I can’t believe any Government would sign this type of exclusivity. Whoever is responsible for signing such an exclusive deal should be charge for squandering the right to free enterprise. Who in their right mind would have signed such a deal to take away other processors rights to make a living. I’m sure they have some strange way of justifying their decisions but I’m all for opening up our industries and businesses to compete against one another and that is what Ocean Choice should have to do. Kudos to Mr. Wall and any other processor for going forward.
Illegal lobster processing charges laid
Thursday, July 3, 2008
CBC News
The owner of the Howard's Cove fish plant in western P.E.I. has been charged with illegally processing lobster.
The province said it had inspectors in the plant on several occasions over the last six weeks and observed lobsters being processed, and the plant does not have a licence for that.
Howard's Cove is a former Polar Foods plant that once did process lobster. Polar went bankrupt in 2004 and was purchased by the province.
Polar was sold to the N.L. company Ocean Choice, and part of the agreement was if any new lobster processing licences were issued, the province would have to forgive a $14-million loan.
Ocean Choice kept two of the Polar plants operating, but not Howard's Cove, which was eventually taken over by Roger Wall.
Wall will enter a plea to the charges on July 16. Several lobster fishermen have indicated support for Wall, claiming there isn't enough competition for lobster, and that's one the reasons prices were so low this spring.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
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