Imagine getting thrown in jail because you didn’t want to sell the product you made each day to the government.

Well, that’s what could happen. In Canada.

In 2012.

No, we’re not talking about a vital product like isotopes for treating cancer or a new flu vaccine to treat a flu outbreak, we’re talking about fish. Caught by fishermen. On the prairies.

For decades, commercial fishermen in northwestern Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories have been forced to sell fish they catch in freshwater lakes to a federal government crown corporation called Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation (FFMC).

The federal government lets fishermen on the east and west coasts sell their catch on their own, but it doesn’t think fishermen on the prairies are quite capable of doing the same. In many respects, the situation brings to mind the Canadian Wheat Board.

In fact, many fishermen are seeking the same reform that was made recently to the Canadian Wheat Board; they too want the right to decide if they want to sell their product to the government or on their own.

And fishermen should absolutely have that right.

Over the years the fishermen’s relationship with FFMC has become strained. In fact, it’s gotten to the point where a large group of fishermen purposely staged an illegal sale of fish to a U.S. buyer. They did so in a peaceful manner in order to draw attention to their plight. That’s why some are now facing jail time or large fines.

But who can blame the fishermen? Desperate times call for desperate measures.

You see, many fishermen are at or below the poverty line. They don’t receive much money for their catch from FFMC and if they don’t show up for work, there are no “sick day” benefits to draw on. Further, like most Canadians, they have no workplace pension plan when they retire.

Conversely, the government body to which the fishermen, by law, have to sell their catch offers its employees sick days and a pension plan. In fact, FFMC’s former CEO was even paid out thousands for his unused sick time. As you can imagine, every expense at the government crown corporation reduces the amount fishermen receive for their catch.

But the questionable management practices don’t end there.

A couple years ago, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, a non-profit taxpayers’ watchdog, obtained information from Freshwater that showed it left plenty of room for improvement. Spoiled fish counts at the federal fish body had risen from 27,279 kgs in 2006-07 to 133,796 in 2008-09. In other words, more than 100,000 kgs of fish were completely wasted and Freshwater had to take the loss, thereby also reducing the amount they could pay fishermen.

A scathing report from the federal auditor in 2010 found many other serious management problems at the government marketing board.

In March 2012, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation obtained and released details on the expense accounts enjoyed by executives at the government marketing body. Some of the highlights included Freshwater purchasing a golf membership for the CEO, a pack of cigarettes in Finland and NHL tickets in Minnesota. Those expenses didn’t sit well with fishermen; neither did the five-night $2,435 hotel bill from Paris or the $1,684 dinner for eight in Belgium.

The CEO of Freshwater claims the extravagant expenses are just part of the cost of wining and dining potential customers. But what about the $594 that two employees racked up in New York for just three meals with each other? Does one employee at the federal body really need to wine and dine a colleague at a $100 per plate restaurant regularly?

A fishermen’s co-op has calculated that they could double their income if they were allowed to sell directly to private buyers. In other words, let the fishermen cut out the government middle man and many could see dramatic increases

to their incomes. Even if those numbers are wrong, why not give the fishermen the right to at least try?

The Saskatchewan government recently pulled out of the federal government fish marketing board’s reach. As of April 1, commercial fishermen in that province can now choose to sell to their catch on their own or to FFMC.

It’s time for the federal government to enact the same change it made with the wheat board. It’s time to let all fishermen decide for themselves to whom they want to sell their catch.