Sure. Thanks for the question.
This ties into the lack of enforcement. On the mid-Fraser, we reached out to DFO. We got a message response back on why there was no enforcement. There are parallels around the world of whirling disease and invasive mussels. We have laws that say you can't transport whirling disease or aquatic invasives, but we know there's no protection around our borders to keep them out.
A number of committee members probably don't know what whirling disease is. To make a very long story short, it's a parasite that affects salmonids. It can get into their spinal column. They essentially get a kink in their tail or in their body and they swim around in circles until they die. B.C. just reported three positives on Friday in Kootenay Lake.
The point is that we can have all the laws we think will change the outcome and take care of fish, but if we have no enforcement of those laws, the laws don't mean anything. B.C. is one of the few places left in Canada that currently does not have quagga and zebra mussels. Until last year, we didn't have whirling disease. Quite frankly, DFO, on both fronts, has been nowhere to be found.