Mike Kelloway on Fisheries During Pandemic

This is the first in CHNE’s weekly interviews with Cape Breton—Canso MP where the station brings him questions from the community.

Several Chéticamp residents wanted to know if the government had an update on out-of-province fishers coming to the region without having to isolate. Over the past few weeks, locals have complained about New Brunswick fishers circulating through town without having self-isolated. Because fishing is considered an essential service, fishers can cross the border without having to stay in quarantine. The realization caused an uproar among community members, who didn’t hesitate to contact government officials to advocate for the law to be changed.

After receiving several messages from constituents, Kelloway said he personally asked the provincial Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture about the issue. “Yesterday, I chatted with Minister Colwell again,” he said. “He told me he was going to reach out to the RCMP in Inverness County and basically the rule is this -- those individuals that come from another province, that come to Nova Scotia whether it’s Chéticamp, Arichat, Pomquet, whatever, they do have to self-isolate for 14 days. If they don’t, they fall under the provincial emergency measures as I’ve been told by minister Colwell, which means that those individuals can be fined or they could, you know, do some jail time.”

Kelloway’s update comes as new information, since the Nova Scotia government has yet to make the announcement. “My understanding is the provincial government is going to be doing some public relations,” he said, “in terms of notifying other folks in other essential service sectors that if  they come and they spend time in an area outside of your own province, that they have to self-isolate.”

Residents have been advocating for fishing to be removed from the list of essential services altogether. Many fishers, their families and community members feel that lobster and crab -- the local catch -- are luxury food, not worth the risk of exposing workers to the possibility of catching COVID-19. The Gulf Nova Scotia Fishermen’s Association, representing fishers in the area, is in talks with the Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans to have fishers stay home this season. When asked about his input, MP Kelloway said, “I support the fishers who want to fish predominantly on the east side of the island with the right health measures in place and the right support systems in place, but I support wholeheartedly those on the Gulf side that would like for the government to explore some type of measure to assist them not being able to fish.”

Later in the segment, Kelloway discusses gaps in the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, like lack of coverage for students and essential workers.