Fisheries Committee on June 10th, 2026

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

I call this meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 43 of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans.

I would like to begin by acknowledging that we are gathered on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108, the committee is meeting to begin its study of Atlantic salmon populations.

Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the Standing Orders.

Pursuant to our routine motions, I want to advise committee members that all witnesses appearing virtually today have successfully conducted the required testing.

I want to remind participants of the following housekeeping points: Please wait until I recognize you by name before speaking. For those on video conference, if you click on the little microphone at the bottom of your screen, you will be able to listen in the language of your choice.

Witnesses, I would like to remind you that committee members may ask questions in either English or French, so please put on your earpieces now so that you can be ready for that.

All comments should be addressed through the chair. Members in the room, if you want to speak, put your hand up, and we will recognize you.

I want to welcome our witnesses.

From Kingsclear First Nation, we have Chief Justice Gruben, Councillor Patrick Polchies and Chad Solomon.

From Fédération québécoise pour le saumon atlantique, we have Normand Fiset, president, and Myriam Bergeron, executive director.

We also have Paul White, an angler, by video conference.

Witnesses, you have five minutes for your group; you don't get five minutes each. The spokesperson for your group can start. We're clocking you. I will literally give you a shout-out when you have one minute left so that you can wrap up. If you don't get to finish your full presentation, you have to wrap up, and then you can expand on it during the question and answer period.

We will start with the witnesses' opening statements of five minutes, and we'll start with Chief Gruben.

[Justice Gruben, Chief, Billijk (Kingsclear First Nation)]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Honourable Chair, committee members and fellow witnesses, Kwey psi-te wen. Hello everyone.

My name is Chief Justice Gruben. I'm the newly elected chief of Bilijk.

Today, I want to talk to you about salmon in the Wolastoq, known as the Saint John River, the homeland and waters of my people, the Wolastoqiyik. This river is the longest river and largest watershed in eastern Canada.

The six communities of the Wolastoqey Nation are situated along the banks of the Wolastoq, which in our language translates to “beautiful and bountiful river”. The Wolastoq runs past my home and has fed my family, guided my ancestors and shaped every value I carry as a leader.

My community of Bilijk lives in the shadow of the Mactaquac Dam, an enormous structure built in the late 1960s that has drastically changed the Wolastoq. When the dam was constructed, DFO and NB Power agreed to mitigate its impacts by establishing the Mactaquac Biodiversity Facility. For most of the past century, this building has helped protect the genetic diversity of the Wolastoq, including the unique species of wild Atlantic salmon in our river.

In February 2026, DFO abruptly announced that this facility would close because of budget cuts. I want to be extremely clear: The closure of this facility represents the extinction of salmon in the Wolastoq watershed. For approximately $150,000 in annual operating costs, DFO is risking the full extinction of a genetically unique species of wild Atlantic salmon on the Wolastoq.

This is urgent. The full closure is planned for October 2026. Programs, people and the salmon have already been impacted.

The salmon above the Mactaquac Dam are functionally isolated. Before industrialization, more than 100,000 Atlantic salmon returned home every year. Today, only a few hundred make it back.

The Mactaquac Biodiversity Facility is not a luxury. It is a lifeline. It raises Tobique River salmon. It has been the bridge between extinction and survival for decades.

This year, thousands of young salmon are expected to be released into the Wolastoq from this facility to help restore the population above and below the dam. If this facility closes before alternative measures are in place, they will likely die. The end of a critical species in the Wolastoq will have ripple effects across the region.

What is happening here is not only a conservation failure: It is a legal one. Section 35(1) of the Constitution Act of 1982 recognizes and affirms “aboriginal and treaty rights” of indigenous peoples in Canada.

The Supreme Court of Canada, in Haida Nation versus B.C., established clearly in 2004 that the “Crown has [a] “duty to consult” indigenous people when it contemplates actions that may adversely impact our rights. It's not after the fact or as a courtesy, but a constitutional obligation. The decision to shut down the last facility standing between the Wolastoq salmon and extinction is exactly the kind of decision that demands that consultation.

The Wolastoqiyik have held treaty rights to fish the Wolastoq since the peace and friendship treaties of the 18th century. We also hold inherent aboriginal rights to harvest and manage salmon, which are rights we have held since time immemorial. These rights are supposed to be protected by Canada's Constitution, but we have not had access to salmon fishing for decades.

Our ancestors and elders stopped fishing as a gesture to help restore the species. This is a future-generation-oriented sacrifice because salmon, polamuwok, is not just a food source for us but a cultural keystone featured in our creation stories, our ceremonies and our relationship to our homeland. They sacrificed to preserve polamuwok for the future.

We and Wolastoqey community members all along the Wolastoq have done our part to keep the salmon alive.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have one minute.

[Justice Gruben]

DFO's decision undercuts all of those efforts.

To threaten polamuwok is to threaten our culture and our legacy, and this decision for closure of the biodiversity centre was made out of the reductionist position of the government. However, western economics does not consider the distinct relationships indigenous people have with our first mother, her children and our homelands.

In the same breath that the federal government proposes this cut that removes the most important mitigation efforts surrounding Mactaquac Dam, there is a $10-billion refurbishment plan. This extends the life of the project for 50 years.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have 30 seconds.

[Justice Gruben]

How can DFO justify these critical mitigation efforts when the dam's impact will be extended?

We are asking DFO to reaffirm Canada's commitment to Wolastoq salmon—to polamuwok—and if DFO can make this decision to cut this program on the Wolastoq when times get tough, they can do it anywhere, including on the Restigouche, Fraser, Margaree and Miramichi rivers.

The health of the Wolastoq is not just an indigenous issue. It is a test of the country's environmental and reconciliation commitments to see if they mean anything at all.

Woliwon. We cannot let this species go extinct. All my relations.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you, Justice Gruben.

I'll now go to the next speaker, Myriam Bergeron, executive director.

You have five minutes, please.

[Myriam Bergeron, Executive Director, Fédération québécoise pour le saumon atlantique]

Madam Chair, on behalf of the Fédération québécoise pour le saumon atlantique, or FQSA, I thank you for giving us the opportunity to contribute to this important reflection on the decline of wild Atlantic salmon in Canada.

The FQSA brings together the key stakeholders involved in the conservation and management of Atlantic salmon in Quebec: salmon river management organizations, outfitters, fishers, researchers, environmental organizations, municipalities, first nations partners and other Canadians. Our mission is to ensure the sustainability of Atlantic salmon and the ecosystems on which they depend.

The meagre runs observed since 2023 are a major warning sign. In 2024, Quebec experienced its worst salmon run since modern data collection began. While some improvements were observed in 2025 and the outlook for 2026 is more encouraging, the situation remains a cause for concern and requires greater mobilization from all partners.

Available scientific data show that the main losses now occur at sea, and there are many theories as to why. However, the majority of investments made over the past few decades have been directed toward freshwater habitats. These efforts have been essential and must continue, but they must now be complemented by an ambitious strategy for research and intervention in the marine environment.

In that regard, the Strait of Belle Isle is a strategic area. Most juvenile salmon use this corridor when migrating to the North Atlantic, but our understanding of the losses that occur during this stage remains limited. The FQSA is currently working with various partners to recover and analyze juvenile salmon, particularly those from bycatch, which is not the cause of the current decline. This work aims to better understand their overall health and the causes of mortality that are affecting their survival.

A collaborative work plan is already in place among various stakeholders from a working committee coordinated by the Government of Quebec, in which the Department of Fisheries and Oceans participates. It is essential that these initiatives receive long-term support to prevent a situation where our rivers are in excellent health but there are no salmon left to run and spawn in them.

At the same time, conservation efforts in Quebec's freshwater habitats have helped maintain the quality of many rivers. The out-migration data show that smolt production remains relatively high, reflecting the remarkable work carried out over several decades in Quebec.

As a matter of fact, we're currently updating the provincial Atlantic salmon management plan. Several conservation measures, scientific monitoring efforts and related restoration projects could benefit from federal government funding dedicated to this issue. Better coordination of these efforts would help maximize the impact of investments made on the ground.

Climate change also poses a major challenge in freshwater ecosystems. The importance of thermal refuges—areas of cooler water that allow salmon to survive during periods of high water temperatures—is growing. Although adaptation measures have already been implemented—particularly in fisheries management—there remains a need to accelerate the acquisition of knowledge about river temperature regimes and to invest more in protecting and restoring these habitats.

In terms of the impact of striped bass on Atlantic salmon, I would say that the population in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, which spawns in the Miramichi River and subsequently inhabits Quebec waters, has grown significantly in recent years. Some studies show that predation on smolts during their migration can be considerable in certain areas, particularly in the Miramichi River, but the situation is a little different in Quebec. The FQSA nevertheless believes that it's essential to continue scientific monitoring in all rivers where the population of striped bass is growing. However, any intervention must be based on a thorough understanding of the dynamics of this species, whose populations can also experience rapid declines. Particular attention should be paid to assessing the impact of the new commercial fishing quotas in place and to the specific situation in the Miramichi River.

We also wish to draw the committee's attention to the striped bass population in the St. Lawrence River, which currently cannot be fished, although doing so would be desirable before more significant impacts are observed.

Lastly, seal populations have increased significantly in several areas of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the estuary, and concerns have been reported to us for several years. Although scientific knowledge remains incomplete, the available evidence justifies continuing and intensifying research efforts.

Atlantic salmon is much more than an iconic species. It serves as an indicator of the overall health of our rivers and marine ecosystems. Its current situation reminds us of the urgent need to act collectively. It's a canary in a coal mine. We must strengthen our collaborative efforts, improve our scientific understanding and implement concrete measures that will support the recovery of this species for future generations.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much.

I will now go to Mr. White, who is online.

Mr. White, you have five minutes.

[Paul White, Angler, As an Individual]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Where the wild Atlantic salmon thrive, life thrives. They are a key indicator that we have clean air, clean water, healthy people and pristine ecosystems. This magnificent creature is a symbol of hope and resilience for all of us.

Newfoundland and Labrador has approximately 70% of the rivers in Atlantic Canada, as well as 70% of the salmon stocks. If we can't get it right here, then I think the rest of the provinces, and probably the world, are doomed.

There's a mental health aspect. I'm an educator in the school system, and I've been an angler for 40 years. We're teaching the young kids about how to raise baby salmon and release them into the river. There's a mental health aspect to being in nature. There are so many factors. So much positivity comes from the wild Atlantic salmon that it's invaluable.

It's culturally authentic in Newfoundland and Labrador. My great-grandfather and grandfather were commercial salmon fishers on the North Atlantic Ocean. The indigenous folks relied on the wild Atlantic salmon for centuries. The cold-water salmon is probably the healthiest food you can eat.

Now, we know that Mother Nature bats last all the time. She's the final cleanup hitter, and she's in trouble. She needs our help. In recent years, there has been a decimation of the wild Atlantic salmon globally, and especially in Newfoundland and Labrador. I can see the numbers and the counters. I talk to anglers on the river. We're in trouble. I guess that's why we're all here—to try to make a difference.

I think we need a multipronged approach with everybody. There are enough smart people in Canada, and definitely in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and around this room, to get the job done.

Madam Chair, I want to thank you for this opportunity. I don't have all the answers, but having a boot on the ground in nature and studying it for decades, I'm sure I've got some.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much.

We now go to the question and answer period. The first round is six minutes. That includes the questions and the answers, so I'd like everybody to be as concise as possible.

We begin with Mr. Small for the Conservatives.

You have six minutes, please, Cliff.

[Clifford Small, Conservative, Central Newfoundland, NL]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'd like to thank the witnesses for being here today to take part in this very important study.

Mr. White, have you had experience angling in southern Labrador in recent years?

[Paul White]

Yes, I have, Mr. Small.

[Clifford Small, Conservative, Central Newfoundland, NL]

With regard to striped bass, what have you observed and what have been the observations of your fellow anglers as far north as Mary's Harbour, for example?

[Paul White]

In terms of Mary's Harbour, I think the furthest-noted striped bass were at Port Hope Simpson. The herring nets were full two or three years ago for the commercial fishermen. They were full of striped bass, not herring.

On the Forteau river—I don't have the video, but I heard about it from anglers—the striped bass were coming in like predators, like sharks. They were driving the big two- and three-pound trout up onto the beach. They were beaching themselves to get away from the sea bass. They're total predators. I've done a bit of research on the Miramichi too. DFO called them a success story at one time, but they're probably getting out of hand.

[Clifford Small, Conservative, Central Newfoundland, NL]

Let's get back to the recommendation from a 2019 FOPO study to remove the slot size on striped bass and to enable anglers to retain striped bass over 65 centimetres. What would be the impact on controlling the bass population of removing more of the larger fish?

[Paul White]

The big spawners produce the most eggs. If you remove them, then your bass population has no choice but to come down.

[Clifford Small, Conservative, Central Newfoundland, NL]

Thank you, Mr. White.

Mr. White, in British Columbia there's a big effort with salmon enhancement. They have quite a number of hatcheries that support their $1.25-billion sport fishing industry. How do you feel about salmon enhancement in Newfoundland and Labrador, in the broader Atlantic region and in Quebec?

[Paul White]

In B.C., they have what's called citizen science. I was reading that somewhere. They do some in Alaska too, as well as in Ontario for trout. They have 75 or 77 hatcheries—something like that—in B.C.

I think they would work, with the best available science, but you have to do it right. Take the genetic strain from, let's say, five or six rivers—Exploits, Gander, Terra Nova...where there are counters because the scientists can get the fish, incubate the eggs and then get the hatchery going.

We need numbers. The numbers tell the story. The numbers don't lie, and our numbers are low. There's a place that I think is called Noel Paul's Brook, upper Exploits. They got that one going when the population in the Exploits River was down to 5,000. Then, the numbers went up to 39,000 or 40,000 one year, so we know it worked. The seeding capacity of the Exploits River is 300,000-plus fish, but then it just got cancelled. It does work.

I totally agree with hatcheries. We need our numbers back.

[Clifford Small, Conservative, Central Newfoundland, NL]

I heard from a constituent who would like to get the Black Brook enhancement facility reinstated. That was shut down in the 1990s. DFO told him that the only way they would approve salmon enhancement on a river is if that river's run was in danger of being extinct.

With the environmental factors that salmon are facing these days, especially with high temperatures in July and August, how do you feel about that attitude towards enhancement?

[Paul White]

Salmon come in five-year life cycles. We cannot wait until it's too late. They have to start now.

In my opinion—and I've been around and know a lot of the old, retired officers—once the commercial salmon fishery shut down in Newfoundland and Labrador, it's almost like DFO gave up caring or gave up taking it seriously in Newfoundland and Labrador, in White Hills. I'm probably biased in that regard because I've seen so much of what doesn't work. That's a bad attitude, because we can't wait until they're endangered or extinct before we do something about it.

[Clifford Small, Conservative, Central Newfoundland, NL]

Let's talk about the existing brood stock of Atlantic salmon and how important it is to conserve what we have left.

What can you tell us about the river guardian program? Is it adequate?

[Paul White]

The fishery guardian program needs help. I know that the minister just announced $81 million or $82 million. I would take $1 million of that and give it right to the contractor who watches the nets for overtime. There's heavy poaching in Newfoundland and Labrador, on the coasts and in the rivers.

The guardians are the boots on the ground. They're doing the best they can with what they have. They need some serious help. I think they should be either federally funded or provincially funded, not contracted out, but they get the job done.

[Clifford Small, Conservative, Central Newfoundland, NL]

Mr. White, when would you like the beginning and ending seasons to be for their operations?

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have 30 seconds.