The knives are out in B.C.’s bloodiest sport: PoliticsROD MICKLEBURGH
Vancouver— Globe and Mail Update
Published Monday, Apr. 25, 2011 12:14AM EDT
Why would Conservative Party Leader Stephen Harper, on the Saturday of a long Easter weekend, journey all the way from Etobicoke to Campbell River on the northern reaches of Vancouver Island?
After all, the Tory incumbent John Duncan is a cabinet minister and winner of five of the past six elections. What’s his worry?
In a word: Halibut.
Recreational fishers for the tasty, ocean flatfish, are up in verbal arms over the government’s handling of the annual halibut fishery. They feel they are being short-changed in deference to commercial fishermen, and Mr. Duncan is paying the price.
Ken Jenkins has run Codfather Charters in Port Hardy for 26 years. A lifelong Conservative supporter, he says he will be voting NDP this time, along with many other recreational fishers.
“At one of our meetings, we took a straw vote and only two of our guys didn’t vote for John Duncan in 2008. Now, we’re gunning for him.”
That, plus the recent upsurge of support for the NDP in the past week or so, could prove pivotal in a riding the New Democrats won as recently as 2006.
So Mr. Harper made a rare journey to a seat already held by the Conservatives, seeking to shore up Mr. Duncan’s support by lashing out at the NDP.
Still, Vancouver Island North is one of only two Conservative ridings in the province where the NDP was close to the Tories in 2008, and now have a good shot at winning. Surrey North, where incumbent Dona Cadman is having a tough time, is the other.
But Jack Layton is B.C.-bound later this week, and who knows what that enthusiasm might produce. More, more, more?
At any rate, the late boost in NDP strength should secure the party’s grasp on the nine seats it currently holds, some of which the Conservatives had been making eyes at.
Predictions beyond that are difficult, depending on which poll you pay attention to. The Angus Reid sampling had the NDP up six points in B.C. over 2008, but the Liberals down only 1.3 per cent, to 18 per cent. Still, that was significantly lower than the mid-twenties the party claimed earlier on.
The most bleeding has come from the Green Party, which has plummeted from a respectable 9.4 per cent in 2008, to six per cent now.
But why are the Liberals even more worried than the Conservatives? Momentum, once it gets going late in a campaign, is very hard to slow down. Any significant slippage to the NDP could spell doom to the Liberals’ presence in B.C., handing nearly all their five ridings to the hated Tories because of a larger split vote among anti-Conservative forces.
In B.C., where politics is a true blood sport, this election is suddenly very, very interesting.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/the-knives-are-out-in-bcs-bloodiest-sport-politics/article1997298/The secret society in halibutCourier-Islander April 22, 2011
As chair of DFO's official advisory process for the recreational fishing sector, I am troubled by the recent complaints of the Pacific Halibut Management Association that a spontaneous coalition of recreational anglers decided to inject the issue of halibut allocation into the federal election campaign.
The PHMA occupies a very privileged position, thanks to a succession of fisheries ministers. A private society, whose meetings are not open to the public and whose finances are not subject to public scrutiny, the Association was until recently funded by a gift of 10 per cent of the available commercial halibut quota.
This allowed it to hire professional lobbyists and successfully work the back rooms of Ottawa to secure and maintain the current allocation policy. Although it lost its gift of organizational quota thanks to a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, it continues to be recognized by DFO as the de facto representative of commercial halibut harvesters. Because the SFAB is an official advisory process, PHMA members are free to attend our meetings. By contrast, the Association works behind closed doors.
The most telling point is that the PHMA's privileged position is fully in line with the extent to which ownership of 88 per cent of Canada's halibut has now been privatized by government. In return for an annual payment averaging 10 cents a pound, quota holders have been given what amounts to permanent ownership of access to fish that used to belong to all the people of Canada. But these quota holders don't actually have to work for a living. A large portion of halibut quota is now in the hands of non-fishing speculators, who profit to the disadvantage of recreational, First Nations and active commercial harvesters alike.
The PHMA media blitz contains the assurance of its vice-president that "commercial halibut fishermen are ready to work within the process announced in February." Since the association said last year that it "would prefer to see recreational and commercial halibut fishers managed to their respective 12 per cent and 88 per cent allocations`` it is hard to interpret this assurance as anything but a promise of further opposition to change.
Perhaps if "commercial halibut fishermen" were represented by a transparent process that put the interests of actual harvesters ahead of non-fishing quota speculators the current federal government would be able to implement its announced policy "to support the owner-operator principle" in the commercial fishery.
As chair of a transparent process charged with representing the interests of 300,000 licensed tidal anglers who account for 40 per cent of the total fishing economy of British Columbia, it would be nice to find that this principle was part of any future allocation discussions.
Gerry Kristianson
http://www.canada.com/secret+society+halibut/4659410/story.htmlNorth Island Anglers speak out against Duncan:
ATTENTION SALT WATER ANGLERS!Gail Shea, the Conservative Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has again backed the decision to gift 88% of the Total Allowable Catch of Pacific halibut to a small number of commercial fishermen,
Leaving the Canadian public the right to access only 12% of the catch.
So what does this mean to you?
Reduced daily and possession limits (reduced by 50% and 33%)
Never before seen early in-season closures
In spite of previous DFO promises not to do exactly that
But most importantly, the destruction of the 800 year tradition
of free public access to all common property marine resources.
In response to anger from all sectors of the sport fishing community, Minister Gail Shea compounded the insult to anglers by coming up with un-workable scheme for recreational anglers to lease back commercial quota. This scheme is doomed from the start and nobody is buying into it.
So where does your North Island MP John Duncan stand?
Does he speak for the tens of thousands of anglers here on the Island? Will he defend your right to access our marine resources that play such a vital role in our West Coast lifestyle?
Something every federal fisheries minister has never understood.
NOT A CHANCE….MR DUNCAN IS NO FRIEND OF RECREATIONAL ANGLERS
John Duncan has stated over and over again the he sees nothing wrong with giving away 88% of our public halibut resource to 435 commercial fishermen of which only 120 actually fish.
Salmon, lingcod, rockfish and crabs and prawns are next in line for this type privatization.
John Duncan has never stood up to do or say enough
We urge you to think carefully before you vote on May 2nd. Its time to elect a Vancouver Island North MP that will stand up for the 300,000- 4000,000 salt water recreational anglers in BC.
John Duncan is
NOT that person!
Paid for
ANGRY COMOX VALLEY ANGLERS
CAMPBELL RIVER GUIDES ASSOCIATION
WEST COAST FISHING GUIDES ASSOCIATION
Methinks this swine is
TOAST! 
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Topic: BC's "Bloodiest Sport" (Read 2581 times)