Police presence high around Confederation Building as fish harvesters protest Budget Day
It was still dark on Wednesday morning when police and protesters clashed outside Confederation Building in St. John's.
Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officers on horseback pushed back protesters as they moved towards the building around 6:30 a.m., on what is supposed to be Budget Day in Newfoundland and Labrador.
"Stay back!" police yelled at the group.
"Is this a public building?" one responded. "Don't we pay for this building?"
Fish harvesters and their supporters took to Confederation Building before sunrise on Wednesday, as part of their plan to continue their protests against the provincial government.
They were met there by a large police presence, with Royal Newfoundland Constabulary cruisers blocking vehicles from the entrances to the building.
Undeterred, a large number of protesters had already arrived by 5:30 a.m.
Police are warning the public to expect traffic delays in the area throughout Monday, and are advising travellers to take different routes to avoid the area.
Harvesters have been protesting since early March, calling on the provincial government to open markets to outside buyers. As it stands, they can only sell their catches to buyers inside the province at a price agreed upon by the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union and the Association of Seafood Producers.
This was the scene outside Confederation Building in St. John's at 6 a.m. Wednesday morning, as fish harvesters and their supporters began to show up to protest outside the home of Newfoundland and Labrador's government on Budget Day. (Terry Roberts/CBC)
Fisheries Minister Elvis Loveless says he's willing to meet some of the demands tabled by harvesters, saying his department will issue an expression of interest for outside buyers for the 2024 snow crab fishery.
But harvesters say their protest is not just about crab — they want similar restrictions lifted on the sale of all species they catch.
The protests have caused commotion in the House of Assembly, as harvesters took to the public gallery and refused to heed warnings to sit down and be quiet, leading to Speaker Derek Bennett removing them from the chambers.
They've also blocked off a provincial fisheries building in St. John's, preventing employees from going inside.
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