“That’s what makes the policy special,” he says. “It’s not just empty verbiage; it has some actual meat to it.” Or, it’s supposed to.

In the 12 years since the policy was finalized, very little has actually been done. The biggest issue has been a lack of monitoring of salmon populations, says Hill. In recent years, funding for salmon monitoring has been slashed repeatedly. An independent performance review in 2011 and the Cohen Commission’s inquiry into Fraser River sockeye salmon in 2012 both pushed for the policy’s implementation—to no effect.