Canada. Commission of Inquiry into Freshwater Fish Marketing : The Commission to Inquire Into and Report Upon the Marketing Problems of the Freshwater Fish Industry in the Provinces of Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta and the North West Territories was established under Order in Council P.C. 1269, 9 July 1965, under Part I of the Inquiries Act (R.S.C., 1952, c.154) and on the recommendation of the prime minister. The Commission was mandated to inquire into and report on the marketing problems of the freshwater fish industry in the Provinces of Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta and Northwest Territories and, in particular, the Commissioner should consider and report upon: (1) the nature of the factors which give rise to the weakness of prices for freshwater fish, particularly in the export market; (2) the possibility of better coordination of production and supply in relation to demand to achieve more orderly marketing; (3) the possibility and desirability of establishing an export monopoly to achieve more efficient marketing and thus provide better returns to primary producers, taking into consideration the prosposals which have been before the Federal-Provincial Prairie Fisheries Committee; and (4) any other relevant matters which in the opinion of the Commissioner should be included within the scope of the inquiry. The commissioner was George H. McIvor. The secretary was Roger W. Bedard.
The Federal-Provincial Conference on Fisheries Development, held in Ottawa from 23 to24 January 1964, deliberated on the Canadian freshwater fish industry. At this conference, it was agreed that marketing was one of the main problems in the industry and that the usefulness of a marketing board warranted further study. Marketing constituted the process of moving freshwater fish from the primary producer to the consumer. It included not only exporting but also the domestic handling and processing of freshwater fish.
Discussions resulting from the conference led to the establishment of the Inter-Governmental Committee on Marketing Organization for the Freshwater Fisheries. Subsequently, this committee became a Sub-Committee of the Federal-Provincial Prairie Fisheries Committee on Marketing Organization. The sub-committee concerned itself with the instability of prices and the demand for freshwater fisheries products. It also sought a means of improving returns to primary producers by more efficient marketing of fish products. Its recommendations that the federal government create a Freshwater Fish Export Authority - in effect a marketing board - for the Provinces of Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and for the Northwest Territories led to the appointment of a public inquiry on the freshwater fish industry. (See Report of Commission of Inquiry Into Freshwater Fish Marketing, Ottawa, 1966, pp. vii-viii).
In 1969, the Government of Canada established the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation (R.S.C., 1985, c. F-13) to market and process freshwater fish landed by commercial fishermen in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, the Northwest Territories and parts of Northwestern Ontario.
Hearings of the commission were held in Belleville, London, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Picton, Port Arthur, Kenora, Winnipeg, Gimli, Winnipegosis, Le Pas, Lynn Lake, Prince Albert, Meadow Lake, Edmonton and Hay River from 6 October to 10 December 1965. The commissioner also visited wholesellers, processors and retailers in New York, Detroit and Chicago. The commission received an undetermined number of written submissions from organizations and individuals. RG33-79 General Inventory
