Madam Chair, I am thankful for the opportunity to contribute to today's discussion at this gathering of the committee of the whole. I have about nine or 10 minutes of comments and then I will proceed to questions at the end of my time.
As the minister has indicated, the funding we are seeking relates to our government's priorities of promoting economic opportunities for all Canadians, advancing reconciliation with indigenous people, strengthening environmental protections and making sure our waters are safe and navigable. Our government is focused on not just protecting the environment, but restoring it for the benefit of future generations.
We know that the foundation of a strong economy can only be built with a clean and thriving environment. In fact, there is no better demonstration of how the economy and the environment go hand in hand than our wild Pacific salmon.
Serving and restoring Pacific salmon and ensuring a stable and predictable fishery for all participants, both indigenous and non-indigenous, is a responsibility we take very seriously. In many rural and coastal communities, salmon fisheries are a real economic driver that generate jobs and opportunities for thousands of Canadians. Salmon fisheries are part of the cultural identity of the province of British Columbia and play a critical role in building coastal indigenous economies, enabling indigenous groups to develop improved capacity for self-governance and self-determination. To many of our indigenous communities, wild Pacific salmon are not just an economic opportunity, but a way of life that is an important, if not sacred, tradition.
Our government is committed to working with indigenous peoples to explore opportunities to further recognize rights and advance reconciliation in the context of fisheries, oceans, aquatic habitats and marine waterways. Canada's wild salmon policies speak to the importance of maintaining the biodiversity of these important stocks, as well as their significance to commercial and recreational fish harvesters, indigenous peoples and, really, all Canadians.
We have collaborated closely on the creation of a $142-million B.C. salmon restoration and innovation fund, a federal-provincial cost-shared program funded jointly with the Government of British Columbia. We have made an additional contribution of $5 million to the Pacific salmon endowment fund to support the Pacific Salmon Foundation, which is doing incredible work to restore wild Pacific salmon and its habitat.
We announced $15 million in additional annual funding to support stock assessments, wire tagging and catch monitoring. These investments contribute to our obligations under the Canada-U.S. Pacific Salmon Treaty and are targeted toward better managing west coast salmon fishing. We are investing $107 million to support the sustainability of Canada's major fish stocks through implementation of the renewed Fisheries Act. We have also invested significant resources in restoring natural passage on the Fraser River after the devastating Big Bar landslide, and we are committed to transitioning from open net-pen finfish aquaculture on the west coast of Canada.
We are making difficult decisions and important investments today to ensure that Pacific salmon are available for future generations. With many wild—