Mr. Speaker, I rise again today on behalf of residents of Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford and surrounding constituencies who are concerned about the future of the recreational fishing industry in British Columbia.
Throughout our history as a province, we have seen salmon as a common property resource, managed in good faith by the Government of Canada. Proposed changes by Fisheries and Oceans Canada to deprioritize recreational access to coho and chinook salmon would damage our recreational industry, which supports businesses and the cultural way of life of all British Columbians who simply want to access our rivers and take part in something all British Columbians have always done: fish to feed their family.