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Author Topic: So Much For The Cohen Report  (Read 6766 times)

Novabonker

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So Much For The Cohen Report
« on: January 16, 2014, 07:33:08 AM »

Is Harper that much of an idiot? Never mind, I know the answer. What happened to the recommendations of the Cohen report?

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/national/Canadian+federal+government+opens+door+more+fish+farms/9392417/story.html

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IronNoggin

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Re: So Much For The Cohen Report
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2014, 06:38:48 PM »

Zero Transparency (yet again) following on attempts to take the Cohen Inquiry offline and make it quietly "disappear". Little question remains at this point why they were conducting the latter. Not only SHELF the 26 million dollar (plus) Inquiry & Report, but then blatantly Ignore several of it's chief recommendations.

What depths are these Hooligans really prepared to sink to?
Apparently under this administration, Canada has placed a For Sale sign on pretty much any & everything...

Sadly...
Nog
« Last Edit: January 16, 2014, 06:40:50 PM by IronNoggin »
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dnibbles

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Re: So Much For The Cohen Report
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2014, 08:22:25 PM »

Yup, this one is quite the face palm. Take the highest profile recommendation from Cohen, and take action that completely disregards it.

It's one thing to semi-ignore many of the recommendations (although several are being implemented, despite popular belief), but to move in a direction 180 away from one of the key recs is retarded. Not overly surprising though.

Just wait nog, there's more of this garbage coming in the next couple of months. There is zero priority being given to salmon management in the Pacific from Ottawa. Pretty disheartening.
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purple monster

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Re: So Much For The Cohen Report
« Reply #3 on: January 17, 2014, 04:41:15 PM »

I'm worried that these new investments by the companies fall under Harper new Foreign investments Act, and that they become  a done deal forever.  Meaning that we will never be able to revoke these developments, unless the  Canadian public is prepared to pay up some court fees and damages, since there foreign ventures become fully protected and guarantee by the Government. ???  or please, correct me where I am wrong.   
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shuswapsteve

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Re: So Much For The Cohen Report
« Reply #4 on: January 18, 2014, 03:32:27 PM »

It doesn't paint a very positive picture when many of the Cohen recommendations are sitting in limbo (or shelved) and this proceeds.  I understand that Cohen was not pointing the finger solely at fish farms, but with other things coming down the pipe and then have this happen it is going to be very difficult for government to paint a glowing picture and try to sell it as progress towards addressing the recommendations.
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VAGAbond

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Re: So Much For The Cohen Report
« Reply #5 on: January 21, 2014, 12:36:42 PM »

Quote
I'm worried that these new investments by the companies fall under Harper new Foreign investments Act, and that they become  a done deal forever.  Meaning that we will never be able to revoke these developments, unless the  Canadian public is prepared to pay up some court fees and damages, since there foreign ventures become fully protected and guarantee by the Government

Yup.  Now we have NAFTA and pretty soon we will have an agreement with the Europeans and also the trans-pacific agreement.  It will be impossible to change regulations on anything without paying for lost profits from now until forever.

Same thing for the pipelines.

So much for sovereign government.
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shuswapsteve

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Re: So Much For The Cohen Report
« Reply #7 on: January 21, 2014, 10:24:21 PM »

Quote
Shea: In addition, Economic Action Plan 2013 included three major measures that are directly addressing Cohen Commission recommendations.  First, the Government committed $57.5 million over five years that will help bolster environmental protection in the aquaculture sector through science, enhanced regulatory regime and improved reporting.  Second, it contained a new program to support recreational fisheries conservation activities through partnerships with community groups.  Third, all revenue collected from the Salmon Conservation Stamp will be dedicated to the Pacific Salmon Foundation, which will mean approximately $1 million more in revenue every year to support the Foundation’s great work.

Reid: Well, no, putting $57.5 M into fish farms is not the same thing as addressing the Wild Salmon Policy, enhancement and habitat restoration for wild, native Pacific salmonids.

I actually agree with Reid's frustration (first time).  Those things that Shea mentioned are not necessarily bad, but it is not the same thing as addressing the Wild Salmon policy.  Folks out here saw quite a few changes over the past year with the department so I can definitely see the scepticism people like Reid and others can have with Shea's comments.

