Thank you, Chair. I will continue:
—directing me to investigate and make independent findings of fact regarding the causes of the decline of Fraser River sockeye. I summarize the public submissions I received regarding the causes of the decline, other investigations into the decline, as well as the scientific reports prepared for the Commission exploring the different possible causes of the decline. I also discuss the testimony of numerous witnesses, many of whom were qualified as experts in their fields. Volume 2 includes a summary of the findings of fact I make regarding the possible causes of the decline of the Fraser River sockeye salmon.
Volume 3 contains my recommendations based on my review of the evidence and my findings set out in volumes 1 and 2. I also discuss Bill C-38, an act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 29, 2012 and other measures, which was introduced on April 26, 2012, after this Inquiry's evidentiary hearings had concluded, and which received royal assent on June 29, 2012. Bill C-38 amends the Fisheries Act and enacts a new Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012. I summarize the provisions most relevant to the works of this Inquiry, record the views of the participants, and comment on the possible implications of Bill C-38 for Fraser River sockeye salmon and my recommendations respecting them. Volume 3 also provides an executive summary of this Report and a description of the Commission process.
Each volume includes appendices related to that volume. All three volumes contain the Terms of Reference, a glossary, and a list of abbreviations and acronyms.
I refer to many views and opinions submitted by members of the public and participants in this Inquiry, to the testimony of witnesses, and to the documents and reports put before me. The issues dealt with in this Inquiry were the source of differing points of view. In many cases, the issues were matters of significant concern to the speakers or authors. In my effort to convey the intensity of these perspectives, I have quoted submissions and evidence that may strike the reader as incorrect, and perhaps extreme. It's important for the reader to understand that I have been clear in the Report where I have made findings. The recitations of evidence and submissions are not findings. The reader should not interpret the reproduction or summary of evidence or submissions as my endorsement of any particular view.
Throughout this Report, I've tried to provide the reader with—