I appreciate that.
Ms. Lem, I really appreciate all of your testimony. There's a new mandate letter that just came out on January 15. It directs the minister to “Work in close collaboration with relevant ministers, as well as with First Nations, provincial and territorial authorities, fishing and stewardship organizations”—which I would identify as you—“and implicated communities across the Pacific Region to bring forward a Pacific Salmon Strategy and deliver on our commitment to conserve and protect wild Pacific salmon and their habitats and ecosystems.”
I believe that we're in a wild salmon emergency right now, and we haven't heard the minister come out and call it that. We need to hear that.
Maybe, Ms. Lem, you could talk about what resources you are getting now. You've cited the importance of your management tables. We recognize that. What is needed?
Right now we have a B.C. salmon restoration fund of $142.8 million, literally a drop in the bucket for what's needed. People are saying we need that every year, not over five years. Can you speak about what resources are necessary? What do you see in that mandate letter that you could bring forward?
They're now saying that your groups would be identified in this. What resources would you need to be able to advance this?