Fisheries

There has been much push-back from the Chéticamp community regarding the opening of the local crab processing plant. Residents were worried that foreign workers and the close quarters inside the facility could potentially expose the community to COVID-19. Now that the plant has started functioning, residents have been wondering whether the province keeps the plant owners in check when it comes to safety measures.

MacMaster said that he himself brought the question to the provincial health authorities, but that he didn’t obtain an answer. “The communications that we have received from the provincial government is that the fishery can proceed,” he said. “There’s an online self-assessment and according to that, if you work in the fishery, you can proceed with business as usual. … It concerns me that decisions around people’s health and safety are being left to the fishery itself as opposed to the government looking at it and determining whether or not it’s actually safe.”

MacMaster had also harsh words for the federal government. He supports a vote from the Inverness South Fishermen's Association pushing for the lobster fishery to open on time, a position that differed from the Gulf NS Fisherman’s Coalition representing harvesters in the north of the county - including the village of Chéticamp. 

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced last week that the lobster fishery in the area will be opening on May 15, a delay of two weeks. “[Lobster fishers] are disappointed because there is more lobster going to be coming in the market,” MacMaster said, “Meanwhile, they are sitting with their traps on the wharf and they can’t get their lobster into the market. By the time they do, after May 15, there is going to be even more of a glut on the market, even more lobsters sitting there with no market to go to. The price will drop so they will be faced with 2 weeks where they can’t build any volume, catch, and they are going to be dealing with lobster with even lower price points.”

Food Accessibility

Later in the interview, MacMaster answered a question about food accessibility sent by a community member. Consumers have seen the price of groceries go up during the pandemic and people with low income have been particularly vulnerable. A community member wanted to know why governments haven’t developed more financial aid packages for those who need it most.

The Inverness MLA said he might prefer seeing the government get involved in the supply chain rather than engage in more fiscal spending. “It’s a complex issue and it goes beyond the grocery stores into the supply chains where the food is coming from,” he said. “At the end of the day, these businesses are allowed to act as they wish, you know. Usually competition solves this problem but if this period continues that we’re in for a more extended period of time, it’s something that the provincial government may need start to looking at, because if competition isn’t going to return and the supply chains aren’t going to come back the way they normally are, that would lead to consumers calling on the government to take steps to deal with prices that may be higher than they should be.” He said governments need to think twice before issuing more financial packages. “I’m conscious of protecting the people, too, as taxpayers. … At the end of the day, we’re going to have to pay for the money the government is handing out right now.”