We began the day at the Kingfisher Interpretive center on the lower Shuswap. There we met salmon hero Neil Brooks. Green Party candidate Greig Crocket was there and together we went down by the river. The weather was on/off snowy and very cold with deep drifts of snow all around. Crocket is a strong salmon supporter.
We went on to the Splatsin cultural center, where we were greeted by the president, Lawrence and Deanna Leon-Cook and elders. They presented us with a beautiful basket and sang an ancient song that wishes the salmon to sea and that they hope to see them in four years. I was thrilled to hear this song as I have been searching for it. For several years I have led people in a ceremony of my own making wherein we lay our hands on the water and wish the young salmon safe passage to sea and back to us. As the elders sang they moved their hands in the motion of a swimming salmon. It was very beautiful.
Conservative candidate Colin Mayes doesn’t seem to have a website so we went to the information centre to find his campaign office in Salmon Arm. We found it in the Mall next to Safeway. There were three gentlemen there. One very enthusiastically told us that Colin has done a lot research into where the people fighting salmon farms get their funding. He said “those people are highly subsidized by the Alaskans.” I asked him which groups exactly had received funding from Alaska, he said he would get Colin to let us know.
This is an often repeated myth perpetuated by an ex-salmon farm employee. It is often aimed at me it is not true and I was interested to hear it again, but this time attributed to an MP. I left our questions with them and also look forward to hearing exactly which groups have been funded by the Alaskans. Apparently Colin is going to be at the All Candidates meeting in Enderby at the Senior Center on the 27th at 6:45pm. If anyone reading this can attend please ask Colin Mayes if he will stand for wild salmon and remove salmon farms from BC waters this time – if he is re-elected.
Right across the hall was the NDP office, and there sat three other guys. It looked like a stand off! They took my questions and said Nikki Inouye would get back to me.
We picked up my now repaired car and headed to Kamloops. We got an appointment with the Conservative candidate MP Cathy MacLeod. This was our first chance to speak with a conservative. I was disappointed when she told us she couldn’t say anything, only listen, but I applaud her for doing so. Senator Nancy Greene joined us. I told them about the Salmon Leukemia virus that DFO is keeping secret and how DFO won’t let scientists search for it’s source in the Norweigan Atlantic salmon. I told them the Minister of Fisheries refused to acknowledge that viruses are spreading in Atlantic salmon eggs and allowed over a million into BC during her reign (which is hopefully over). I told them salmon feedlots will be an embarrassment to any political party caught holding them. She said she would get back to me.
This makes for quite a list of Conservatives and Liberals who said they would get back to me: John Duncan (Con), Andrew Saxton (Con), Paul Forseth (Con), Joyce Murray (Lib), Mark Strahl (Con), Wendy Yuan (Lib), Murray Todd (Lib), Garth Evans (Lib). For the NDP I am waiting to hear from are Nikki Inouye.
