Federal Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo meets with Dwight Ball in St. John's

Premier Dwight Ball welcomed new Federal Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo to Newfoundland and Labrador on Monday, as the new federal and provincial governments continued to showcase a renewed relationship, and spoke of maintaining their pre-existing commitments.

Much of the talk on Monday involved resetting the table after nearly 10 years of Stephen Harper's government, and restoring focus to areas where the Harper government had made cuts.

Tootoo spoke often of the role that science would have in making decisions about the fishery, and empathized with the impact that the fishery has on Newfoundland and Labrador's economy and livelihood.

"As an Inuk I know how vital fishing is to families, small coastal communities and the entire Newfoundland economy and way of life," he said.

"Our overarching goal is to protect our three oceans, coasts and waterways and fisheries. We must ensure that they remain healthy for future generations, while mitigating the impact of climate change."

Reaffirmed existing promises

The day featured little in the way of new information or promises, but Tootoo did reaffirm the Trudeau government's commitment to re-opening the Maritime Search and Rescue centre in St. John's.

The centre was a victim of the $56 million in cuts to Newfoundland and Labrador made by the Department of Fisheries in 2011, but in November, Tootoo signed a mandate promising to reopen the centre..

"I've asked my officials to bring forward some proposals, ways where we can meet our commitment as outlined in the platform, as well as the commitment to ensuring that we provide increased safety for mariners here in Newfoundland," said Tootoo.

In the years since the cuts were made by the federal government, the province has also been paying for its own fisheries research, but Tootoo maintained on Wednesday that the federal government will put $40 million towards research funding.

In 2015, the provincial government put $2.6 million towards fisheries science at the Marine Institute's Centre for Fisheries Ecosystems Research (CFER), and since 2010, funding for the CFER from the provincial government has totaled over $15 million.

With the promise of renewed federal money, Premier Ball said that he would have to reevaluate the provincial funding, especially in light of the deficit the province is already facing.

Will look at LIFO policy

Tootoo also said Monday, that he will review the federal government's stance on shrimp quotas and its last in, first out policy — a policy that Ball's government would like to see removed.

Fisherman across the province say that the policy, known commonly as LIFO, makes fishing harder for local harvesters.

The policy aims to protect fishing licenses for those who have held them the longest, which often comes at the expense of small inshore boats who entered the fishery recently.

Tootoo planned to spend the remainder of his time in Newfoundland meeting with Indigenous peoples, fishermen, industry groups and government representatives.