Citizens' inquiry to examine salmon farming in British Columbia

September 6, 2001 - VANCOUVER - British Columbians will finally have the opportunity to make their views known about the province’s salmon aquaculture industry when a Citizens’ Inquiry begins on October 1, Jim Fulton, executive director of the David Suzuki Foundation, said today.

The Leggatt Inquiry into Salmon Farming in British Columbia will be headed by former BC Supreme Court justice Stuart Leggatt and will be completely independent from the Foundation.

“For years, citizens from all walks of life have asked the federal and provincial governments to hold hearings into the environmental and economic effects of the netcage aquaculture industry in BC,” Mr. Fulton said. “This year Canada’s Auditor General and the Senate Fisheries Committee have also said that a full assessment of the industry here is needed, but to date there’s been no action from the federal or provincial governments.”

Because BC’s new provincial government has indicated it favours lifting the moratorium on industry expansion if all environmental concerns are addressed, the Foundation believes the public deserves to be heard on this critical issue, Mr. Fulton said.

“We are taking the extraordinary step of raising funds to do the work that government should be doing. And to ensure independence and encourage people on all sides of the issue to be heard, we have asked a former justice of our Supreme Court to run the inquiry.

“The David Suzuki Foundation will have no other role in this inquiry except to present information as all other organizations and individuals are encouraged to do.”

Judge Leggatt says he hopes to hear testimony representing all points of view on the industry.

“From the outset, I would like to make clear that this is not simply an environmental inquiry. I hope to hear from those who support and oppose the industry so that British Columbians can make up their own minds about how salmon farming should operate here,” Commissioner Leggatt said.

"I don't prejudge the issue of aquaculture. But from commentary I have read and heard, I believe it is one that deserves more public attention than it has received."

The Leggatt Inquiry will begin October 1st with public hearings in Clayoquot Sound, and then move to Port Hardy on October 3rd, Alert Bay on October 4th and Campbell River on Oct. 5th. The hearings will resume after Thanksgiving in Vancouver for four days, October 9th to 12th.

Judge Leggatt requests that oral presentations from interested individuals not exceed 15 minutes. However, those with particular expertise - scientific, cultural and environmental - may be granted more time as needed. Written submissions will be accepted until October 12th, the final day of in-person testimony.

“I want to hear from as many people as possible. Therefore, I ask those testifying to keep their presentations concise,” he said, adding that transcripts of testimony will be available at www.leggattinquiry.com.

Judge Leggatt brings significant legal and public policy expertise to this position, including running a public inquiry.

In 1984, he conducted a federal inquiry into the status of habitual criminals in Canada. He served as a judge for seventeen years in the County Court of Vancouver and the Supreme Court of British Columbia, and also has been an elected member of Canada’s Parliament and the British Columbia Legislature.

“We are confident that someone of Judge Leggatt’s stature, and who has served British Columbians so ably throughout his career, will deliver a fair and factual report on how British Columbians and other concerned individuals think this industry should operate here,” Mr. Fulton said.

Since retiring from the BC Supreme Court in 2000, Judge Leggatt has been active in several public interest functions. He serves as the ethics commissioner for the
Vancouver-Whistler bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics, a public interest member of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada, an adjudicator for the BC Police Complaints Commission and co-chair of a federal review board of prisoners in isolation. He is also a director of the Arts Club Theatre in Vancouver.

“I am eager to hear from British Columbians and others with an interest in salmon aquaculture here, and I believe the findings of this inquiry can contribute significantly to decision-making about how the industry should proceed,” Judge Leggatt said.


For more information and to arrange interviews, please contact Jean Kavanagh, David Suzuki Foundation, 604-732-4228, 604-723-2911 cell, or Sid Tafler, The Leggatt Inquiry, 604-721-9332.
The Inquiry website can be found at www.leggattinquiry.com.

The Auditor General’s report on salmon farming in BC is found at: http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/domino/reports.nsf/html/0030ce.html
The Senate Committee report is found at: http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/com-E/rep-E.htm