The government of Canada said it has selected a preferred bidder to privatize the beleaguered Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation, a government-owned entity that supports commercial fisheries in the country’s inland lakes.
“Over the past several years, through extensive engagement with partners, stakeholders, and Indigenous harvesters, Fisheries and Oceans Canada [DFO] has moved forward with transforming the ownership and governance model of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation [FFMC] to remain resilient and competitive in today’s open market and to continue to meet the needs of inland commercial fish harvesters now and into the future,” the Office of the Minister of Fisheries said in a statement. “Divesting the FFMC reflects that shift and will allow a new successor to better compete in the open market while continuing to provide the stable market access that harvesters count on.”
Established in 1969 to support the export of fish from Canada’s inland lakes, the government-controlled FFMC has become plagued by financial mismanagement in recent years. The corporation has failed multiple audits, most recently in 2017, when the Auditor General of Canada released a scathing report on the FFMC’s failings.
“Overall, we found many weaknesses and significant deficiencies in the oversight and management of the corporation and in the way its operations were carried out,” the report concluded. “In several ways, the board and management failed to meet their responsibilities for oversight and management of the corporation, leaving it exposed to considerable risks in a complex and changing business environment.”
In 2016, the Canadian government fired the FFMC president for cause, with the subsequent audit finding that under his leadership, the corporation was not following competitive hiring practices, disregarding the government’s procurement policy, and not providing mandatory health and safety training for plant workers. The audit also revealed that high turnover and vacancies on the FFMC’s board further degraded oversight and decision-making.
Further complicating things, multiple provinces have stopped participating in the corporation, including Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba.
Government officials determined that it would be best to divest from the corporation, handing over management to a private group moving forward. Last year, the government began accepting proposals from potential bidders, with the submission window closing 17 September.
Now, the government said it has selected a preferred bidder from those proposals but said it won’t be revealing the identity of the entity for some time.
“A preferred bidder has been identified and will be disclosed in due course. Over the coming months, DFO will enter into discussions with the preferred bidder towards negotiating a binding final agreement,” the Office of the Minister of Fisheries said in a statement.
The government received 11 expressions of interest, according to the Winnipeg Free Press, with multiple First Nations groups making bids.
