US embassy cable - 03HALIFAX167

UNCLAS HALIFAX 000167 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, EFIS, ECON, CA 
SUBJECT: NEWFOUNDLAND CHALLENGES OTTAWA OVER FISH 
 
REF: A. HALIFAX 0110;  B. 02 OTTAWA 3256 
 
1.  SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - ENTIRE TEXT 
 
2. (SBU) SUMMARY:  The Newfoundland-Labrador government, stung 
by Ottawa's decision to shut down the province's cod fishery, is 
seeking a constitutional amendment to force the federal 
government to share control of the fishing industry.  (END 
SUMMARY) 
 
3. (SBU) Newfoundland-Labrador's Deputy Minister of 
Intergovernmental Affairs told us on May 14 that his political 
masters are committed to their quest to obtain shared management 
of the fishery in waters off the province, following the federal 
government's unilateral decision to end cod fishing there. 
Andrew Noseworthy, a veteran bureaucrat who has served in 
several Newfoundland-Labrador administrations, dismissed the 
notion that current Premier Roger Grimes is exploiting this 
hot-button issue to garner popularity before he calls a 
provincial election.  Noseworthy acknowledged the move does give 
a high-profile opportunity to the governing Liberals. 
Nonetheless, he emphasized that all three political parties in 
the Newfoundland-Labrador House of Assembly voted unanimously to 
support Premier Grimes' resolution, which called on Ottawa to 
renegotiate its constitutional right to manage the fishery. 
Accordingly, all the parties have obligated themselves to 
support the initiative regardless of the election outcome. 
 
4. (SBU) Noseworthy asserted that any new provincial government 
will pursue the case, noting that the Progressive Conservative 
Party had first sought greater provincial control of the fishery 
in 1979.  Successive PC and Liberal governments have maintained 
that the federal government has failed to lived up to its 
constitutional obligation to manage the fishery in such a way as 
to ensure the continued economic well-being of the province. 
The historical document which Premier Grimes wants to amend is 
the Terms of Union, which brought Newfoundland-Labrador into the 
Canadian Confederation in 1949.  By agreeing to union with 
Canada, Newfoundland-Labrador relinquished control of its 
fishery, accepting the principle of federal supremacy in 
management of the resource. 
 
5. (SBU) While Newfoundland remains committed to this issue, 
Nova Scotia would prefer that its neighbor refrain from 
challenging the status quo.  Peter Underwood, Nova Scotia's 
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, told Congen that 
his province would likely maintain its longstanding refusal to 
support any initiative to give Newfoundland-Labrador a greater 
say in the management of the fishery.  Nova Scotia fishermen 
enjoy historical access to the waters off Newfoundland-Labrador, 
a right that is currently recognized in how Ottawa allocates 
access in the commercial fishery.  As Underwood explained, Nova 
Scotia has had similar battles with Ottawa on fishery management 
issues, but has never believed that revising the existing 
management structure was a viable solution, especially as there 
would be a high political price to pay as well. 
 
6. (SBU) COMMENT:  Newfoundlanders attach tremendous 
significance to the cod fishery, not only because of its 
importance to the province's economy, but also because of the 
vital and highly symbolic role that cod fishing played in the 
history of Newfoundland.  While we hear varying opinions on the 
motives underlying Premier Grimes' actions with regard to this 
highly emotional issue, constitution-watchers in Atlantic Canada 
agree that the province's actions have the potential to open up 
a new round of constitutional debate in the country.  (END 
COMMENT) 
 
 
 
KASHKETT