A message from "Safe Salmon"
https://www.safesalmon.ca/
My name is Paul, and I’ve been one of the people working on Safe Salmon for the last couple of years.
I’m born and raised in BC, and wild salmon have been close to my heart since childhood, when school field trips to the Adams River sockeye run filled us with awe, and the Secwépemc/Shuswap people taught us about salmon as food security, culture and identity.
Thanks to you and thousands of other British Columbians like you, Safe Salmon has become one of the most powerful communities of wild salmon defenders in Canada.
At key decision points, Safe Salmon has flooded the phone lines and email inboxes of our elected politicians with thousands upon thousands of calls and emails, letting them know exactly how we feel about the viruses and parasites being spread by the predatory factory fish industry.
You helped remove factory fish farms from key wild salmon migration routes in the Broughton Archipelago.
You helped lay the groundwork for the 2019 Liberal platform promise to get all factory fish farms out of our waters by 2025.
And when it looked like the Prime Minister’s Office was about to ‘forget’ to include the election promise in the new Fisheries Minister’s mandate letter,
you bombarded the Prime Minister’s office with nearly 1000 phone calls in 24 hours, letting them know we were watching their every move.
So, like you, I was saddened (and in fact furious) when a few weeks ago it looked like Fisheries Minister Jordan planned to shamelessly break the election promise to get factory fish farms out by 2025.
I was even madder with the Fisheries Minister’s excuse that “we said we’d make a plan by 2025, not get rid of the farms by 2025.”
Wrong. That is NOT what the government promised. And this is exactly the kind of cynical move that has eroded Canadians’ trust in our politicians.
So, here’s the good news: After getting hammered by angry calls and emails from people like you, we’re starting to get wind that the government is feeling the heat, and might actually keep its promise to get factory fish farms out of our waters by 2025.
Great to hear, but we’ll believe it when we see it. The Fisheries Minister is still silent, and these virus factories should be gone like yesterday, so we're not celebrating just yet.
But if this is true, then it’s still a huge step in the right direction, and it’s only because of your tireless advocacy that we have made it this far together. Thank you.
Still with me? The COVID crisis has been a scary and difficult time for all of us. A lot of Canadians are getting sick and many could lose loved ones by the time this thing is over. But our health and frontline workers are doing a heroic job keeping us safe, and I’ve never been more grateful to be Canadian.
This crisis is also causing real economic damage. I know our household budgets are tight right now. I know mine is. Almost 1 in 4 working Canadians applied for emergency benefits in the last month.
COVID is also impacting Safe Salmon. I’m sorry to say it, but this means Safe Salmon may have to shut down if we can’t find funding to keep the lights on. The factory fish industry would love nothing more than to see Safe Salmon sink.
But together we are mighty, and we’ve built Safe Salmon to be a very efficient campaign. Our cost to stay afloat is a total of only $500/month. This means if 100 of you reading this email each chip in
$5/month, then we keep Safe Salmon up and running and growing and fighting for wild salmon.
Many of you have already donated to Safe Salmon, and we (and the wild salmon) are deeply grateful for what you have helped build. Your support has helped us reach nearly a million people and hammer the politicians and bureaucrats with thousands of letters, emails, and phone calls.
Together, we’ve become a real force for good. And with your support, we will continue to be.
Please chip in $5/month and keep Safe Salmon afloat.
It’s almost like a wild salmon insurance policy for our kids and grandkids.
Thank you,
Paul, for the Safe Salmon team
PS. We are planning to mail a super cool Safe Salmon sticker to everyone who chips in!
Thank you!