The Nunatsiavut Assembly passed a new bill yesterday during the Nunatsiavut Assembly sitting.
The NG has a Commercial Fisheries Policy which allocates fishing designations to commercial fish quotas for eligible persons or enterprises.
Legislative authority and oversight with respect to the collection of access fees from fishers.
The Nunatsiavut Government has previously instituted the requirement of designates to pay an access fee based on the amount of fish resources landed under designations.
The monies collected from the access fees are allocated to the Nunatsiavut Commercial Fisheries Fund, which was established to hold funds for the purpose of growing and promoting the commercial fishery in the Labrador Inuit Settlement Area.
“This bill will give the Minister responsible the power to make regulations that set the level of access fees within defined limits, specify when fees become due,” said Finance, Human Resources and Information Technology Minister Tom Evans.
“It will permit the development of regulations and agreements concerning the remittance of access fees, outline application of penalties for late or non-payment of access fees and grant the Minister the ability to demand and inspect records to ensure compliance.”
This policy, prior to its approval and implementation, had extensive consultation with fishers and other interested parties.
We will have more information regarding this issue once it becomes available.