Quote
Also, you may recall that your own scientist, Kristi Miller, found the exotic disease, ISA, back to 1988 in Fraser sockeye and both ISA and HSMI, also an exotic Norwegian disease, in the Creative chinook farms – roughly 125,000 diseased fish per farm – in Clayoquot where your own estimate is only 501 wild chinook remaining in 6 streams. And didn’t they just win one of your ‘awards’ for being environmentally sustainable?

Not true.  Reid needs to read the Cohen Final Report for clarification on what was said and what was not said.  Miller found PRV - not HSMI.

Although they (Dr. Miller, Dr. Nylund, Dr. Kibenge and Nellie Gagne) did not agree on whether ISAv or an ISAv-like virus was present, all agreed that more research was necessary and that, whether ISAv is present or not, there had been no confirmation of ISA in any of the Pacific salmon tested by the time of the December hearings.  As stated in Volume 1, Chapter 9, Fish health management, I find that the evidence does not allow me to conclude whether ISAv or an ISAv-like virus currently exists in Fraser River sockeye. However, I accept the opinion of the expert panel (Dr. Kibenge, Dr. Nylund, Ms. Gagné, and Dr. Miller) that, as of December 2011, there was no evidence that fish tested for ISAv (the virus) suffered from ISA (the disease) as that disease was then understood. - Justice Bruce Cohen; Vol. 2, Ch. 4, pg. 60

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You will be aware that the Cohen evidence found an inability for DFO’s Moncton Lab, the CFIA and BC to find ISA disease. And now Miller and Riddell will be doing such work, which sounds good, but you have only allowed this with DFO, CFIA, and fish farms parsing the news releases. I’d say this is a ‘no’ as well.

The Moncton lab can find ISAv and ISA because they already detect it in farmed Atlantic Salmon in eastern Canada.  During the inquiry the methodology between the different labs was brought up which Reid has translated into "Moncton lab can't detect ISA" which is not true. Miller was using different methodology; however, these methods were also critiqued by Dr. Nylund.  The quote from Cohen tell exactly what the panel of experts thought about ISAv and ISA here in BC.  As for the Salmon Health Study, the proponents and the groups involved in this study have been clearly stated:

http://www.genomebc.ca/media/news-releases/2013/salmon-health-past-present-and-future/
http://www.salmonfarmers.org/bc-salmon-farmers-sign-transfer-agreement-genome-bc-study

Work like this is going to take collaboration, so he shouldn't start some sort of conspiracy before the study even starts; however, I can certainly understand his concern about "news releases" from governments. 
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IronNoggin

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Re: So Much For The Cohen Report
« Reply #8 on: February 08, 2014, 09:46:45 AM »

DFO Minister Shea spins about the Aquaculture situation and attempts to suggest her government actually has the best interests of wild salmonids foremost in their minds: http://www.courierislander.com/in-letter-to-campbell-river-newspaper-shea-says-dfo-supports-wild-and-farmed-fish-1.826730
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chris gadsden

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Re: So Much For The Cohen Report
« Reply #11 on: February 24, 2014, 06:33:05 PM »

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/groups+target+Harper+response+Cohen+Inquiry/9546180/story.html

And why do they use this file picture of a flossed sockeye each time in a fishing related news story? :-[

ynot

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Re: So Much For The Cohen Report
« Reply #12 on: March 01, 2014, 01:11:04 PM »

 to remind us that this is the year that maybe 70 million sockeye might return to the fraser river.
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Dave

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Re: So Much For The Cohen Report
« Reply #13 on: March 01, 2014, 05:21:42 PM »

to remind us that this is the year that maybe 70 million sockeye might return to the fraser river.
70 M ...  Wow, do you have links to this projection or are these your thoughts?
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ynot

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Re: So Much For The Cohen Report
« Reply #14 on: March 01, 2014, 08:39:02 PM »

from the sports fishing institute news letter.
First up, we are both pleased and a little amused by DFO’s latest pre-season forecast for this summer’s Fraser River Sockeye returns. According to the department, we can expect returns ranging from 7.3 million and 72 million with a median estimate of 23 million. If this indeed materializes, we could see some outstanding sockeye fishing on the marine approaches to the Fraser River as well as a very productive river-based fishery. That said, we are amused that DFO is once again proving the old axiom, that fisheries management is not rocket science, it is far more complicated than that!
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