Fishers’ tale of concern, opportunity

Shipment of essential goods and the future of fishers’ livelihoods are among the concerns some Indigenous groups are raising as Ottawa looks to rid itself of its fish marketing branch.

“You’re setting us up for failure,” said Dave MacKay, business manager of Negginan Fishing Station.

Fishing is one of Poplar River First Nation’s biggest trades, MacKay relayed. Negginan Fishing Station — and related operations — employ roughly 100 people on the First Nation on the east side of Lake Winnipeg.

It’s like clockwork: a boat, the MV Poplar River, arrives in the spring and the fall for catches of pickerel and whitefish. The barge also brings critical items like fuel and building supplies, MacKay said. Poplar River lacks an all-weather road, making it inaccessible by truck when there’s no ice.

The First Nation declared a state of emergency in 2022, after the MV Poplar River was damaged by an explosion. Now, the boat is back in business — but MacKay wonders for how long.

The Freshwater Fish Marketing Corp. (FFMC), a federal Crown corporation, owns the MV Poplar River.

At one point, the FFMC had a monopoly on fish marketing and sales in Canada. It began in 1969, and has a mandate to maximize long-term returns to fish harvesters.

In recent years, however, provinces have opted out of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Act. Ontario withdrew in 2011; Saskatchewan and Manitoba followed in 2012 and 2017, respectively. It allowed the provinces’ fishers to strike deals with buyers outside the FFMC.

Alberta closed its commercial inland fishery in 2014. Now, the Northwest Territories is the act’s only participating jurisdiction.

The federal government has since looked to divest itself of the FFMC. A government-appointed advisory council recommended regional fishing groups and processors or an Indigenous economic development corporation take the reins.

(Much of the FFMC’s suppliers are Indigenous fishers in the Prairies. The FFMC counted more than 1,400 fisher sources in 2023.)

“It sounds wonderful on paper,” MacKay said. “Not only do Indigenous communities get to participate, they’re going to have equity.”

However, he’s skeptical of the rollout. In December, Ottawa launched a request for proposal to take over the FFMC. Final letters of intent are due by Sept. 17, per a federal spokesperson.

The Crown corporation’s operating plan exceeded $76 million in 2024; it had more than 300 staff and several Manitoba facilities. Processing fish, marketing and transportation are among its roles.

It’s not the skill set of a traditional fisher, MacKay said. “It’s a huge undertaking,” he said. “Economic reconciliation … is important. You will not achieve it if you just throw the keys at us.”

Poplar River has joined a collection of Manitoba and Saskatchewan First Nations bidding for FFMC. MacKay worries the operational money, line of credit and expertise needed will lead the group — or any bidding group — to fail as they take over the corporation.

“If we really want to do this right, we need to gradually transfer the ownership,” he asserted, adding a transfer without support would cause “catastrophic collapse.”

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, which is overseeing the transformation, didn’t answer questions about hand-off details. It’s unclear whether it’s looking to sell the Crown corporation or how long it plans to be involved post-acquisition.

The federal department received 11 expressions of interest, spokesperson Axel Rioux said, declining to publicly disclose names.

“Bidding criteria for the request for proposals were designed to promote continued market access for rural, remote and isolated harvesters and ensure economic reconciliation efforts,” Rioux wrote in a statement.

The Manitoba Métis Federation has also bid on the FFMC, though president David Chartrand said he’s opposed to the current divestiture set-up.

“The way this thing is rolling out, we’re very concerned about where we stand as Métis business people,” Chartrand said. “This is probably the last traditional economy that has the potential of being taken from us.”

In 2022, roughly 85 per cent of Manitoba’s 2,000 licensed commercial fishers were Indigenous. A significant portion — maybe half — are Métis, Chartrand estimated.

“The financial state of Freshwater is not in a good position,” Chartrand said. “We have to look at, ‘How do we take over something that’s clearly in massive deficit (with) infrastructure that’s falling apart?’”

The FFMC highlighted an overall loss of $7.2 million in its 2024 annual report, shooting past the performance target of a $600,000 loss. It listed $34 million in loans payable.

Meantime, Fisher River Cree Nation Chief David Crate calls the transformation an “opportunity.” Approximately 150 on-reserve members commercially fish from Lake Winnipeg and sell their catches through the FFMC.

Fisher River joins Poplar River and other communities off Lake Winnipeg, Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipegosis in a coalition bidding on the FFMC. Métis and Indigenous fishers from Saskatchewan are in the group, Crate said.

“We’ve got a very good proposal,” he added. “The expertise that we bring to table, also, is something government will have to consider.”

Saskatchewan and Manitoba representatives would form the FFMC’s board; membership would consist of commercial fishers, Crate said. The coalition would keep the FFMC’s current staff in place, he added.

“I couldn’t get into details,” he said of how its debt would be managed.

The FFMC also serves non-Indigenous communities. It sells fish around North America and Europe; it delivered 11.7 million kilograms in its 2024 calendar year, an annual report shows.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com