It's a huge issue. It's going to take all the departments for sure. I hope we can put a plan in place to get some things moving more quickly so that we'll actually meet the targets and also, hopefully, even meet the targets sooner than 2030. I think our environment needs it.
I have some time and I have other questions I want to get to, but I really want to reiterate this, Ms. Gibbons. You were with me at the recent event in the Tsawout nation along with Minister Murray. I'm feeling very heavy-hearted being here today and hearing the same responses over and over about how there is no action being taken to get fish farms out of the water and to have a clear plan in place for communities, despite having heard from the majority of first nations very, very clearly over and over. For hours we sat there listening to first nation communities talking about the impacts of fish farms on their communities, on them, on the wild salmon, talking about salmon that are being caught and showing up on their shores through rivers and through the oceans, salmon that are glowing, covered in sores, full of sea lice as has never been seen before, and yet I'm hearing responses like “we will be minimizing the impacts and interactions between fish farms and wild salmon”.
Quite frankly, that's not good enough. That's what I'm hearing over and over and over again from community members, from first nations chiefs.
What action is going to be taken to ensure that we are reducing or eliminating the pollutants from these toxic fish farms and finally getting them out of the water with a plan in place for communities?