Job layoffs at the Northern Wild Fishery are having a rippling effect in Northern Saskatchewan. 20 people in Wollaston Lake, five in Prince Albert and the livelihoods of contributing fisherman, were immediately felt Thursday as the Fishery closed its doors.
Anne Robillard, Chief Executive Officer of Hatchet Lake Development blames the shutdown on high fish transportation costs due to there not being an all-weather road to Wollaston Lake.
“Both provincial and federal governments were committed to building an all-weather road to Wollaston, but that road hasn’t happened,” Robillard said.
Robillard explained that transportation of barge, plane and ice road of the product is costing way too much to turn a profit, adding the longer the fishery is operating, the more money is being lost.
Construction of an all-weather 102 kilometer, $88 million road has been stalled for years.
She says government subsidies and support is non-existent.
Robillard says in announcing the Fishery closure, one fisherman was particularly concerned about his future, as fishing was his main source of family income.
“It’s a huge cost to the community because people do want to work. And even the impact of the downturn in uranium. It’s a huge impact,” stated Robillard.
Robillard says her organization will turn to lobbying the governments for construction of the road, as the Fishery may be closed until after it is built.