Judge rules in favour of ASP in crab price deadline challenge, minister says he'll change legislation

Abby Cole · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 09, 2025 3:30 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

The Association of Seafood Producers won its tribunal situation connected Wednesday, arguing that Fisheries Minister Gerry Byrne acted extracurricular his authority by moving the snowfall crab terms mounting deadline and that the determination was contrary to the Fishing Industry Collective Bargaining Act.

Justice Alexander MacDonald said the lone tenable mentation of the authorities is that the curate tin alteration the day lone if each parties inquire him to bash it. Only the Fish, Food and Allied Workers union (FFAW) had made that petition to Byrne.

Despite for the court's decision, Byrne says legislation is taxable to mentation and helium thinks his determination to move the day was the close happening to do. 

"We are going to array legislation, an amendment, to let this to hap lawfully," Byrne told CBC News.

But MacDonald says Byrne made the champion determination helium could nether the circumstances. He also said there isn't immoderate grounds that the curate had improper motives to determination the day to April 13.

Byrne told CBC News helium felt arsenic though determination was a affirmative narration betwixt the ASP and FFAW, and that some the authorities and ASP were notified of the petition for delay. 

"I americium gob struck … [that] erstwhile a idiosyncratic faces an uncertainty, idiosyncratic successful specified a pb relation arsenic that, that empathy could not beryllium provided," said Byrne. "That's rather singular successful my opinion." 

Strained relationship 

Ray Critch, representing the FFAW, says the national made the petition erstwhile FFAW president Dwan Street fell ill.

Street was a cardinal negotiator, and Critch says it was important for the national to person her progressive successful the process.

"The ASP had made wide by that constituent that they weren't consenting to accommodate immoderate delays," said Critch. "In the end, the narration betwixt the relation and the national is simply a strained one."

Critch says the court's determination was unfortunate.

"I deliberation yet the curate has to person immoderate discretion erstwhile they request to … beryllium capable to alteration the date," helium said.

But ASP enforcement manager Jeff Loder says the minister's determination was wrong, and the day alteration resulted successful a hold successful the fishery.

"It's ne'er a bully time successful Newfoundland and Labrador erstwhile a curate of the Crown oregon immoderate authorities curate acts successful a way, makes a decision, that is not accordant with the rules," Loder said Wednesday. 

Loder says the ASP ne'er was made alert of FFAW's petition to hold the terms mounting date. 

"At a minimum, determination should person been consultation and we could person had a treatment astir this," helium said.

Both the ASP and FFAW submitted their pricing recommendations. The sheet proceeding began connected Apr. 6, and a decision is owed connected Thursday — the crab season's opening day.

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