From 1890 to 1900, the number of salmon canneries on the Fraser River has been on the rise as has the competition amongst the canners. They have all dealt with work stoppages over fish prices and working conditions for many years. And in anticipation of a peak fishing year in 1901, the canneries have come together to create the Fraser River Canners Association aiming to set a standard price for fish and to regulate the number of boats on the river.

With a labour force made up of white, Native, Chinese and Japanese workers (some of whom are women and children), the fishery workers may not always have shared interests. They compete with each other on the fishing grounds for a limited resource. A recently organized union began negotiations and voted to demand twenty-five cents per fish with support from the Native fishermen and the Japanese Fishermen's Benevolent Society (which was set up a few months earlier).

As they depend on the canners for seasonal food and shelter, the Japanese have wanted a quick settlement of the dispute. When they agreed to a less favourable final offer on July 22, the canners requested military protection and were refused by the federal and provincial governments. Yet the militia were called out by the signatures of three justices of the peace (and please note, dear readers, that one is a cannery owner and one is a cannery foreman). We look forward to a quick and peaceful settlement of this dispute to be overseen by our very own "Sockeye Fusiliers" (so dubbed by the union fishermen).