Stand Up for the Backbone of BC's Coast

May 4th, 2010 8:30 AM

Stand Up for the Backbone of BC's Coast Show some spine, Mr Campbell, by showing up on May 8 in Victoria Snaw-Naw-As, May 4th, 2010 - The Premier of British Columbia was today challenged to stand up for B.C.'s premiere wilderness tourism business economy and #1 icon: Pacific wild salmon. In a letter sent today (May 4) to Gordon Campbell, Alexandra Morton made a personal plea for the B.C. Government to put wild salmon first and join her on the steps of the B.C. Parliament in Victoria on Saturday May 8 [1]. "The Liberal Provincial Government is out of touch with the people and appears to be cravenly kowtowing to Norwegian companies farming Atlantic salmon in B.C.'s pristine Pacific waters," said Alexandra Morton, who is today walking from Nanoose to Nanaimo on The Get Out Migration. "There is no defensible reason open net cages should be on the Fraser sockeye migration route. The public are standing together shoulder to shoulder - First Nations, fishermen, wilderness tourism businesses and coastal communities telling Ottawa that wild salmon must come first. We must not be treated like second-class citizens. Mr. Campbell - wild salmon must not be traded away by government like the cod on the East coast of Canada. We therefore challenge the Premier of B.C. to stand up for wild salmon, start buying back the salmon farm leases and join us in Victoria on May 8." "Wild salmon are the backbone of the B.C. coast and we welcome those businesses and communities who depend upon healthy wild salmon returns to support the Get Out Migration," said Anissa Reed of Ocean Aura Design. "But it's not enough for people to say they are behind us on this vital issue, everyone who wants wild salmon must stand beside us and walk with us to Victoria. Please show your backbone Gordon Campbell by standing up for wild salmon and speaking on the steps of the B.C. Parliament on May 8." "I am walking to Victoria for the tens of thousands of jobs wilderness tourism and wild salmon provides to the B.C. economy," said Quoashinis Lawson who is walking with her 11 year old daughter Laterra and mother Suzanne. "Families up and down B.C.s coast depend upon wild salmon and we must make it clear to Ottawa that we will not bend over backwards to accommodate open net cage salmon farms." The Get Out Migration leaves Snaw-Naw-As this morning for a Noon event at Costco on the Island Highway in Nanaimo before a 4pm rally at Maffeo Sutton Park in Nanaimo and then a 7pm event on Gabriola Island. For more details on 'The Get Out Migration' please visit: www.salmonaresacred.org Contact: Don Staniford: 250 230 1172 Notes to Editors: [1] Letter available online via: www.salmonaresacred.org