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LETTER: Money wasted on fish farm court appeal

I witnessed Sooke basin’s farmed salmon in the early 1980s and it was a mess.

I would like to know why federal Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo wants to waste taxpayers’ money on the Liberal government’s decision to appeal last year’s ruling about preventing diseased  farmed salmon from being returned to the ocean.

This can hardly be a safe thing to do.

It is bad enough our wild salmon have to endure sharing their pristine environment with farmed Atlantic salmon. But diseased salmon? How can one even contemplate doing this?

Why not put the money the ministry will waste  in appealing the decision to good use? Invest in an unbiased study about salmon farming in our inlets. Listen to the people, we don’t want this.

I witnessed Sooke basin’s farmed salmon in the early 1980s and it was a  mess.  If we need farmed salmon, it is about time to do this with onshore pens where our wild stock remain safe.

I suppose many of the salmon farming documents were shredded or burned by our former government. I am 68 and have lost faith in the future because I have long lost faith in our leaders. They care nothing about the wishes of the everyday citizens of this country. The corporations win every time.

I had faith in Justin Trudeau, but now I am not sure.

Lynda Slater, Sooke