Fish protestors meet riot police outside N.L. legislature, budget to be delivered this afternoon
CTV
Provincial government officials in Newfoundland and Labrador are preparing to deliver their yearly budget Thursday afternoon, as fish harvesters who have been protesting in St. John's were met with riot police outside the legislature.
A spokesperson for the Department of Finance said the budget speech would proceed on Thursday at 2 p.m. N.T. The annual tabling of the provincial government was delayed Wednesday after a high-tension protest outside the Confederation Building in St. John’s, where government workers were blocked from entering the building.
Fish harvesters have been protesting in St. John’s for days, arguing their movement and businesses are too tightly controlled by the fish plants where they are must sell their catch. They are calling for changes to regulations in the fishery that would allow them more choice in where they sell their products.
On Thursday, opposition politicians from both the NDP and the Progressive Conservative parties visited protestors and told them they wouldn’t be participating in the budget proceedings, as a show of solidarity to the protests.
The protests on Wednesday saw one fish harvester injured with what organizers called a broken hip -- demonstrators said it was a result of an encounter with a police officer.
