BC salmon industry hoping for change after Trudeau decision to quit

Trudeau is thought to be the prime mover behind the decision to end open cage salmon farming in British Columbia – and he has not hidden his views.

 

He has been in power for almost a decade and it is thought his decision to go is due to his waning popularity and the state of the Canadian economy.

 

An independent report in November said such a move could cost the province’s salmon farmers at least CAN $9bn (around £5bn).

 

He was also told by US President-elect Donald Trump last month that Canadian exports to the US, including seafood, face the possibility of tariffs.

 

The industry said last night that the decision should spell an end to this controversial move.

 

Tim Kennedy, President and CEO of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance told the industry website SeaWest News that it was time for a reset, as he put it: “A reset to a government that makes sound science-based decisions for the good of all Canadians…a reset to a growing and thriving Canadian seafood sector.”

 

“Prime Minister Trudeau has been the leader of a government that has actively suppressed the production of farmed seafood in British Columbia” Kennedy added.

 

“The Liberal party needs to realize that their political attack on the B.C. salmon farming sector is symbolic of other extreme policies they have pursued that Canadians are fiercely rejecting.”

 

The BC Salmon Farmers Association and the individual companies that farm in the province have yet to comment but it is unlikely that they will want to get drawn into a political debate.

 

Three Norwegian companies, Mowi, Grieg and Cermaq, have large operations in the province and two of them said before yesterday’s resignation announcement, they were considering their position. That could now change.