On Monday, North Island-Powell River MP Rachel Blaney hand delivered her office’s report — Chinook Public Fishery Restrictions: Impact on the federal riding of North Island–Powell River — to Bernadette Jordan, the new Minister for Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. The report had been sent last June to the previous minister, Jonathan Wilkinson, but Blaney did not receive a reply before the election.
“It’s important that the new minister understand the realities that people in our coastal communities are facing,” Blaney said in a news release. “The impacts of not just the restrictions on Chinook themselves, but the timing and tone of the announcement of those restrictions, was profound.”
She hopes this information will help ensure that any restrictions or closures are done in a way that has the least impact on local economies while still protecting wild salmon and the ocean at large.
“I hope the new minister finds the time to visit the West Coast soon. The Pacific coast is very different from the Atlantic where she is from, and the more she can hear and learn from the knowledgeable people in our riding, the better equipped she will be to make decisions that benefit everyone.”