Support Bill C-518, Support Wild Salmon

By Thea Block

The Wild Salmon of Canada need our support. We have done a great job closing the distance to a future were we have Wild Salmon thriving in Canadian waters like they have done before. The lawsuit making the regulation of Fisheries and Oceans a Federal issue was a great step. The "Get Out Migration” led by Alexandra Morton is another great step.

I am writing to tell you of yet another great step that is closing the gap to a great future for the Wild Salmon. I want to tell you what needs to be done to complete this next step.

 

This is My Story

In the fall of 2009 I entered the Create Your Canada contest. Create Your Canada was set up by Denise Savoie and her office. It allowed interested students to submit a draft bill on a federal issue. I was thrilled because the winning idea would be introduced in Parliament. My bill proposed that all fish farms should be moved out of Canadian water and into closed containment facilities with support for the workers of this industry. I then submitted my idea and waited.

This spring I was thrilled to find out that I had won the contest and that Parliament would consider supporting the preservation of Wild Salmon, something I have always felt strongly about. I think this is because my Dad is a commercial Wild Salmon fisher and so Wild Salmon have also been a huge part of my life. I have been brought up aware of the issues Wild Salmon are facing because of us.

I went to the House of Commons and was present when Fin Donnelly, the Fisheries and Oceans critic introduced my bill into Parliament. The bill is now known as 518. It is in the system but will not be revisited until an undefined time in the future. It could take a year or more before it is revisited by Parliament, unless we the people, the voters show our government what we want.

We have a bill in Parliament that supports the Wild Salmon! This is a great step forward but support is needed. The Members of Parliament need to know how important the Wild Salmon are to life so they can make laws accordingly. Bill 518 is just at the introduction stage and we the people need to convince them that it is a bill we want passed. They need to hear from their electorates. Now is the time, we don’t have forever, so show your support!

Show your support for preserving the Wild Salmon stocks of Canada by doing two things. First by signing the petition. Secondly by writing or emailing your MP showing your support of bill 518. Be sure to send a copy to Denise Savoie and Fin Donnelly as well so they can have an idea of the support. This is the time; we must demand change of our government before it is to late. Show your support; take time for the things you care about.

Support Bill C-518

SUMMARY: This enactment amends the Fisheries Act to require that, within 5 years from the date on which the Act comes into force, finfish aquaculture, for commercial purposes, be carried out in closed containment facilities. It also requires the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to prepare, table in the House and implement a plan to support the transition to the use of closed containment facilities and to protect the jobs and financial security of workers in that sector.

Le texte modifie la Loi sur les pêches afin d’exiger que, dans les cinq ans suivant l’entrée en vigueur de la présente loi, l’aquaculture de poissons a nageoires a des fins commerciales soit pratiquée en parcs clos. En outre, il oblige le ministre des Pèches et des Océans a établir, a déposer a la Chambre des communes et a mettre en œuvre un plan visant a appuyer la transition vers l’utilisation de parcs clos et a protéger les emplois et la sécurité financière des travailleurs du secteur visé.

To support the bill, write to:

* Your MP. See here to search for their addresses by postal code OR 
Send your MP a postcard telling them you want bill C-518. The postcard will be sent first to West Coast Fisheries Critic MP Fin Donnelly (who brought C-518 forward), and he will distribute them to your MP based on the postal code you provide in the fall of 2010.

* Denise Savoie
House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario
ON K1A 0A6
Email: Savoie.D@parl.gc.ca

* Fin Donnelly
House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario
ON
K1A 0A6
Email: Donnelly.F@parl.gc.ca

* Fisheries Minister Gail Shea

House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Email: Shea.G@parl.gc.ca