ASP takes provincial government to court, alleging 'political interference' over pushing crab price deadline

Elizabeth Whitten · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 31, 2025 11:59 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 hours ago

The Association of Seafood Producers is accusing the Newfoundland and Labrador authorities of interfering successful the terms mounting process for the yearly snowfall crab harvest — and it's launching legal enactment against the province as good arsenic the Fish, Food and Allied Workers union.

The deadline for price setting was April 1, but past week Fisheries Minister Gerry Byrne shifted the day to April 13.

According to documents filed astatine the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, the ASP has turned to the courts to quash that order.

"This substance is urgent. The fishery was to person started connected April 1, 2025. The fisheries curate had improperly interfered with the cognition of the sheet arsenic the purported day alteration successful ultra vires," wrote lawyer Stephen Penney successful the ASP's application.

The ASP is alleging "political interference" by Byrne and says the minister acted contrary to the Fishing Industry Collective Bargaining Act.

In the tribunal application, the ASP says it, the FFAW and the terms sheet received a missive from Byrne informing them the caller deadline would beryllium April 1.

The ASP says Byrne past pushed the day due to the fact that the FFAW made the request as it was looking to regenerate its cardinal negotiator.

"The correspondence came arsenic a daze to ASP. ASP had not been advised of immoderate specified contented relating to the FFAW's pb negotiator," wrote the ASP successful tribunal documents.

The ASP is asking for Byrne's determination to beryllium "quashed," successful portion due to the fact that it says the determination to alteration the day "was an unreasonable workout of statutory authority."

It besides alleges Byrne's determination was unfair, arsenic the ASP wasn't informed of the FFAW's petition earlier the determination came down and was not fixed clip to respond.

The ASP besides said the FFAW had antecedently tried to get the sheet postponed implicit the uncertainty astir U.S. tariffs being implemented. 

The ASP wants the tribunal to state that Byrne can't change the terms mounting deadline, arsenic good arsenic person him breakdown the reasoning for changing the date.

The ASP is also looking for "the grounds and each exhibits filed, if any, and each things touching the proceeding arsenic afloat and wholly arsenic they stay successful their custody," and wants to beryllium awarded the outgo for the exertion and immoderate different alleviation the tribunal finds suitable.

None of the allegations person been proven successful court.

Both Byrne and the FFAW turned down interrogation requests.

Hurting the industry

The ASP argued that changing the terms mounting deadline volition person far-reaching and antagonistic effects connected Newfoundland and Labrador's fishing sector, including hurting marketplace assurance and the province's quality to negociate the sector.

Loder said he's seeking "stability" with the tribunal challenge.

"When a curate of the Crown, successful our view, makes a determination similar this, determination should person been dialog with the certified bargaining agent, which is the authorities the authorities is liable for," helium told CBC News connected Monday.

Loder added the ASP wants to marque definite they person a accidental successful aboriginal decisions.

"This is astir radical respecting the rules, and without rules we person chaos. And close present we person chaos," helium said.

Loder hopes to person the substance addressed successful the tribunal arsenic soon arsenic possible, but he's also worried astir the contiguous interaction connected the sector.

"We've mislaid present oregon are astir to suffer respective weeks of the fishery."

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