Mr. Speaker, it is always an honour to rise in this House as the elected representative for Kamloops—Shuswap—Central Rockies, and as the associate shadow minister for fisheries for His Majesty's official loyal opposition.
I am here today to debate the response to the question I posed to the Minister of Fisheries on March 26, 2026, when I asked if she would reaffirm a principle that is foundational to the management and control of Canada's fisheries: the principle that fisheries resources belong to the people of Canada. The minister replied, “Pacific salmon will remain a shared public resource managed by the federal government.” The minister also stated, “A revised salmon allocation policy will not take away [anyone's] access to the resource.”
Despite the minister's response, many Canadians remain very concerned, because it is unclear whether Canadians would continue to be able to depend on the shared public resource principle in order to access just an opportunity to fish for salmon. Canadians remain concerned because the minister's answer did not provide any specifics detailing how the Government of Canada would continue to manage Pacific salmon for all Canadians as a shared public resource. The minister did not state how much access Canadians would have to the shared public resource of Pacific salmon.
In responding, the minister also stated that suggesting that the government would not uphold the shared public resource principle was wrong and divisive. It is ironic that the minister would issue this indictment, when it was her department that published a discussion paper that contained a proposal for the shared public resource principle to be removed from the government's salmon allocation policy. Documents produced and made public by her own government have caused concerns among Canadians. They do not know how the salmon would be managed and by whom, and what organizations would influence or control the management of wild Pacific salmon.
The minister's response was also unclear on what level of access may remain for the public fisheries. She stated, “A revised salmon allocation policy will not take away [anyone's] access to the resource”, but she failed to state whether anyone's access and priority of access to the resource would be increased or in fact reduced. It is easy to say that no one's access would be taken away, but this does not mean that access would not be further limited or reduced in priority ranking.
Canadians deserve clarity from their government, especially cabinet ministers, on what the government has planned for their future access to Canada's shared public resources. What are the government's plans for the economics, the activities that put food on the table and that build family and heritage connections to the lands and waters we all value so highly?
Will the minister confirm that the public would not lose ranking in priority of access to chinook and coho salmon, and that wild Pacific salmon would be maintained as a shared public resource for the use and benefit of all Canadians?