Prince Edward Island cabinet minister Sidney MacEwen will be on the water fishing lobster this spring after Fisheries and Oceans Canada denied his request to name a substitute operator for his fleet.

That denial puts pressure on MacEwen and the Progressive Conservative government to make sure he’s in compliance with P.E.I.’s Conflict of Interest Act because, as of now, he’s not.

“I’m still going to comply with the act, so right now we have 10 days to comply with the act and we’ll see where we go from there,” MacEwen told CBC News.

The act states ministers must place their business assets into a blind trust during their time on executive council, but DFO’s owner-operator policy requires MacEwen’s licence to stay in his name. There are only rare exemptions to that policy for things like a death in the family.

MacEwen shared the decision by DFO with CBC News. In it, the department said “your acceptance of your appointment, despite the provincial Conflict of Interest Act, cannot be considered a circumstance beyond your control.… For that reason, this request must be denied.”

After receiving the decision, MacEwen said he asked P.E.I.’s conflict of interest commissioner for an extension, and she gave him 10 days.

The PCs now have to introduce a bill to amend the Conflict of Interest Act, then have it pass first, second and third reading before it’s proclaimed in to law — and they have to do all of that by April 23.

“That’s the process we’re undertaking now,” MacEwen said.

‘Fishermen should not have to choose,’ premier says

Having a bill introduced and passed in roughly a week would be extremely fast by legislative standards. Most of the time when a bill is introduced in either a spring or fall sitting, it takes weeks to debate all the details.

“I wouldn’t say rushed through. I think it needs to be debated properly and reviewed,” MacEwen said when asked if he felt the amendments have to be rushed through before the April 23 deadline.

“Fishers aren’t allowed to serve on executive council, that’s the one profession in Canada where you can’t serve on executive council. So, I think it should be changed for future.… It’s time.”

If the changes to the act don’t happen in time, MacEwen would be found non-compliant. If it comes to that, Premier Rob Lantz said “we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

Lantz said this change is a long time coming.

“It’s something that’s been discussed for many, many years. I guess you could say we’re forcing the issue,” he said.

“I strongly believe that fishermen should not have to choose between their profession and their democratic right to serve as publicly elected officials in executive roles.”

Lantz said government has a “pathway forward” for passing that legislation, and that he doesn’t think it will require late legislature sittings to get it done.

“If the opposition wants to obstruct this for political purposes, they may do that,” the premiers said. “But most of them have expressed directly to me or Sidney MacEwen or on the public record that they believe this issue should be resolved through amendments to the legislation.”