Jan 9, 2019
Dear Minister of Fisheries Jonathan Wilkinson,
Many British Columbians, myself included, felt hopeful when Prime Minister Trudeau appointed a Minister of Fisheries from British Columbia.
When you accepted the position, you inherited a highly compromising lawsuit from the departing Minister LeBlanc. In September 2018, your lawyers argued to allow Marine Harvest and Cermaq to ignore the law and continue transferring Atlantic salmon infected with the viral “disease agent” PRV into the territory of the Namgis First Nations (decision pending).
Marine Harvest has made it clear that your position benefits them. However, your scientists warn that PRV is a threat to Pacific salmon. The escalating COSEWIC listings of Pacific salmon stocks in critical decline means whatever your department is doing, is not working and change is required. Allowing a highly contagious virus, known to harm Pacific salmon, to flow out of most of the salmon farms on this coast is indefensible, especially when it violates the law.
Then on January 7, Chief Bob Chamberlin told CBC that DFO has denied the First Nations of the Broughton Archipelago access a DFO lab, after they had reached an agreement with the Province of BC giving them the authority to test farm salmon. You were present at the announcement of this agreement.
I have faced the salmon farming industry for 30 years and I know that the fish farm companies that are doing business in BC will to do everything they can to exert control over First Nation testing of the fish in their farms and hatcheries.
I accept you are in a difficult position. You were sworn in just as your office was defending the transfer of PRV-infected farm fish into Namgis territory, even though your own scientists report PRV causes Chinook salmon red blood cells to rupture and 50% of Chinook salmon exposed to salmon farmed waters are in rapid decline. Now as the world is watching in horror as 2 more southern resident orca starve to death for lack of Chinook salmon, you are obstructing First Nations, who are testing farm salmon for a virus known to kill Chinook salmon, from using their lab of choice. The optics of this are disastrous.
After reading 1,000s of emails between DFO, the Provincial Ministry of Agriculture and the salmon farming industry I know the backstory on PRV. I hope someone is making you are aware that the extraordinary effort by these three parties to suppress the impact of the PRV virus on this coast has failed. The Province of BC has stepped away from this in an impressive act of reconciliation and good sense, which leaves just you and the salmon farmers downplaying the impact of their virus.
Minister Wilkinson, I would like to offer that the solution is simple. Demonstrate respect to First Nations, open your labs to them, split the samples and send a set to the lab of your choice. This virus is leaking out of fish farms all along this coast, Washington State has prohibited PRV-infected farm salmon in their farms since early last year and some of us are tracking the different PRV strains from Norway and Iceland that are circulating on this coast. The science has gotten away from those who sought to downplay the impact of PRV. What is known is not going to be unknown.
All the Ministers who permitted the controversial growth of the salmon farming industry in Canada have moved on, leaving your government on very unstable ground, presiding over terrible extinctions and disregard for our laws. Canada's chief scientist recommends 3rd party oversight of your science and federal regulators slammed DFO's failure protect wild salmon from salmon farms.
I am sure that you recognize that the request by First Nations to use a DFO lab to test farm salmon is perhaps the only honourable path out of this highly compromising situation. I am sure that you recognize that the request by First Nations to use a DFO lab to test farm salmon is perhaps the only honourable path out of this highly compromising situation. I would suggest not allowing the bureaucrats who got you into this mess to make this decision.
Respectfully,
Alexandra Morton