Chief Disagrees With Moratorium On FFMC Withdrawal

Chief Disagrees With Moratorium On FFMC Withdrawal

Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 15:38

A recent call to keep the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation monopoly on fish caught commercially in Saskatchewan isn’t winning rave reviews from a First Nations leader in the province’s far north.

Athabasca MLA Buckley Belanger wants a moratorium placed on the departure of the FFMC, which is scheduled to happen on April 1st.

Belanger says there is nothing in place for fishers to use once the FFMC leaves, so he wants a one-year waiting period put in place.

Fond du Lac Chief Napoleon Mercredi says his fishers have never benefited from the corporation.

He adds his band has struck its own joint partnership with a company on the East Coast, and therefore, he feels his community doesn’t really need the FFMC.

Mercredi says his band has already done up a business plan with McGraw Foods and is designing a building.

The chief says Belanger’s proposal should be restricted to fishers further south, and not in the Athabasca Basin.