Feds’ ‘radio silence’ on fish-farm ban undermining trust, economic reconciliation, say wild salmon and aquaculture advocates

Both sides of B.C.'s salmon aquaculture dispute are demanding answers from Ottawa about Prime Minister Mark Carney's commitment to his predecessor's 2029 open-net pen farming ban.

Tlowitsis First Nation's Dallas Smith, spokesperson for the First Nations Finfish Stewardship Coalition, centre, says the government's 2024 announcement of the phase-out of open-net pen salmon farms has frozen roughly $500-million in new foreign direct investment in rural and remote coastal communities.The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

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BY STUART BENSON

May 6, 2026

Indigenous leaders on both sides of British Columbia’s salmon farm fight are intensifying calls for Ottawa to provide answers on the future of the industry ahead of the planned 2029 phase-out of open-net pen salmon farms. But after a double delegation to Ottawa last week, ...

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