Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP credits public pressure for the Liberal government’s change of heart on cutting ocean search and rescue services as well as educational programs that teach children how to be stewards of wild salmon.
“British Columbians depend on these programs and the proposed cuts were just wrong-headed,” Nathan Cullen said from Ottawa yesterday. “Good equipment, specialized staff and properly funded rescue programs save lives on the coast, it’s that simple. Cuts to these resources would have seriously impacted our B.C. coastal communities.”
The cuts reversal was announced at a meeting of the parliamentary Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans in Ottawa Thursday.
Cullen also acknowledged the rollback on proposed cuts to the Salmon Enhancement Program, which includes the popular Salmonids in the Classroom program the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans has funded in B.C .schools for 40 years to teach children to become aquatic stewards.
“This program is incredibly important in helping to teach children about the value of wild salmon to First Nations culture and to BC’s entire economy so that students can help protect our precious resource for future generations.”
