Well, we all know that DFO and industry cooked the books on the risk assessments, WMY - esp the mouthrot and PRv ones. In addition the conflicts of interest that Cohen mentioned DFO was under wrt being regulator and promoter have not been resolved along with the conflicted minor royalty within the upper echelons of the Aquaculture Branch of DFO that came out both in that PRv court case (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-fish-farms-federal-court-judge-ruling-1.6431459) and also when that FF compant took DFO to court as the minor royalty within the Aquaculture Branch allowed the multinational to prepay for their federal Aquaculture licences (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-fish-farms-federal-court-judge-ruling-1.6431459). Some real insights in how the DFO employees subvert their minister's directions in those court cases.
And as you mentioned SH - the water column is federal regulation, while the bottom is claimed by the Province thru the Land Act. The Province is responsible for issuing (or not) a tenure (licence of occupation) for the operation while DFO is responsible for issuing an Aquaculture Licence for those activities. Case Law based on the existing colonial laws/acts (both Provincial & Federal) is a work in progress.
How (sometime in the future) Hereditary Laws and/or UNDRIP intersect with land/water uses for non-aboriginal has not been tested to my knowledge - but at a minimum - any impacts (i.e. "infringements") to FN Rights and Title and aquatic harvesting rights has been ruled on in case law. Under s. 35 of the Constitution Act (where all other Acts generate their authorities) - FN must be consulted and accommodated beforehand any infringements are allowed to happen thru the Crown's actions or inactions.
Impacts to adjacent wild stocks would still be an infringement independent of any land ownership questions - but the answer to that question would direct whom goes to court. And then there is also UNDRIP being rolled into management, as well...
Honestly I don't know if the waterlot lease up north are managed by the feds or the province. It was all feds up until about 5 years ago when they gave the majority management back to the province. It probly is the province seeing as how when that happened port metro said that "if it doesn't have anything to do with the port we don't want to manage it"
If I understand you correctly your right. If the waterlots are province managed then FN does have the final say in whether or not it gets approved. That goes for all province managed waterlots
That being said all that stuff is fine. They can have their waterlot lease, they can have their aquaculture licence. They still need a business licence in order to sell their product. If the province says we don't want FF's then we have total control. It's at a municiple level at that point. I can't run my shop without a proper business licence with the city of Delta etc.
Well, we all know that DFO and industry cooked the books on the risk assessments, WMY - esp the mouthrot and PRv ones. In addition the conflicts of interest that Cohen mentioned DFO was under wrt being regulator and promoter have not been resolved along with the conflicted minor royalty within the upper echelons of the Aquaculture Branch of DFO that came out both in that PRv court case (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-fish-farms-federal-court-judge-ruling-1.6431459) and also when that FF companies took DFO to court as the minor royalty within the Aquaculture Branch allowed the multinational to prepay for their federal Aquaculture licences (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-fish-farms-federal-court-judge-ruling-1.6431459). Some real insights in how the DFO employees subvert their minister's directions in those court cases.
Harper fired DFO staff he did not like, stop pretending the liberals and the minister can’t do the same thing.
The reason why these staff still have their jobs is because they please their masters. These are high level bureaucrats, they do what they think the minister wants.
The minister could rip apart the aquaculture branch like the cons ripped apart habitat
Honestly I don't know if the waterlot lease up north are managed by the feds or the province. It was all feds up until about 5 years ago when they gave the majority management back to the province. It probly is the province seeing as how when that happened port metro said that "if it doesn't have anything to do with the port we don't want to manage it"
If I understand you correctly your right. If the waterlots are province managed then FN does have the final say in whether or not it gets approved. That goes for all province managed waterlots
That being said all that stuff is fine. They can have their waterlot lease, they can have their aquaculture licence. They still need a business licence in order to sell their product. If the province says we don't want FF's then we have total control. It's at a municiple level at that point. I can't run my shop without a proper business licence with the city of Delta etc.
The operations of aquaculture are supposedly & allegedly managed now by DFO in BC (since the Morton case 2009); while - since colonial law was applied in what we now call BC (circa 1871) - the Province still continues to regulate all tenures in the Province thru the Lands Act as mentioned. In order to legally pursue aquaculture activities any proponent also needs an Aquaculture licence thru DFO. One of the prerequisites of issuing that licence is to have a foreshore tenure issued by the Province. That tenure authority was not changed by the Morton case - only the aquaculture activities as those activities (aka a "fishery") always have and continue to be the responsibility of the feds not the province (ultra vires), or any other province for that matter - altho nobody has scraped up enuff coin to take NB, NS & NFLD to court yet to sort that out on the East Coast.
