E-7352: Petition to the House of Commons — Canadian Petition Tracker
Canonical URL: https://petitiontracker.ca/petition/e-7352
Track petition E-7352 — "Petition to the House of Commons" sponsored by Richard Bragdon. 1,084 signatures and counting. See signature growth trends and provincial breakdown on PetitionTracker.ca.
Petition Text
Petition to the House of Commons
Whereas:
• The Mactaquac Biodiversity Facility (MBF), located on the banks of the Wolastoq (Saint John River) in New Brunswick, has protected Polamuwok (Atlantic Salmon) for more than 50 years. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) announced it will close the MBF without meaningful consultation with the Wolastoqey Nation;
• Atlantic salmon populations above the Mactaquac Dam have declined from an estimated 100,000 returning fish annually before industrialization to just a few hundred per year. The MBF is the primary reason those genetics still exist;
• The 1968 agreement establishing the MBF committed DFO to the operation of the MBF for “the life of the Mactaquac Project” and that project is being extended to 2068; and
• Polamuwok is a sacred species for the Wolastoqey people. They are an important part of Wolastoqey identity, stories, way of life, and Aboriginal and Treaty Rights.
We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the Minister of Fisheries to:
1. Keep the MBF programs operational at minimum until viable alternatives are established, and improved fish passage is implemented through the Mactaquac Life Achievement Project;
2. Immediately engage in meaningful consultation with the Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick regarding the future of the MBF, the programs it supports, and decisions affecting salmon in the Wolastoq;
3. Reaffirm Canada's commitment to Atlantic salmon conservation in the Wolastoq watershed, equivalent to investments made in other river systems such as Pacific Salmon and Atlantic Salmon in other areas of the region; and
4. Ensure that all salmon currently at the facility are released at biologically appropriate times and locations.