One week into my my VoteSalmon.ca expedition to find out which candidates have what it takes to stand up for wild salmon and I feel like the tide is changing!
Today, Fin Donnelly (New Westminster-Coquitlam) and Peter Julian (Burnaby-New Westminster) asked me to stand with them in support at a press conference at the Discovery Center. Fin is a salmon warrior - he has swum the Fraser River twice! And is building leaders taking youth on confidence-building trips down the river in canoes every summer. Peter and I have talked many times about salmon. He looks at the issue in depth. I was very happy to support both of these men, I have no doubt they will continue to serve Canada with integrity and intelligence. They strongly support wild salmon and removal of salmon farms from the ocean!
Then we met Green candidate Bernadette Keenan for Surrey North. Bernadette is not an electable candidate but she led us on a fascinating trip through her riding following lost rivers. She took us to the beach - a stretch of waterfront people gravitate to that is so degraded it was sad. The people of this area are fighting a freeway that wants to run through their neighbourhood, the Delta perimeter road. We met Tom Jaugelis with Stopthepave.org who is trying to protect Mcadam Creek as he puts it "they spend millions restoring the headwaters and billions destroying its mouth." I admire these people taking a stand for their home. As the salmon go so go the people.
We stopped into Dona Cadman's (Surrey North). Dona was not there, so we left our questions.
Next we had a real surprise. For the first few days Conservatives would not meet with us. Then I met a string of them that would or could not say if they supported wild salmon, but today I met Kerry-lynne Findlay (Delta-Richmond East) who said she would support moving the salmon farms into closed tanks, that DFO must rigorously protect wild salmon and that we can't have aquaculture to the detriment of wild salmon. She is replacing the long term MP Conservative John Cummins, who also opposed salmon farms. It did not feel like I was speaking to a Conservative!
