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June 21, 2010
Dear friends of wild salmon,
Has it already been that long? The hugely successful Get Out Migration that ended with record breaking numbers turning out to the legislature is already a full month behind us. It seems we’ve fallen a bit behind in catching up with you, so our apologies. Now that we’ve taken a breather, here’s your update and a quick action you can do to help save our salmon!
- Graham
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Captain Kirk and Bill C-518
Bill C-518 is an act of political leadership -- details of the bill below -- that we hope you'll take a moment to support by sending a quick email or snail mail letter. This background is adapted from an article on MP Fin Donnelly's website.
William Shatner has thrown his support behind NDP Fisheries and Oceans Critic Fin Donnelly's efforts to save British Columbia’s wild salmon.
"I love West Coast wild salmon, they are part of the Canadian fabric, but they are in serious trouble – they face many threats, the latest being sea lice from fish farms," says Shatner. "The Federal government can't continue to ignore the plight of wild salmon. We must do everything possible to ensure that these magnificent creatures are protected, and Fin Donnelly’s Bill will help do that."
"I am thrilled that Mr. Shatner has joined us on our campaign," said Fin Donnelly. "It demonstrates the critical mass that is building for the federal government to finally step up after years of neglect and deal with these threats to wild salmon before it is too late."
Bill C-518 would require the federal Fisheries Minister to develop, table and implement a plan that would ensure fish farm operations on BC's west coast transition to closed containment systems. This would mean that all salmon fish waste, excess fish food, and parasites, like sea lice would remain inside a solid barrier and not pollute wild salmon habitat.
"This is the first practical step that the Federal government can do protect one of the most valuable wild fisheries left on earth," said biologist Alexandra Morton, "I applaud William Shatner for his support of Fin Donnelly's astute leadership on this issue.”
Please join us in writing your own letter of support for Bill C-518 to your MP as well as the following:
Gail Shea, MP, Federal Fisheries & Oceans Minister (Shea.G@parl.gc.ca)
Gordon Campbell, Premier of British Columbia (premier@gov.bc.ca)
Stephen Harper, Prime Minister, (Harper.S@parl.gc.ca)
Gerry Byrne, MP, Liberal Opposition Critic for Fisheries & Oceans (Byrne.G@parl.gc.ca)
Raynald Blais, MP, Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine (Blais.R@parl.gc.ca)
Denise Savoie, MP, Victoria (Savoie.D@parl.gc.ca)
Christian Paradis, MP, Minister of Natural Resources (Paradis.C@parl.gc.ca)
Jim Prentice, MP, Environment Minister (Prentice.J@parl.gc.ca)
Chuck Strahl, MP, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Ottawa, (Strahl.C@parl.gc.ca)
Fin Donnelly, MP, NDP Westcoast Fisheries Critic (Donnelly.F@parl.gc.ca)
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A few words about the Migration
 The biggest environmental rally in BC's history!
Hello salmon people,
The "Get Out" Migration organized this spring by Alexandra Morton and many, many volunteers was a huge success. Alexandra made her way on foot and by paddle 500 km from Sointula to Victoria. As she got closer, the crowds grew, and by the time she reached the Legislature in Victoria's harbour, somewhere between 5000 and 7000 people gathered on the lawn to demand that salmon farms be removed from BC waters.
My wife Michele and I took the ferry from Vancouver that day and joined one of the last portions of the march, walking at one point alongside a canoe paddled from Hope to Sidney – down the Fraser and across the Strait of Georgia -- by Elena Edwards (and, among others, the Wild Salmon Circle's own Graham Girard). It was a beautiful day for a citizen uprising. The march stretched for over a kilometre at certain points, and ferry traffic was backed up for miles. This was, I've heard, the largest environmental rally in the history of BC, and likely Canada.
 Kudos to the Victoria police for a job well done in professionally and politely directing traffic and keeping everybody safe.
At the rally, Arthur Black -- of CBC's "Basic Black" fame -- emceed speeches by Alexandra, Chief Darren Blaney, MP Fin Donnelly, Rafe Mair, Vicky Husband, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, Brian Gunn of the BC Wilderness Tourism Association, Chief Bob Chamberlin and many others. Lauren Hornor of Fraser Riverkeeper and I announced the launch of Stand Up for Pacific Salmon (SUPS), a consumer campaign aimed at getting supermarkets across North America to drop farmed salmon from their shelves. (If you'd like more information on SUPS, send us an email at wildsalmoncircle (at) gmail.com.)
It was an incredible day. Media coverage after the event was slim and sloppy -- the Times Colonist lowballed attendance at the rally at "nearly 1000" based on random guesswork. (See Ivan Doumenc's excellent blog post for an example of ordinary people doing journalists' jobs for them).
But Alexandra, volunteers from WSC, the Wilderness Committee and other groups, and salmon citizens from all walks of life made history on May 8th. And we're going to keep up the momentum -- as you'll see below.
- Tyee
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End of summer plans
Stay tuned next month for news about another history-making event (or two) for wild salmon that may be happening near the end of August or early September.
In the mean time, the Wild Salmon Circle is about enabling you to take action to save wild salmon. Let us know what we can do help in this regard! If you’re interested in organizing something – perhaps a small community gathering – or helping out otherwise, we – and the salmon – could use your help!! Drop us a line.
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Protect the Salmon to Protect the Orcas
 Last Hearing June 22
On June 15, 16, 17, 18 and 22, Georgia Strait Alliance, along with 8 other environmental groups, represented by Ecojustice, will be back in court fighting for meaningful and needed protection for our endangered southern resident killer whales.
In the past 4 years, these groups have pushed the federal government to identify the habitat critical to the survival of our orcas, and now they are asking that they not only protect geophysical features, but also the salmon they rely on, and their need for quiet and clean waters. Your presence in the court room on any one of these days will show the judge that this isn’t only about the concerns of a few environmental groups but of all citizens of this region.
Please join us in our fight to protect the orca. The venue is the Federal Courthouse in Vancouver, 3rd Floor, IBM Building, 701 West Georgia St (at Granville). If you do plan to attend, note that courtroom etiquette must be followed (learn more here), including being quiet as you enter and leave the room.
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