Legislative Assemfly

Perhaps it was accidental, but it was right. For if you look at the records you will see that Mr. Baisley’s work was immediately felt in the improvement of the wooden trawlers situation. In my interim report you will note in the statistics that the 1964 average for the wooden draggers was a deficit of over twenty one hundred dollars for the 60-foot draggers, and a deficit of over fifty four hundred dollars for the 65-foot draggers. You will notice also in the statistics covering the 1965 season after this man took over that the vessels position improved. His efforts to put the vessels in shape and to be of assistance to the crews were shown in the immediate disappearance of a deficit in favor of a profit. The 1966 season show- ed an average profit of over eleven hundred dollars for the 60-foot draggers, and over two hundred and twenty dollars for the 65-foot draggers. The trend continued with the 1966 season showing further improvement where the 60-foot draggers turned in an average profit of over thirty one hundred dollars and the 66-foot draggers turned in an average profit of eight hundred and forty odd dollars.

Moe was making his own problems also in Gulf Garden. He seems to have had a facility for dispensing with any men of ability. He refused to listen to advice. The problems of quality control, production costs, blunders in plant equipment designs, were a source of extreme concern — as early as January 1966 — to those who felt a sense of responsibility for the successful operation. One official was so disturbed by this that he made a desperate appeal to Premier Shaw himself to turn some attention to such problems.

January 1966

“Mr. Walter Shaw, Premier of P.E.I.

Realizing that the Province of P.E.I. has such a great interest in the Gulf Garden Foods Plant at Georgetown, I feel that I should make the following con- fidential report.

August lst of last year I accepted a position with Gulf Garden Foods Limited at Georgetown and moved my family from Lunenburg, N.S. to Montague, P.E.I.

Being first engaged as a Quality Control Manager I very soon found myself in the position of Plant Superintendent responsible for quality control, production, sanitation, stockroom supervision, and first aid under the Plant Production Manager.

In addition to the above responsibilities, engaging personnel and complete training of unskilled help, including foremen became an added necessity.

Constant interference by inexperienced superiors plus their refusal to listen to any opinions and criticism of my results has forced me to submit my resignation.

For the past twenty years I have been associated with the fishing industry, over ten years as a fishing skipper and the past enght years with industry and the federal department of fisheries. Also had the opportunity of assisting in the com- piling of Canadian Government Specifications Board Regulations and as a super- vising officer assisted many plants in N.S. including Lunenburg Sea Products in plant construction and efficient line assemblies.

In all my life I have never seen a Company in the fishing business that could spend so much money and getting in return such small results. It must surely be going terribly in the red while making a big show that is superficial.

The present temporary production line was built at an astonishing high cost and the end result was a very inefficient .line that could produce only on a costly and limited basis. In the beginning I pointed out that a dry line such as was proposed would result in a very serious problem in respect to bacteria counts and suggested a conventional flume type as found to be the only solution in other plants, be purchased.

Regardless of my warnings the line was constructed and it now has a very serious problem with faces] coliform counts ranging to 11000 plus. the maximum allowed by the federal department of fisheries being 250.

A new Findus line to be set up in the near future is also of the dry-line type and can only result in the same problem. All efforts of the fish inspection

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