Thank you very much for the question, Mr. Hardie. It's great to see you as well, and it's great to be back here.
If I could just add on to the previous discussion and build into your question, I would encourage the committee to look south of our border at the State of Washington and the work that it's done over the last 20 years, which has included hatcheries. Hear the results of the governor's salmon office and what it feels has been the effect and some of the problems related to simply putting a lot of funding into hatcheries. We're certainly looking at it. The provincial government is looking at that. I would encourage this committee and the federal government to do that.
In terms of your question, Mr. Hardie, yes, what I would say is that currently the stars are aligned. Based on the unfortunate situation of some salmon stocks being so low and some salmon populations and runs being in such critical states, there is a real willingness, I believe, certainly from the Premier of British Columbia and the Province of British Columbia, with, I believe, the federal government and indigenous governments in British Columbia, to work together to develop a wild salmon strategy or a series of recovery strategies. Also there's a willingness from fishers, the industry, labour, workers, environmental organizations and conservation organizations. They are really focused on salmon.
You've heard from the organizations here—the Pacific Salmon Foundation, the B.C. Wildlife Federation, the Watershed Watch Salmon Society—and many others that are very concerned. There is, as was noted, a lot of expertise around the table here. Mr. Haskell represents nations within the Fraser watershed in his work. I would encourage the federal government to work with all of the indigenous governments and all of these partners, along with us at the provincial government, to move forward at this time if we are really going to save salmon.