Once again Monday, Agricultural Minister Lana Popham was accused of intimidation in her handling of a dispute over fish farming off the north coast of Vancouver Island.
Last week it came out that Popham served written notice to Marine Harvest Canada, the company at the heart of the dispute, that it could lose its operating tenures when they expire next June.
She linked the threat to a request that the company cease restocking one of its fish farms and said it should begin living up to its obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), lately endorsed by the NDP.
Then Friday it was reported that First Nations in the area were demanding the head of the senior fish pathologist in Popham’s ministry, Dr. Gary Marty.
Vaughn Palmer – Vancouver Sun – October 23, 2017.