Trojan horse bill threatens Canada’s fisheries

Latest cuts strike deep at Department of Fisheries and Oceans

HALIFAX – The latest round of job cuts handed to front-line workers in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) severely threaten the sustainability of Canada’s fisheries. The cuts are a direct result of the gutting of environmental protection in the Trojan horse budget bill says the NDP.

“Yet again, the Conservatives are showing that they just don’t care about real facts and science,” said NDP Fisheries Critic, Robert Chisholm. “These cuts affect biologists, researchers, policy makers, all the people who make decisions based on facts. If the Conservatives don’t agree with something, they just cut and try to make it go away.”

These cuts affect jobs across Canada – and they also affect key areas of fundamental research on climate change studies and water ecosystem health.

NDP Deputy Fisheries Critic for the West Coast, Fin Donnelly highlighted the environmental impact of sweeping omnibus budget bill will have.

“This Trojan Horse bill will kill research. It will gut the Fisheries Act, kill the Experimental Lakes Area program, allow habitat destruction and reduce fish stock monitoring,” said Donnelly. “In the end, Canadians will pay dearly for Conservative environmental mismanagement.”

The NDP is holding the first in a series of regional hearings on public budget consultations tonight in Halifax. The focus of the public meeting will be the effect of the omnibus budget bill on Fisheries and Oceans.