Email the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans

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Send An Email To the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans

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To the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans,

I am writing to you in your capacity as Minister responsible for the regulation of
West Coast fisheries and asking that you take steps to build a fairer and more
economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable fishery for current and
future generations in British Columbia.

With your sponsorship. Bill C-68 was passed by Parliament this past June with
new language to advance social and economic interests and protect the
independence of inshore fish harvesters along the Atlantic Coast. After your
recent speech in New Brunswick you tweeted that “Protecting the rights of
inshore fish harvesters is at the core of our new and modern Fisheries Act.
…..our new legislation will ensure that the economic benefits will stay in our
coastal communities.”
This has raised questions for many people in government and industry as to
why these same policy objectives do not apply in Pacific Region. Building on C-
68, the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans (FOPO) conducted a

special study and made 20 recommendations, unanimously supported by
members from all Parties, to better support independent fish harvesters, First
Nations, and coastal communities in British Columbia. I urge you to direct your
Department to move forward with these recommendations immediately in
partnership with First Nations and B.C.’s provincial government.
B.C.’s quota and licensing regime is broken. Most access rights in Pacific Region are
fully transferrable — they can be sold, leased, or held in control agreements by
investors and corporations. Purchasers do not need to disclose who is benefitting
from them. This means that we have no way of knowing if those who own our
public resource are even Canadian. These non-harvester owners have bought up
close to 50 per cent of licences and quota in the Pacific Region. Many active
harvesters now cannot afford the resulting high prices for licenses and quota and
must lease this quota for up to 80 per cent of their catch’s value to have
opportunities to fish.
The result? Too many B.C. fish harvesters are struggling to survive, and their
communities are losing the food supplies and other economic, social and cultural
benefits that traditionally flowed from the harvest or adjacent resources. Too many
harvesters are leaving the industry, and too many families are leaving their coastal
communities in search of better futures.
I want to see small processors, independent fish harvesters, and community-
based fishing businesses thriving again in the coastal economy. I also want to
see harvesters providing healthy food from our oceans to families and local fish
markets, chefs and restaurants. Good jobs will follow, our rural coastal
communities can rebuild, and our coastal cultures can be revitalized. We see
this growth and renewal on Canada’s East Coast: The West Coast deserves the
same.
The FOPO report has set out new directions and a process to bring fairer shares
of the benefits from fisheries back to harvesters, First Nations, and coastal
communities. I want to ensure that, our fish harvesters, our coastal
communities, BC First Nations, and Canadian citizens will benefit from our public
fisheries resource for generations to come. FOPO has provided the plan. I urge
you, as Minister, to follow and implement it.
Sincerely,
(Your name)

TO
'Min@dfo-mpo.gc.ca',

CC
'ken.hardiea1@parl.gc.ca',
'gord.johns.A2@parl.gc.ca',
'elizabeth.may.c1@parl.gc.ca',
'Ken.McDonald@parl.gc.ca',
'AGR.Minister@gov.bc.ca',
'sylvie.lapointe@dfo-mpo.gc.ca',
'Fiona.Simons@dfo-mpo.gc.ca',
'rebecca.reid@dfo-mpo.gc.ca',
'andrew.thomson@dfo-mpo.gc.ca,'
'AGR.Minister@gov.bc.ca',
'msonnenberg@gmfa.nb.ca',

BCC

'marc@bucksuzuki.org'