The Province of BC did ratify and implement their version of UNDRIP (Bill 41 2019), and is in the process of applying it to referrals back to FN. DFO followed suit in 2020 but really has been resistant and to date avoids the institution of their version of UNDRIP (Bill C-15) - especially the Aquaculture Branch which has always done whatever they can to protect their Golden Cow - the FF industry. They just went ahead and in their carefully-prepped language "renewed" (wasn't actually renewals as the licences actually expired) all the FF licences w/o FN consultation. Typical behaviour for that unaccountable bunch of crooks. They have always done whatever the want to do irrespective of what FN or the minister wants. Some kind of weird institutionalized defensive entitlement ego/psyche pervades that section of DFO and is likely the result of the influence of upper management and the communications branch. Likely in part a result of having the influence of the Privy Council members sit as Deputy Ministers for DFO.
The "business licence" is really not a factor in any of this as it is but a municipal requirement and the commercial market is covered thru DFO's Aquaculture permit.
Here’s a link to an interesting application. If approved this operation would become the largest open net finfish farm on the BC coast. Maybe in the world. I‘m checking on that right now.
Right on the outmigration route of Fraser River sockeye salmon and within the traditional territory of the Gwasala-‘Nakwaxda‘xw FN.
For the Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw, implementing local First Nations management practice is the only pathway to recovering fish stocks and supporting their local community economy at the same time, the First Nation said.
www.intrafish.com
On Friday leaders from the Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw First Nation in Canada announced a plan to administer their own fisheries and aquaculture licensing regime "with or without the Canadian government."
The First Nation said it made the decision because of a failure of the Canadian government "to conserve their fish stocks through permitting of overfishing and adequately mitigate impacts from resource development."
“Rural communities and their people need stable, family-supporting jobs to stay and support British Columbia and Canada in supplying healthy seafood to a growing world population,” said Hereditary Chief Paddy Walkus of the Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw Nation.
“We have witnessed the decline of our wild fish in Smith Inlet where there are no farms. We need to take a stand and do right by our ancestors – and that means doing what it takes for our community by developing an economic base for self-government and self-determination.”
he Nation does not operate salmon farms, but runs a shellfish aquaculture farm growing GwiGwi Pacific oysters.
The Nation is also the headquarters for K’awat’si Marine Services division, managed by one of its own Band members and one of the Nation’s biggest employers.
K’awat’si Marine Services has served salmon farms along the BC Coast for 9 years, hauling feed, transporting crews, and delivering specialty equipment and services.
The company now provides about $9 million (€8.2 million) in direct annual revenue and 23 jobs, with 16 of those filled by Indigenous people, according to the First Nation.
The Nation said it will also announce a developing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with its neighbor Nations towards building Nation co-governance as part of a North Island Aquaculture Zone.
The Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Nation was highlighted on the website of the newly created pro-aquaculture group First Nations for Finfish Stewardship Coalition as one of the First Nations that benefits from British Columbia's salmon farming industry through its K’awat’si Marine Services business.
The coalition includes members from the Tlowitsis Nation, Wei Wai Kum First Nation, Ahousaht First Nation and Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation.
The coalition is asking Canada's fisheries minister to re-issue salmon licenses with a minimum five-year term for the 17 First Nations with operating agreements that are set to expire this June.
"To date, many of the chiefs and leaders in our coalition have reached out to the minister and they have either been ignored or told that the minister will go ahead with her agenda to transition farms out of the water in their territories, despite their concerns, and without their input or consent," the coalition said. "This is not reconciliation.".................
Here’s a link to an interesting application. If approved this operation would become the largest open net finfish farm on the BC coast. Maybe in the world. I‘m checking on that right now.
Right on the outmigration route of Fraser River sockeye salmon and within the traditional territory of the Gwasala-‘Nakwaxda‘xw FN.
Looks like there are a few farms in Norway that are 6200 mt. So it would become the biggest in BC anyways if approved. When and where we’re supposed to be developing a plan to transition away from net pen impacts on wild salmon. Go figure.
Looks like there are a few farms in Norway that are 6200 mt. So it would become the biggest in BC anyways if approved. When and where we’re supposed to be developing a plan to transition away from net pen impacts on wild salmon. Go figure.
Its interesting how in march of this year the minister was going around saying fish farms were going to be removed and only 6 months later seemed to has changed her tone.
A statement from current Fisheries and Oceans Minister Joyce Murray’s press secretary, Claire Teichman, says, “The sustainable and responsible management of Canada’s ocean ecosystems, including wild Pacific salmon, is a priority for Minister Murray.
“The decision to phase out fish farms in the Discovery Islands was based on consultations with local First Nations.
“Minister Murray is aware of the court’s ruling in the case and will be making a decision on next steps in due course. She remains committed to transitioning away from open-net pen salmon farming in coastal British Columbia waters.”
