Peter Vician, the chair of a panel looking at the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation (FFMC), says it will explore new governance and ownership models to make the organization modern and competitive.
The establishment of the Ministerial Advisory Panel was announced late last month by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO).
Vician said governance and ownership models have an important role to play in how organizations are run and the decisions they make.
"As such, we are taking care to consider the appropriate model with respect to the freshwater fishing industry in the Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan and Manitoba as a whole," he said in an email exchange with The Hub.
"We have been given scope to consider governance and ownership models which would support opportunities for broad-based collaboration and co-operation amongst harvesters, including shared decision-making," he added.
The advisory panel will report back to DFO Minister Jonathan Wilkinson in early 2019.
The NWT is now the only jurisdiction participating actively in the Freshwater Fish Marketing Act.
At the time of his retirement in 2016, Vician was a deputy minister of the GNWT's Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment.
"As DM both of Industry, Trade and Investment and of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development before that, I have gained a significant understanding of the issues affecting fishers, from fisheries management to its importance for fishers and their communities and the potential of the fishery as an economic resource," he said.
In 2017, DFO conducted engagement with fish harvesters in 19 communities across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the NWT.
"We will build off that engagement to inform our findings and present possible options for transformation," said Vician. "As part of our review, we will assess opportunities for new partnership arrangements through focused engagement with organizations which could play a role in the implementation of new governance and ownership models for the FFMC."
The chair of the advisory panel said that he and the other members hope to provide options to the minister on a course of action to transform the FFMC in a way which would support fish harvesters and allow them to take more control over their industry.
Over 1,700 fish harvesters use the buying, processing and marketing services provided by the FFMC in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the NWT, including in Hay River.
In a Sept. 21 news release announcing the advisory panel, Wilkinson said the federal government recognizes that the operating environment in today’s freshwater fishing industry is changing.
"That is why we are appointing an independent panel to provide advice on how to transform the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation so that it remains modern and competitive in today's open market environment and provides opportunities for fishers to take more control over the future of their industry," the minister said. "Throughout the review, the FFMC will continue to deliver services to fishers in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories. I look forward to the panel's findings."