The president of Saskatchewan’s commercial fisheries co-operative is calling for federal and provincial government funding to help put on their annual conference.
“We’re going after the governments to get some money,” Saskatchewan Co-operative Fisheries Ltd. (SCFL) president Marie Hildebrandt said. “All we can do is say a prayer that it’s going to come.”
The Métis Nation-Saskatchewan and Prince Albert Grand Council helped fund the 2019 Saskatchewan Cooperative Fisheries Ltd. annual general meeting, which took place on Monday at the Coronet Hotel in Prince Albert.
Hildebrandt said the theme of the 2019 conference was money, and that there were years in the past when the Saskatchewan government provided approximately $50,000 for the conference.
Less than 40 people were in attendance during the morning of the meeting.
Hildebrandt said attendance was way down this years because of expenses and the date.
“The ones that can afford are fishing. That’s why we need to have it earlier. We would like to help finance our fishermen to come to these meetings. If we can get some of this funding back in, it will help. I have personally taken a lot of money out of my own pocket. It gets a little expensive because my fish aren’t paying for it.”
The MN-S and PAGC have committed funding for next year’s conference.
(PHOTO: Saskatchewan Cooperative Fisheries Limited president Marie Hildebrandt speaking at the 2019 Saskatchewan Cooperative Fisheries Ltd. annual general meeting. Photo by Brendan Mayer.)