Liberals appoint panel to probe Freshwater Fish Marketing Corp.

OTTAWA — The federal Liberals are finally launching a review of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corp., the Winnipeg-based Crown corporation that's been plagued by management problems for years.

New Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson announced Friday an advisory panel would look at ways to "transform the (corporation) so it remains modern and competitive in today’s open market."

The panel is expected to report back on new governance and ownership models, including how the corporation relates to Indigenous fishermen, in early 2019.

The corporation has been cited as one of Canada’s most dysfunctional agencies after multiple, scathing audits discovered years of mismanagement, dodgy hiring practices and insufficient health-and-safety training.

The Free Press revealed in June that injuries at the Transcona plant occur at least three times more frequently than the industry norm.

Late last year, the Manitoba government became the latest to pull out of the freshwater fish monopoly. Since the 1960s, the Prairie provinces and territories were required to send all commercial freshwater catches to the Winnipeg plant to be processed and marketed abroad.

Provinces have gradually switched to the open market, though 80 per cent of fishers still rely on the corporation, likely because transporting fish from northern regions isn’t as profitable.

Wilkinson’s office said Friday that they held off naming the advisory committee because they wanted to complete "unprecedented consultations" nationwide.

"We also recognize that the operating environment has undergone significant change over the last few years and that it is time for the (corporation) to evolve," spokeswoman Jocelyn Lubczuk wrote.

It is unknown whether the review will include concerns voiced by Manitoba Conservative MP Robert Sopuck, a former marine biologist who claims the corporation has encouraged pickerel overfishing in Lake Winnipeg.

The review panel includes six people with experience in fisheries or corporate management. Manitoba is Mark Freedman of Winnipeg, a Métis originally from Flin Flon and Gerald Malone, a resident of Winnipeg for the past 23 years.

First Nations and Métis fishers appear divided about how their product should be marketed. Some have demanded more access to open markets, claiming the Crown corporation never took advantage of demand in China. Others believe the corporation is the best option to sell their catch because their villages are so remote.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca