Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has been hailed as the hero of the east coast. At the other end of the country the B.C. fishery has taken a beating and, according to British Columbia's fisheries minister, 1995 will be no different.
Along the Quesnel River the chinook salmon run of 1994 was down 75 per cent. The Quesnel River hatchery released over 200,000 fish to support these levels but it is threatened with imminent closure.
Its last release scheduled for this month will consist of 200,000 one-gram chinook babies who only have a one in one-thousand chance of surviving because of their age and size. They are being released a whole year early. These fish are not crying out, "someone reach out and save us", like the minister quoted the turbot as saying in New York. After all, these chinook are not old enough to talk.
It is time for the minister to take his commitment to conservation seriously. It is time for him to show his commitment to protecting the chinook salmon. Preserve the salmon for our children and grandchildren by keeping this hatchery open.