Fisheries committee  Whom did we consult with to build it?

Fisheries committee  The department has worked with its stakeholders and indigenous groups for...well, forever. We have regular, ongoing conversations about what is needed, what is required. The B.C. salmon restoration and innovation fund has been very helpful to help us set some priorities. That sai

Fisheries committee  We developed the proposal within the department and sought approval for it.

Fisheries committee  But it was informed externally as well.

Fisheries committee  That's exactly what we're trying to do. You need to be able to set priorities; you need to do it in a way that considers the views of your stakeholders, your partners, the indigenous groups; and then you need to take action. We have a number of restoration projects and programs o

Fisheries committee  Well, I think we need to be strategic in where we put our money, because there is not enough money in the world to do every single restoration project people may wish to see. The challenges are overwhelming and intense. You've heard talk about the impacts of climate change on f

Fisheries committee  That is one of the key pillars of the Pacific salmon strategy and the funding that was provided, the idea being that we need to have a better coordinated and integrated approach to support the many different restoration programs that are going on right now. The BCSRIF, the salmon

Fisheries committee  The thing with restoration is that it's hugely expensive, so are we putting the money in the best places? We work very hard to prioritize and work with stakeholders, with indigenous groups, to really ensure value for money. There's a need for greater coordination between the stak

Fisheries committee  The salmonid enhancement program, which has been around for 40 years, has spent a significant amount of time looking at that question, namely, when is enhancement good and when is it not good? It has created guidelines to ensure that any enhancement activity falls within the ac

Fisheries committee  Right now, we have a mix of large and small community-based hatcheries, and we have always supported that kind of dual model. Just because you have a big hatchery doesn't mean you're only producing one type of fish. There is a lot of flexibility within those facilities to create

Fisheries committee  You're referring to the one as part of the Pacific salmon strategy?

Fisheries committee  We have created an internal team, which we have staffed. It's quite a small team at this point, but the idea would be—subject to going through the financial processes, Treasury Board submissions and those types of things—to start to build out the secretariat. We would also build

Fisheries committee  I would say that the decision taken was around the risk evaluation and other considerations related to the transfer of fish into Discovery Islands. While there was some socio-economic information collected through our policy and economic analysis branch, there wasn't a study. It

Fisheries committee  The decision was taken with respect to this particular location. It doesn't affect the rest of aquaculture across British Columbia, so it's for this particular location. The question put before the minister was whether these fish could be transferred to this location or not. Th

Fisheries committee  To clarify the question, how many restoration-type projects—