Prime Minister Stephen Harper must believe in the saying of “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” in his agenda to push pipelines and more tankers on B.C. Otherwise, why would he be systematically destroying fisheries science?
He gutted the Fisheries Act, eliminated the world-class Marine Contaminants Lab at the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Pat Bay, transferred fisheries input from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to the National Energy Board on pipeline applications and closed libraries at DFO research facilities. Upcoming cuts to the DFO budget will target enforcement on illegal fishing (read: open season on poaching) and research. The list goes on.
I spent 32 years working as a fish-health technician at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo. I collected and analyzed data from all over B.C., including remote areas where Enbridge proposes its pipeline. I worked with hatcheries (both federal and community), scientists, veterinarians and volunteer groups to help preserve and protect our fish. Now I am beyond angry. To see the work of so many dedicated people trying to save our renewable fisheries resources sacrificed to the greed of Alberta and Ottawa is criminal.
Karen Mullen
Ladysmith
