The Defiant Fisherman

Cummins, despite his expertise and experience, was thrown off the all-party House of Commons fisheries committee yesterday because he does not support the Harper Administration’s policy on native land claim treaties. John thinks proposed changes will weaken the public fishery, hurt efforts at fish habitat protection and artificially boost the fish farm industry, which environmentalists claim threatens native fish populations. But instead of having that voice legitimately raised, Mr. Harper is moving to silence it. Remove it. Conservative whip Jay Hill, said the government had no choice. Dig this quote: “We need to have all of our committee members solidly on side with the government’s agenda.” And, dear voters, so much for what an MP does in Ottawa. Even on an all-party committee where MPs are supposed to be acting as independent agents. And this begs the question: If John Cummins, fishery expert, is thrown off the fishery committee because he disagrees with the government’s fishery policy, who will represent the fishers in his area, or the rest of the country? The people running the government right now are toying with democracy, pushing the limits to see how far they can go, and how much MPs can be bruised and bullied into submission. Thank goodness for guys like John Cummins, as few and far between as they may be amid Conservative ranks. http://www.garth.ca/weblog/2007/02/17/the-defiant-fisherman/ [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on February 19, 2007]

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