Thank you, Mr. Johns. It's nice to see you as well, my friend. Thank you for the question.
To build on what has been said, it is important to note that we're in a dire situation, and, as Mr. Hardie pointed out with his question, there is a uniqueness at this moment and a willingness for us to come together. As Madame Gill has pointed out, there is a budget amount. There still needs to be a state of co-operation, with the federal government working together with B.C. and indigenous nations, and there is a willingness to do that.
The salmon secretariat must go beyond DFO. It must be working together with the province and with the nations within British Columbia, and there must be a willingness, as you say, Mr. Johns, to reach out to others that play a vital role, whether in restoration, in restoring watersheds, or in other elements of how we're going to address wild salmon recovery.
Again, if we look south of the border, we have a model there. In 1998, the State of Washington put rebuilding plans into legislation. They've now had 23 years of working towards rebuilding their salmon populations. They still have issues with, as Mr. Hill and Mr. Zeman mentioned in their opening remarks, damage to this habitat through practices that continue today. That is a challenge. I think the salmon secretariat can play a role in bringing the co-ordinating governments together to address the issues that are continuing to affect salmon and salmon habitat, looking forward with regard to how we revitalize and work together to recover salmon populations in those critical watersheds and those systems that are under the largest threat.