Mr. Speaker, I had a really emotional experience a couple of months ago. I asked the Sts'ailes first nation to take me onto its land near the Harrison River to see where their people have fished since they began recording time. They have always fished there. One of the members of the band told me about an experience when he was shot with a BB gun by a non-indigenous fisher over their rights. Again, it speaks to this broader discontent and growing animosity in our society that needs to be addressed by DFO.
The first nations are the first ones to point out that DFO has some guy in Ottawa telling them where they should be doing their conservation work, that there is some DFO official in Ottawa telling them how many fish go up the run, but the officials do not understand the fish like they do and the officials need to get out of the way and let the first nations do some of the important work. When I talk to the recreational fishermen and the people who work in tourism, they say the same thing: DFO does not know what it is talking about, it does not know where the fish go and what are those scientists in Ottawa actually saying?
There was the Fraser Salmon Collaborative Management Agreement last year that was signed by some of the Sto:lo nations and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. When members of that committee signed that agreement, they thought they were going to be able to work with DFO. They have not even had a meeting yet. They are discontented and their anger only grows. We have to address these broader issues. This is not just a Nova Scotian issue; it is a Canadian issue.