PEI Fisheries and Environment Minister Kevin J. MacAdam and Deputy Minister Bill Drost met Wednesday and Thursday with owners and senior management of Westmorland Fisheries Ltd., the parent company of the French River Cannery operation. MacAdam expressed his concern over the temporary closure of the Plant for the 1998 processing season and its potential effect on the fishers, employees and the community.
Minister MacAdam says a number of factors lead to the decision; one being ever increasing Federal inspection standards making it more difficult for small plants to stay in business and be profitable.
"With regard to these Federal government standards, this is not the first time I have heard this from small processors and I will be asking Wayne Easter, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, to look into the situation to make sure their policies and procedures are not unfairly targeting small operations like French River," stated MacAdam.
Westmorland Fisheries stated they have concerns about the stability of the processing industry in general and have decided to discontinue processing at French River in 1998 and properly assess the best course of action for the plant.
They further indicated they understood the business logic of the proposed amalgamation of the six Island processors as necessary to sustain their business in a competitive environment. "They said this move had some effect on the decision not to process this year but it was only one of many factors, and the larger issues relate to over capacity in the industry, said MacAdam.
MacAdam also reported Westmorland expressed regret with the timing of the announcement, but they felt it was important to get the information out to their approximate 40 employees as soon as the decision was made. "Recent meetings with their banker and a review of losses in the last year made the decision clear for them," said MacAdam.
"We encouraged them to communicate more effectively with the employees as soon as possible so there would be a better understanding of the situation," concluded the Minister.