The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The Saskatchewan government has approved $350,000 in conditional support for a proposed fish processing plant in Prince Albert. Saskatchewan Co-operative Fisheries Ltd. (SCFL) is working to establish a $4.5-million plant that could be in operation by next spring. "In addition to approximately 30 permanent jobs, the proposed plant would support additional seasonal employment and increased fish production and packing across the North," Northern Affairs Minister Buckley Belanger said in a press statement. The government's contribution through Saskatchewan Northern Affairs and Saskatchewan Industry and Resources is conditional on SCFL confirming full project financing for the plant. Commercial fish production in the province is currently valued at more than $5 million each year, but most processing of Saskatchewan fish occurs at the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation's (FFMC) plant near Winnipeg. A plant in Prince Albert would allow more of that processing and packaging to be done in Saskatchewan. SCFL has raised money through investments by northern commercial fishing cooperatives and individual fishers, and expects to confirm additional investment through a number of financing and venture capital agencies.
