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Is Duncan headed for a dunkin'?

BY DAN MACLENNAN, COURIER-ISLANDER FEBRUARY 25, 2011

What good is a cabinet minister MP if he won't speak out on behalf of his constituents?

That's what some, including New Democrat MP Nathan Cullen (Skeena-Bulkley Valley), are wondering

about Vancouver Island North MP John Duncan and his virtual silence on the Point Race replacement

issue.

"I thought the whole pitch they made was 'put them into government and then you'll have some real

influence in Ottawa,'" Cullen told the Courier-Islander. "This is the opposite. The North Island

somehow has less influence even though they have a minister sitting at the cabinet table, right to the

right-hand side of the Fisheries Minister.

"This is offensive. It's a serious (safety) downgrade and the silence from the minister is deafening. He

understands this issue. He can't plead ignorance and this is a decision that's going to put more lives

at risk."

With the 70-foot Coast Guard cutters Point Race in Campbell River and Point Henry in Prince Rupert

slated to be replaced by smaller 47-foot motor lifeboats, old battle lines have been drawn again.

Cullen is fighting to save the Point Henry and publicly wondering why Duncan isn't doing the same for

the Point Race. As an MP in opposition, Duncan had been among those defending the cutter in 2005,saying "the Coast Guard initiative would retire excellent condition and highly appropriate and capable

70-foot boats with less capable 47-foot lifeboats in order to try to save two man-years."

At the time, Duncan even warned the Liberal Fisheries Minister about the possible election

consequences of such a move.

But Duncan's response to the latest replacement plan has been markedly different. His first response

to inquiries from the Courier-Islander in December was to say through his press secretary "this

decision is one that will be taken by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans I would encourage you

to contact them directly."

Another attempt to gain comment from Duncan brought a brief, prepared response in January where

the MP spoke of the cutter in the past tense.

"The Point Race has served our region very well," he said. "Fleet renewal and standardization is a

national imperative of the Coast Guard."

Cullen hopes Duncan "comes to his senses" because lives are at stake.

"John knows this issue," he said. "If he was vocal on it in opposition, he should be equally as vocal on

it in government.

"It seems like a no-brainer to me. It's not even political in the sense of right wing or left wing. It's just

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basic common sense. You can't run a fishing boat, you can't have recreational boaters out there if

you don't have even some basic safety. We're not talking Rolls Royces here.

"We're going to open up the newspaper at some point after this change and read about some tragedy

that could have been averted if we had proper boats on the water."

Meanwhile sport fishers are less than pleased with Duncan's response to their halibut allocation

concerns. A group protested outside Duncan's Courtenay offices Monday morning. They're unhappywith Fisheries Minister's decision to maintain the halibut catch allocation at 88 per cent for commercial

fishers and 12 per cent for the recreational sector.

"This decision could hurt a lot of businesses on the Island, from motels and tackle shops to marinas

and campgrounds, and yet John Duncan continues to dodge and weave and ignore our concerns,"

said Bryan Allen, sports fishing director for the Courtenay Fish and Game Club. "If he thinks there is

no price to pay politically for supporting a handful of commercial guys over tens of thousands of B.C.

anglers, he's wrong."

Duncan, however, doesn't want to advocate or interfere in the management of fish. He said critics

don't understand his role in government. As the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development

he can't get involved in other ministers' mandates.

"I am not the Minister of Fisheries, but I am a Minister and therefore I do not publicly offer solutions to

areas in which I do not have a mandate," he said in a recent response to a concerned recreational

fishing representative.

The header on Duncan's website shows him next to a picture of a Fisheries and Oceans/Coast Guard

vessel.

- with files from the Comox Valley Echo

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