Tory minister accused of interference after fishing licence granted to PC candidate

Manitoba's sustainable development minister is being accused of political interference after her department allegedly circumvented a fishing co-op's decision and granted a fishing licence to a candidate running for her party.

The minister, Rochelle Squires (PC-Riel), the Government of Manitoba and former Norway House chief Ron Evans have all been named in an application filed in the Court of Queen's Bench by the Norway House Fisherman's Co-operative Ltd. on July 15 seeking to revoke Evans's licence. 

Evans was granted an experimental commercial fishing licence by Sustainable Development on May 30 — despite the co-op removing him from their membership a year earlier. 

He was nominated to run for the Progressive Conservatives in the newly expanded constituency of The Pas-Kameesak that same month. 

"This is something my clients have never seen before," said Norman Boudreau, the lawyer representing the co-op. "They should not meddle in the way my clients run their own affairs."

The commercial fishing industry on Playgreen Lake is regulated by the province, through a quota held by Norway House; within those constraints, the Co-op manages the activities of its fishers on the lake.

Playgreen Lake is at the north basin of Lake Winnipeg. Norway House is about 460 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

The May 30 decision gives 1/50th of the co-op's fishing quota to Evans. The quotas, which are regulated by the province, determine how much fish can be taken from the water each year and by whom.

'Inaccurate and disappointing': minister's office

The minister's office is disputing any allegation that the minister or department meddled in the process.

"To suggest that the Minister or the department of Sustainable Development would politically interfere with the licensing process is inaccurate and disappointing," spokesperson Olivia Billson wrote in a prepared statement. 

Billson says the minister's office cannot comment on this specific case as it is before the courts. 

The application alleges there was no consultation prior to the decision to grant Evans a licence, and seeks a permanent injunction barring Evans from operating as a commercial fisher on the Playgreen Lake.  

"My clients are entitled to remove individuals from the co-op," Boudreau said. "They have not paid my client for removing that part of the quota."

He says the co-op has removed members before and has never seen the government turn around and give the person a separate licence.

He noted the co-op has bylaws that allow them to terminate individuals who are not abiding by their provisions. 

"It undermines their authority," he said. "So now the next guy that comes around can disregard the bylaws, disregard the way they operate and be issued a licence from the province, so how is that fair?" 

Evans says it is just another tactic by co-op

Boudreau was unaware that Evans was running for the Tories in this election.

"Isn't that a coincidence?" he said. 

Tom Lindsay, the NDP MLA whose Flin Flon constituency now encompasses Norway House, says it is concerning that the government appears to have interfered with the co-op's decision.

"The story just keeps getting worse. It certainly looks like the Pallister government has interfered with what is taking place with the fishermen's co-op … to look after one of their friends again," he said. 

Isn't that a coincidence?- Lawyer Norman Boudreau on the information that Ron Evans is running for the Tories

Evans, who was chief of Norway House in the 1990s and again from 2011 up until last year, says this is just the latest tactic used by the co-op to prevent him from fishing.

He had not been served the application when reached by CBC News. 

"It is just political, I guess," he said. "There is no reason why I should not be entitled to hold a fishing licence." 

When Evans was chief he was one of the government's largest cheerleaders when it announced in 2016 it would dismantle the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation monopoly. However, several fishers in Norway House expressed concerns it would jeopardize their access to markets. 

It was dismissed last month after Court of Queen's Bench Judge Sheldon Lanchbery argued he could not "restrain the [co-op] from enforcing its decision."

Judge says co-op hasn't filled quota in a decade

However, he did suggest that Evans file a statement of claim, as this issue needed a trial to prove the validity of the co-op's accusations. 

An  Aug. 1, 2018 letter from the co-op to Evans says they were removing him because while chief he "acted consistently in the interests of either yourself, or the Norway House Cree Nation, to the detriment of the (co-op)."

The province issues about 14 experimental licences a year for a variety of reasons including fisheries where the inclusion of non-standard licence conditions may be desirable. 

Evans ran for the Tories in 1999 in The Pas but lost to the NDP's Oscar Lathlin by just over 200 votes. 

This election he will face off against  Amanda Lathlin, the incumbent NDP MLA for The Pas, and Ralph McLean for the Green Party.

Manitobans head to the polls on Sept. 10 and nominations close on Aug. 26.  

A judge is scheduled to hear the application on Aug. 14.