

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/01/2018 (2290 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The province’s sustainable development minister says she’s “beyond outraged” Manitoba fishers have gone unpaid for product shipped to the U.S. last month, and vows to get to the bottom of the situation.

Rochelle Squires was reacting to reports four fisheries are owed from $700,000 to $1.1 million for fish delivered in December — the first month under a new open-market system her government created through legislation last year.

The fisheries affected are: Dawson Bay Fish Packers, Eddystone Fisheries Co-op, Ashern Fisheries Co-op and Waterhen Winter Fisheries. Spokespeople for the affected fishers could not be reached Wednesday.

Squires said regulations dictate fishers be paid within seven days of delivering their catch.

“I am going to get to the bottom of this. We have launched a full investigation into what is occurring,” she said Wednesday.

The minister said she will also call the dealer who acted on behalf of the fisheries, Northern Walleye Inc., into her office for an explanation. Northern Walleye is owned by Donald Salkeld, a former head of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corp.

Salkeld said earlier in the day he never took ownership of the fish from the four fisheries — or “sheds,” as they are known. He said U.S. buyers came up to Canada to solicit business and he acted as an agent for the fisheries, assisting them with their paperwork.

Shipments from the four sheds were made to U.S. buyers in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin, Salkeld said in an interview. The Iowa buyer paid, but the purchasers in the other two are in default to the tune of about $800,000, he said.

The Manitoba fishers he represents have received about $250,000 to $270,000 in payment so far.

Salkeld, who was fired from the corporation in 2016 following at least a dozen allegations of misconduct during his time at the federal Crown corporation, said the fish sold to the Americans arrived in good condition. He said he’s still hoping to obtain full payment.

He said the buyers — all established companies that have been in business for decades — had agreed on a price for the product. “And it’s just gone completely sideways,” he said of the deal.

Squires pointed an accusatory finger at Northern Walleye, saying her understanding is the required paperwork “wasn’t filled out properly.”

“We have… regulations in place for a reason — so that this does not occur,” she said. “And there will be consequences for this.”

Squires said she also intends to travel to fishing communities in the coming weeks to talk to fishers about how the rules can be improved to avoid similar problems in the future.

NDP MLA Rob Altemeyer said the situation could have been avoided if the Progressive Conservative government had done more consultation in the first place.

He said the government was in too much of a rush to end he corporation’s monopoly in Manitoba. Enabling legislation was passed last year (it came into effect Dec. 1). The private sales to the U.S. facilitated by Northern Walleye were among the first to be carried out under the new open market.

Altemeyer called on the province to protect the fishers’ interests and take the lead in helping them recoup their losses.

“We cannot understand why the provincial government has not at least suspended the fish-dealing licence of the fish dealer involved,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sgt. Ray Campbell, with the RCMP’s Winnipegosis detachment, confirmed Wednesday police have received a complaint from fishers in the Waterhen area about a lack of payment.

“We have an open file right now,” he said.

However, it does not appear police are well into the investigation. The detachment has not yet consulted with the force’s commercial crime unit, and it’s still gathering information from fishers in the Waterhen area.

Campbell said police learned through media reports fishers in three other communities had also failed to receive full payment for their fish.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca