Thank you, Chair.
My question is for Mr. Waddell.
Mr. Waddell, in the next panel we will be hearing from witnesses from Coastal First Nations. Coastal First Nations, as you know, is composed of first nation territories that cover the vast majority of marine areas in the northern waters of British Columbia. All of these nations have ocean-based fishing families and communities that continue to rely on fish, fish habitat and fisheries in their territories for food security, cultural, survival and economic needs.
As you know, these nations, along with Coastal First Nations, signed an agreement, the Fisheries Resources Reconciliation Agreement, in 2021.
Now, I'm trying to pack a lot of information into a very short question, but ultimately what I heard from both the Coastal First Nations, through a letter that was sent to the minister, and other indigenous fishers, through a recent event, Fisheries for Communities, was that corporate and foreign ownership is driving up the prices and resulting in real problems with this agreement and the nations' abilities to meet the needs the agreement was intended to meet.
I'm wondering if you can share with us, please, whether you've had an opportunity to meet with Coastal First Nations and other indigenous nations to implement a fair, transparent and collaborative process to ensure there's a policy in place that works for local communities and indigenous nations.