As the start of the spring season approaches, Fisheries and Oceans Canada has confirmed that fishers who turn down work due to COVID-19 concerns will be eligible for federal benefits.
Jennifer Kuss, director of communications for the department, told Global News that people who “don’t believe it’s safe to go to work” can apply for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), worth $2,000 per month for up to four months.
“Some fisheries have already started putting in protocols for their workers, but harvesters and process plant workers who do not feel safe going to work can apply for CERB,” she wrote by email on Friday.
Questions around refusing work due to virus-related safety concerns have been circulating across multiple sectors and industries since the start of the pandemic.
Some of the confusion stems from the federal government’s website, which states that workers are eligible for CERB if they “have not quit their job voluntarily.”
READ MORE: Coronavirus — CERB expanded to some who ran out of EI, part-timers and seasonal workers
Calls to delay, maintain and shut down the spring lobster season during the COVID-19 outbreak are ongoing, splitting the sector in Nova Scotia.
“We’d like to make it work,” said Jordan MacDougall, president of the Inverness South Fisherman’s Association. “We know the markets are a mess.
“We’re receptive to changes in how we’ve done our business before, fishing everything everyday, we may go to trip limits. We’ll see what the industry wants us to do.”
On his boat, in particular, he said the same three people will be working all the time, and upon returning to the wharf, they’ll maintain their distance between buyers and the public.
The Lobster Council of Canada has not taken a position on whether the spring season should be delayed or shut down, encouraging individuals to decide whether they’d like to go out instead.
“We’ve had thousands of small businesses in this industry, thousands of individual license holders, hundreds of plants and owners, and they all have to evaluate the risks and make their own decisions,” said executive director Geoff Irvine. “That makes good sense.”
READ MORE: Lobster fishers, processors call for delay of spring season
As it stands, federal Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan is not contemplating a closure of the season.
Her press secretary, Jane Deeks, said work to implement safety protocols and minimize worker risk is ongoing with provincial governments and industry partners.
“It is important to note that as essential workers, fish harvesters and processors are simply permitted to go to work during this time, but not required to,” she wrote by email. “If anyone feels sick, unsafe, or has to stay home to care for someone, they should stay home.”
Eastern Passage microbiologist Jaime Wertman, however, is calling on the federal government to shut it all down. She said social distancing is impossible on a lobster boat, where fishers must be in close proximity to perform their tasks safely.
On April 9, she penned a letter to Jordan calling the risks “perilous” and arguing that opening the season “could result in the loss of an entire generation of fisher people.”
READ MORE: Nova Scotia lobster industry gets creative during COVID-19 pandemic
Her husband is a lobster fisherman and she has an autoimmune disorder that puts her at greater risk if she were to contract the disease.
“I think fishermen are sort of put in a very challenging position over whether they want to basically feed their families or stay safe,” said Wertman.
“Justin Trudeau has been quite explicit, he said that’s a decision Canadians should not have to make and that’s a decision fishermen are currently making.”
Her letter argues that many fishers are in a “high-risk” category as elderly folk and live in rural areas where the health-care system can’t support an outbreak. She also argues that lobster is a “luxury” food item that’s not essential in current market conditions.
Overseas markets for lobster have collapsed in the past few months, as countries like China adopted intense measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and demand from cruise ships and restaurants has evaporated.
After six or seven weeks of “much-reduced cargo service,” however, the Halifax Stanfield International Airport has confirmed regular flights to Asian and European markets have resumed at a rate of five or six trips weekly.
“The current, overall capacity with direct cargo flights to Asia and Europe is between 400-500 metric tonnes per week. These flights are carrying seafood, predominantly Nova Scotia live lobster,” said spokesperson Leah Batstone by email.
“While we’re seeing fewer cargo flights when compared to the same time period as last year, we’re encouraged by recent positive growth in this area of airport operations, whereas passenger services have dramatically decreased over the past few weeks.”
READ MORE: Cities and towns in Atlantic Canada feeling cash crunch from COVID-19: Savage
Irvine of the Lobster Council of Canada said he’s not “optimistic” about the market, despite the uptick in overseas flights. He said the sector is still “in transition.”
“This industry is all about weather and volumes that are landed, and the market. We know with COVID that we have challenges on two of those three, and we never know about the weather.”
Earlier this month, the Lobster Processors of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia sent their own letter to Jordan, and premiers of the Maritimes and Quebec, asking for the spring fishing season to be delayed to May 15 so safety and economic support measures could be developed.
Nova Scotia Fisheries Minister Keith Colwell has signed a letter calling on Jordan to “render her decision soon” regarding the opening date.
“Plants and harvesters need time to put equipment and protocols in place to operate safely,” he told Global News by email.
READ MORE: Fourth death connected to COVID-19 reported in Nova Scotia
Deeks said the federal fisheries minister “will have more to say on this matter soon.”
Wertman said the department called to say it has received her letter to the minister, but it has not yet issued a formal response.
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
Health officials caution against all international travel. Returning travellers are legally obligated to self-isolate for 14 days, beginning March 26, in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others. Some provinces and territories have also implemented additional recommendations or enforcement measures to ensure those returning to the area self-isolate.
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.
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