Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to table e-petition 2675, which was sponsored by Sonja Wood and signed by 1,185 people.
They cite that the Windsor causeway in Nova Scotia was constructed across the Avon River in 1968 with gates to manage water levels, but without proper fish passage. To this day, it impedes migration of fishes, including the at-risk inner Bay of Fundy wild Atlantic salmon and American eel. The gates have been occasionally opened over the past 50-plus years to control water levels for Lake Pesquid and, more recently, to facilitate improved fish passage during periods of high water levels. The first salmon in 50 years were caught last summer beyond the causeway. The gates have never been opened to facilitate the annual runs of wild Atlantic salmon during the summer, which are really important. The petitioners want DFO to change this.
The petitioners are calling on the minister to ensure that the gates of the Windsor causeway are kept open for an extended period of time during every incoming and outgoing tide to allow a more natural method of fish passage during seasonal migrations.