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Letter from the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to:
The Honourable Kevin MacAdam,
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Aquaculture & Forestry
Government of Prince Edward Island
The Honourable David Alward
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture
Government of New Brunswick
Dear Minister:
I am writing to inform you that the report prepared by Mr. Allister Surette, who was appointed in December 2003 to review the issues surrounding the 2003 herring dispute between fishers from New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, will be posted on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ website on March 3, 2004.
I wrote to Mr. Surette on February 16 to thank him for providing me with a well-documented report of the issues and concerns of the principal interveners, and for providing options on moving forward.
Your views on Mr. Surette’s report would be most welcome. I would especially appreciate receiving your advice on the best way to move forward. Specifically, what is the best process for getting the industry to commit to finding practical solutions that can be implemented for the 2004 herring fishery? I am certain you share my view that a repetition of the disruptions we saw last fall at Shippagan and Souris would be counter-productive and that we must find a way to rebuild better relationships between communities and allow all who prosecute the fishery to do so in an orderly way.
I intend to make a few public comments when the report is released, to reassure the parties and the public that resolving the conflict is a major objective of mine in 2004. I am also writing to your colleague in New Brunswick/PEI. Success will require that we work together as ministers to bring leadership and reason to the work that lies ahead. I invite you to join me as we move to the next phase of the process. In the interests of continued transparency in this process, I also plan to publish this letter and the one sent to your colleague.
Yours truly,
The Honourable Geoff Regan
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
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