Implement Cohen Commission recommendations
Petitioners ask the House to implement all 75 Cohen Commission recommendations to protect and restore Fraser River and Pacific wild salmon under the precautionary principle. The government responds it has taken multiple related actions.
Why we would sign this petition
- Implements the Cohen Commission’s 75 recommendations, adopting the commission’s comprehensive roadmap to address causes of Pacific salmon declines.
- Applies the precautionary principle and targets key issues the petition cites—aquaculture siting, pesticide reporting, and climate-related warming waters.
- Seeks to protect and restore Fraser River and wild Pacific salmon, supporting ecosystems, fisheries and communities that rely on healthy runs.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Implementing all 75 recommendations immediately would be costly and administratively complex across federal, provincial and Indigenous jurisdictions.
- Some recommendations (for example, phasing out net‑pen farms) entail legal, scientific and economic implications; related decisions have faced court challenges.
- The government states it has already acted through the Wild Salmon Policy and Pacific Salmon Strategy, so the petition may duplicate current programs rather than add new measures.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
PETITION TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS IN PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED We, the undersigned residents of Canada draw the attention of the House to the following: THAT, WHEREAS a public survey done in 2011 found that 70% of British Columbians agree with the statement that, "wild Pacific salmon are as important to British Columbians as the French language is to Quebeckers"; WHEREAS the Fraser River sockeye run unexpectedly collapsed in 2009, with only 1 million of the expected 10 million salmon returning to spawn; WHEREAS this collapse prompted the Government of Canada to launch a comprehensive Federal Commission of Inquiry, headed by the Honourable Bruce Cohen and released in 2012, to investigate the cause of this catastrophic decline; WHEREAS among the 75 recommendations stemming from Justice Cohen's inquiry were: The Government of Canada should remove from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans mandate the promotion of salmon farming as an industry and farmed salmon as a product, The Department of Fisheries and Oceans should explicitly consider proximity to migrating Fraser River sockeye when siting salmon farms, should consider relocating existing salmon farms that are too close to existing salmon runs, and should consider prohibiting net-pen salmon farming altogether, especially in the Discovery Islands, Department of Fisheries and Oceans should encourage British Columbia to require users of pesticides in forestry and agriculture to record, and report annually to the province, the areas where pesticides were applied and the amounts used, and To improve future sustainability of the Fraser River sockeye, the Government of Canada should champion, within Canada and internationally, reasonable steps to address the causes of warming waters and climate change; and WHEREAS years later, the recommendations made by Justice Cohen in the Inquiry have yet to be implemented. THEREFORE, YOUR PETITIONERS call upon the House of Commons to act on the precautionary principle and immediately implement all of the 75 recommendations made by Justice Cohen to save our salmon.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Fisheries Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): Ernie Klassen The Government of Canada acknowledges the importance of the Cohen Commission’s recommendations. Many of the Cohen recommendations are broad reaching, and consequently, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), in collaboration with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and the Province of British Columbia (B.C.), has taken action to address all 75 recommendations and continues its work across several key areas, such as salmon stock assessment, health status assessment, habitat protection and restoration, salmon aquaculture, and fisheries management. Commitment to ongoing action is reflected in the Wild Salmon Policy 2018-2022 Implementation Plan (Wild Salmon Policy 2018 to 2022 Implementation Plan). A five-year report of the Wild Salmon Policy 2018 to 2022 Implementation Plan was published on September 21, 2023 (Wild Salmon Policy 2018 to 2022 Implementation Plan: 5 year review), which outlines specific activities and approaches led by DFO towards restoring and maintaining healthy and diverse Pacific salmon populations and their habitats. The Cohen Response Status Update Report, published in October 2018 (Cohen Response Status Update – October 2018) and its corresponding Annex (Annex to the Cohen Response 2018 Status Update: recommendation response detail) provide more details on DFO’s actions to date in response to the Cohen Commission recommendations and the Wild Salmon Policy 2018-2022 Implementation Plan (Wild Salmon Policy 2018 to 2022 Implementation Plan). Additionally, the 2020 to 2021 Annual Report of the Wild Salmon Policy 2018 to 2022 Implementation Plan (Wild Salmon Policy 2018 to 2022 Implementation Plan: Annual Report 2020 to 2021) published on February 4, 2022, highlights the progress made in implementing the Wild Salmon Policy 2018-2022 Implementation Plan. Furthermore, the Government of Canada recognizes that a bold and targeted response with concrete actions to address the historic declines facing Pacific salmon is required. In response, the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI) establishes a comprehensive and transformative approach to support Pacific salmon rebuilding. Working collaboratively with Indigenous groups, partners and stakeholders across B.C. and the Yukon, the main goal of this initiative is to conserve and restore wild Pacific salmon stocks and their ecosystems for all that depend on them. The PSSI’s four pillars to achieve this goal are: conservation and stewardship; salmon enhancement; harvest transformation; and integration and collaboration. DFO has addressed the Cohen Commission’s Recommendation 3: “The Government of Canada should remove from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ mandate the promotion of salmon farming as an industry