Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recall a wonderful event. On April 11, on the shores of Duffins Creek, in the city of Pickering, I had the pleasure to support, with the hon. Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Bring Back the Salmon, which brought the community together to restock Duffins Creek with Atlantic salmon yearlings.
It was an inspiring day for all of us: for Mayor Dave Ryan, for the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters' Executive Director Angelo Lombardo, Ontario Power Generation employees, Sir Sandford Fleming College employees, and provincial fish and wildlife officials to see students from Holy Redeemer Catholic School and Pine Ridge Secondary School release Atlantic salmon into the wild.
French explorers dubbed Duffins Creek the “Rivière au saumon”. For centuries before that it was home to large aboriginal settlements dependent on fish. In the late 1800s habitat destruction and overfishing sent these stocks into decline. Today, since May 2006, Bring Back the Salmon has put 2.5 million young Atlantic salmon back into Duffins Creek, Cobourg Brook and the Credit River.
This is another great example of our government's dedication to the principles of conservation and real action to preserve Canada's natural habitat.