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FLOODING A THREAT TO SALMON POPULATION
GRACE GIESBRECHT
WHAT THE HONK IS QUESTION PERIOD? EMMA DYKSTRA
If you have ever seen a clip of someone in the Canadian House of Commons standing up and yelling at someone across the room, chances are that footage was taken from a session of Question Period in the House. There is a lot of shouting and it may seem like madness, but Question Period is actually an important part of Canadian democracy. During Question Period, which takes place every day the House “sits,” Members of Parliament (MPs) have a chance to take a verbal punch at those who hold power. According to Our Procedure, the set of rules that governs procedure in the House of Commons, “The primary purpose of Question Period is to seek information from the Government and to call it to account for its actions.” This period lasts about 45 minutes. MPs have the opportunity to pose questions to the Prime Minister, or any of their cabinet members, about policies and actions in place. These questions often contain light insults designed to call the government out on its misdeeds. The Cabinet responds (or at least tries to) accordingly. One person stands between Question Period and total chaos: the Speaker of the House. Among other functions outside of Question Period, they serve to calm down any ruckus, make sure those who are posing or responding to questions stay within their time limit, and generally preside over other goings-on within the House. Question Period is open to viewing by visitors from the gallery, and it can be viewed online, as well. To watch it is to witness democracy at work. Question Period might seem boring, but it is actually an exciting tradition. The fact that we as Canadian citizens have access to a 45 minute session of government heckling is kind of neat. If you are ever in Ottawa or are really bored and want to watch it online, you might be surprised at how entertained you are.
McMillan Lake on Trinity Western University’s (TWU) campus is not considered an environmental blight by the average student. The body of water known lovingly on campus as “the pond” plays a key part in campus culture: new couples tour awkwardly around its edges and new students flounder into its strong-smelling shallows. But underneath its surface, the pond is a problem. Non-native species of fish introduced to McMillan Lake have thrived for years in their new habitat. Natalie Ross, Environmental Studies Department Worker at TWU, explains that it “pos[es] a problem for the surrounding ecosystem.” Aggressive and dangerous to the native flora and fauna, the fishes thrive both in the pond and in the waterways surrounding it, when they can reach them. Recent flooding has caused a plethora of issues in the Greater Vancouver Area, from landslides and avalanches to burst pipes and flooded roads. But, around TWU, the hidden environmental impacts of this flood lie in the infiltration of non-native fish from McMillan Lake through floodwaters into the Salmon River. The extreme precipitation behind the flooding is attributed to an atmospheric river, which forms a narrow moisture corridor and causes heavy rain (or snow, in higher elevations) when it meets land, according to Environment Canada. A Pineapple Express is an atmospheric river that forms over Hawaii and moves across the ocean to North America’s west coast. Our recent downpour is a common example of this recurrent phenomenon. As climate change continues, these storms are expected to come more often and stay longer. In the final week of January, 2020, the Pineapple Express that hit Canada’s southwest coast caused major flooding. Measurements of rain collected by Environment and Climate Change Canada range from 55 millimetres at Vancouver International Airport to 138 millimetres at Pitt Meadows. Abbotsford area received 119 millimetres over the three days of downpour. Environment Canada states that these measurements are not yet official figures. Those 119 millimetres of rain caused the water level of McMillan Lake to rise and flood the riparian zone between the pond
and the Salmon River, according to Ross. As floodwaters rise, the invasive fishes (pumpkinseed sunfish and largemouth bass) leave the pond for the Salmon River. “Salmon are a keystone species within this ecosystem” Ross explains, “and the Salmon River is very important for providing a habitat and spawning area for the salmon population.” But the invasive fish are aggressive, taking over the habitat, attacking the salmon themselves, and establishing themselves “not only in the pond, but in the river.” The “invasion” was recognized in full in 2008, when a summer student netted large numbers of both pumpkinseed sunfish and largemouth bass in McMillan Lake. After that discovery, David Clements, TWU professor of Environmental Studies and Biology, writing for the Langley Advance, describes a situation in which the BC Ministry of Environment advised TWU to remove the threat of invasive fish. He discusses similar concerns to those of Ross, particularly that juvenile salmon will be exposed to the “marauding bass” from the pond at high water. Clements goes on to describe an electrofishing campaign in July, 2013. By sending electric currents through the pond, he and his team were able to stun and collect 579 fish. Only 10 of these were native species. Though the electrofishing was successful, it was not the end of the line. Rather, it illustrated the severity of the invasion. Ross explains that “it was never [expected] that these introduced fish would be able to withstand the cold temperatures of winter, or be able to swim upstream.” But they have adapted. Though natural predators for the fish exist (Ross mentions river otters), “they will probably never make a dent in [the invasive fish] population.” Flooding causes both obvious issues, such as those reported by municipalities up and down the coast during the atmospheric river, and subtle threats like the transfer of invasive species into delicate habitats. Ross’s understanding of the situation in McMillan Lake mirrors this subtlety. The place in the ecosystem of the salmon in the Salmon River, and in many other places like it on BC’s coastline, is precarious, but vital. It is crucial then, Ross says, to keep invasive species away from such systems. It can cause many hidden, but impactful, problems.