For the Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw, implementing local First Nations management practice is the only pathway to recovering fish stocks and supporting their local community economy at the same time, the First Nation said.
www.intrafish.com
On Friday leaders from the Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw First Nation in Canada announced a plan to administer their own fisheries and aquaculture licensing regime "with or without the Canadian government."
The First Nation said it made the decision because of a failure of the Canadian government "to conserve their fish stocks through permitting of overfishing and adequately mitigate impacts from resource development."
“Rural communities and their people need stable, family-supporting jobs to stay and support British Columbia and Canada in supplying healthy seafood to a growing world population,” said Hereditary Chief Paddy Walkus of the Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw Nation.
“We have witnessed the decline of our wild fish in Smith Inlet where there are no farms. We need to take a stand and do right by our ancestors – and that means doing what it takes for our community by developing an economic base for self-government and self-determination.”
he Nation does not operate salmon farms, but runs a shellfish aquaculture farm growing GwiGwi Pacific oysters.
The Nation is also the headquarters for K’awat’si Marine Services division, managed by one of its own Band members and one of the Nation’s biggest employers.
K’awat’si Marine Services has served salmon farms along the BC Coast for 9 years, hauling feed, transporting crews, and delivering specialty equipment and services.
The company now provides about $9 million (€8.2 million) in direct annual revenue and 23 jobs, with 16 of those filled by Indigenous people, according to the First Nation.
The Nation said it will also announce a developing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with its neighbor Nations towards building Nation co-governance as part of a North Island Aquaculture Zone.
The Gwa’sala-’Nakwaxda’xw Nation was highlighted on the website of the newly created pro-aquaculture group First Nations for Finfish Stewardship Coalition as one of the First Nations that benefits from British Columbia's salmon farming industry through its K’awat’si Marine Services business.
The coalition includes members from the Tlowitsis Nation, Wei Wai Kum First Nation, Ahousaht First Nation and Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation.
The coalition is asking Canada's fisheries minister to re-issue salmon licenses with a minimum five-year term for the 17 First Nations with operating agreements that are set to expire this June.
"To date, many of the chiefs and leaders in our coalition have reached out to the minister and they have either been ignored or told that the minister will go ahead with her agenda to transition farms out of the water in their territories, despite their concerns, and without their input or consent," the coalition said. "This is not reconciliation.".................
Well, unfortunately whomever is the most current naive minster (that the lobbyists take advantage of and the PM and the party controls) holds that position only at the pleasure of the most current drama teacher in the PM office - and all the MPs who got there in the cabinet and the PM seat got there thru only their party affiliation and behind the scene - whomever funds that party and whatever $ (and share options) are plunked on desks and into party coffers. The people who have to live with the consequences are seldom if ever invited to the dinner party.
I have a hard time believing our current minister is naive about fish farms and environmental issues in BC.
People championed first nations that wanted FF off their territory and back their rights and titles to say no. They never stopped to think about that power they were endorsing if they wanted to say yes.
Well, unfortunately whomever is the most current naive minster (that the lobbyists take advantage of and the PM and the party controls) holds that position only at the pleasure of the most current drama teacher in the PM office - and all the MPs who got there in the cabinet and the PM seat got there thru only their party affiliation and behind the scene - whomever funds that party and whatever $ (and share options) are plunked on desks and into party coffers. The people who have to live with the consequences are seldom if ever invited to the dinner party.
I'm not necessarily claiming that every and our current minister is always naive about the politics surrounding the wild/cultured stock interactions but just understanding salmon is a complex issue. And it is a viper's nest inside DFO and especially the Aquaculture Branch. Not every DFO employee is dishonest but one does not get ahead by contradicting ones boss in the public service. And if there are crooks on the top end pulling strings (which I believe there is) there is ZERO accountability for their actions as far as I am concerned. They somehow have convinced themselves that their job isn't wild salmon but is instead promoting industry using all available means including lying and gate-keeping. That is where the learning curve lies for any new minister.
Within the Aquaculture Branch - it's the industry still calling the shots. That has not changed - nor will it unless DFO is dismantled and re-organized. The Minister and the cabinet are at odds with the upper echelon of DFO - esp the career bureaucrats/mandarins that run the show secretly behind the scenes.
The industry showcases (with the assistance of their extensive PR network including Fabian Dawson) their front group "First Nations for Finfish Stewardship" using spokespersons like some of the Walkus'es that are heavily invested in support industries and the Tlowitsis Smith brothers.
No recognition from within those PR firms and the spokespersons that water flows and fish swim, and that impacts are not contained within any 1 territory. DFO doesn't want to touch that sleeping dog neither.
And election promises are just that - election promises.
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