and farmed salmon as a product” as per the ‘Annex to the Cohen Response 2018 Status Update: recommendation response detail’ (Annex to the Cohen Response 2018 Status Update: recommendation response detail). The petition highlights Cohen Commission’s Recommendation 15: “The Department of Fisheries and Oceans should explicitly consider proximity to migrating Fraser River Sockeye when siting salmon farms” and Recommendation 17: “The Department of Fisheries and Oceans should apply revised siting criteria to all licensed salmon farm sites. Farms that no longer comply with siting criteria should be promptly removed or relocated to sites that comply with current siting criteria.” It is also important to note Recommendation 19 in consideration of responses to Recommendations 15 and 17: “ On September 30, 2020, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans should prohibit net-pen salmon farming in the Discovery Islands (fish health sub-zone 3-2) unless he or she is satisfied that such farms pose at most a minimal risk of serious harm to the health of migrating Fraser River Sockeye salmon. The Minister’s decision should summarize the information relied on and include detailed reasons. The decision should be published on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ website.” In response to Recommendation 19, the Department looked at the overall risk to Fraser River Sockeye Salmon from pathogens that can be found at Atlantic salmon farms, which was important in assessing whether current siting criteria are sufficient in the protection of wild salmon stocks, including migrating Fraser River Sockeye. The Department completed risk assessments on nine known pathogens, assessing the risk of these pathogens coming from aquaculture operations in the Discovery Islands area to Fraser River Sockeye. It was concluded that each pathogen posed no more than a minimal risk to Fraser River Sockeye Salmon abundance and diversity under the current fish health management practices (Aquaculture research related to Cohen Commission recommendation 19). DFO continues to update its understanding of pathogens and pests and adapt its management in response. Siting of aquaculture operations is a shared and harmonized process in B.C., requiring a provincial crown tenure, a federal navigable waters permit, and a federal aquaculture licence. Aquaculture applications are submitted through a single portal, where the Government of B.C. considers siting through the lens of granting leases for provincial crown lands, Transport Canada considers siting related to safe navigation, and DFO considers siting relating to potential impacts to fish and fish habitat, potential impacts to existing fisheries, and fish health and wild-farmed salmon interactions, which includes consideration of the proximity to wild salmon migration routes. Siting guidelines inform a proponent and the public on how a new or amendment application will be assessed. Licence conditions for aquaculture set out the specific operational and reporting requirements to which licence holders must adhere in order to operate legally and be in compliance with the Fisheries Act and associated regulations. They also contain provisions to ensure that aquaculture sites are operated in an environmentally sustainable manner that minimizes the risk to wild fish stocks and the marine resource. In fall 2020, the Department consulted with First Nations in the Discovery Islands to hear their views and concerns with respect to the aquaculture sites in the area. These perspectives informed the former Minister’s decision in December 2020 to phase out Atlantic salmon aquaculture in the area by June 2022. While the Federal Court ultimately struck down that decision, the former Minister decided in June 2022 not to reissue Atlantic salmon aquaculture licences in the Discovery Islands, and to consult with First Nations and industry on the future of licensing in the area. In February 2023, following six months of consultations, the former Minister decided not to reissue licences in the Discovery Islands. Industry and some of the First Nations in the area filed a judicial review in Federal Court in March 2023 which is still a matter before the courts. On June 19, 2024, the Government of Canada released a Policy Statement on the future of open net-pen salmon farming in B.C., and its approach was confirmed on September 20, 2024. In relation to the Cohen Commission’s Recommendation 54: “The Department of Fisheries and Oceans should encourage the Province of B.C.: to require users of pesticides in forestry and agriculture to record, and report annually to the province, the areas where pesticides were applied and the amounts used to develop and maintain a pesticide-use database (that includes information on location, volume / concentration, and timing of use) and make that information publicly available”, B.C. has a system in place to monitor, report, and disseminate information on pesticide use across sectors (aquaculture, agriculture, forestry). The province requires users to report pesticide use, and has the ability to provide information on total use. Standards of use are consistent with Health Canada requirements.. Under the authority of the Aquaculture Activities Regulations, DFO collects and publishes information regarding the deposit of deleterious substances, including both drugs and pesticides. Prior to any deposit of registered pesticides, including hydrogen peroxide, the owner/operator must notify DFO at least 72 hours in advance. Both ECCC and DFO have taken action in response the Cohen Commission’s Recommendation 74: “To improve future sustainability of the Fraser River Sockeye, the Government of Canada should champion, within Canada and internationally, reasonable steps to address the causes of warming waters and climate change.” DFO works to address climate change impacts in aquatic ecosystems as a part of an ECCC-led, whole-of-government effort. Through this work, the department conducts vulnerability assessments on Pacific species, including salmon, to warming waters and continues to monitor trends in sea surface temperature, oxygen levels, and ocean acidification in freshwater and marine areas. These monitoring data are important to understanding the causes of change and are used by DFO in studies to quantify the rate of change in freshwaters and marine waters inhabited by Pacific salmon.