Vernon MP calls for help for salmon farms

North Okanagan MP Mel Arnold is criticizing the federal government for shutting down salmon farms in B.C.

Arnold, the former Conservative fisheries critic, and Richard Bragdon, the current critic, have written to Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan saying the decision to phase out salmon farming in the Discovery Islands was made without a plan to help affected workers, employers and communities.

“It is particularly shocking that you would make this announcement without proper consultation with local mayors, workers and their employers. This is negligent on your part,” they write. “You have put nearly 6,500 jobs in British Columbia on notice of termination.”

The MPs also criticized the government for failing to reach a softwood lumber agreement with the U.S. and for failing to help the tourist industry during the pandemic.

Jordan has said she made the decision after hearing opposition to the farms from local First Nations. The phasing out of fish farms was also a key recommendation made in 2012 by the Cohen Commission on the decline of Fraser River sockeye.