Having just read the TC article about yesterday's event I just want to reflect on a few things here for you all. And Last Chance may forgive that I post this here but I thought since everyone else don't seem to bother anymore that we have different forums for different topics I will dare to cross the line this time too.
First of all the Times Colonist report was nowhere near on target. Very poor journalism. Having organized mass events myself and having been to numerous big events I can conservatively tell that the rally was attended by around 5,000 people. Government St was packed from Centennial Sq to the Parliament with several hundreds already waiting there. Biggest gathering ever for Wild Salmon issues. While that's pretty good I am very disappointed that only so few of you here did not find this topic important enough to make room on your personal schedule. I know quite a number of you here on SFBC in person and have seen only a few out there yesterday. I don't even want to know what was more important to you yesterday so you couldn't attend but I must say that this fact paints a grim picture of your priorities. If you feel that a day in the halibut derby or grandma's BBQ was more important than the fact that our wild salmon are in crisis and need our very attention then I am starting to lose faith in all of you! Again, you rely on a few to represent you and somehow make the miraculous change for the better for you too. Seems you don't get how democracy works and that it's up to ALL of us to demand change before anything will happen. I know that most of you here are generally concerned about the future of our wild salmon but you'd leave it rather to a few to figure out how to save them - rather than making some time in your busy lifes to do your part too. I will tell you again - this attitude and this complacency will have one inevitable result: our government will carry on as before and our BC rivers will look like the Cowichan already in a few years and like the european rivers a few more years later - salmon gone! This rally was way more than just a call against net pen fish farms - it was a wake up call to both our government levels to start taking wild salmon seriously and to show them that WE CARE! Obviously a good number of you DON'T CARE, judging by your non-attentance! You all can scream very loudly (I have heard it at several SFAB meetings when DFO had new bad news for your fishing season) when it affects you personally but you are unwilling to fight the general fight that needs to be won. Wake up people, that's not gonna work like that!
The natives, who you so often blame for a lot, were out in full force yesterday and they showed that they care! Maybe they DO care a lot more than YOU for salmon!? And maybe therefore they DO deserve a way bigger chunk of the pie and maybe - that's what I am starting to think now - maybe they do deserve the control over the resource!? At least they don't think that a minor business trip up island was more important yesterday that sending a strong message to Ottawa and our provincial government. Think about that next time you blow off when you hear natives netting the rivers while you are closed by DFO. Maybe you just don't deserve better in return for your complacency. Wake up or learn how to golf!
Finished but not sorry for my rant!
First of all the Times Colonist report was nowhere near on target. Very poor journalism. Having organized mass events myself and having been to numerous big events I can conservatively tell that the rally was attended by around 5,000 people. Government St was packed from Centennial Sq to the Parliament with several hundreds already waiting there. Biggest gathering ever for Wild Salmon issues. While that's pretty good I am very disappointed that only so few of you here did not find this topic important enough to make room on your personal schedule. I know quite a number of you here on SFBC in person and have seen only a few out there yesterday. I don't even want to know what was more important to you yesterday so you couldn't attend but I must say that this fact paints a grim picture of your priorities. If you feel that a day in the halibut derby or grandma's BBQ was more important than the fact that our wild salmon are in crisis and need our very attention then I am starting to lose faith in all of you! Again, you rely on a few to represent you and somehow make the miraculous change for the better for you too. Seems you don't get how democracy works and that it's up to ALL of us to demand change before anything will happen. I know that most of you here are generally concerned about the future of our wild salmon but you'd leave it rather to a few to figure out how to save them - rather than making some time in your busy lifes to do your part too. I will tell you again - this attitude and this complacency will have one inevitable result: our government will carry on as before and our BC rivers will look like the Cowichan already in a few years and like the european rivers a few more years later - salmon gone! This rally was way more than just a call against net pen fish farms - it was a wake up call to both our government levels to start taking wild salmon seriously and to show them that WE CARE! Obviously a good number of you DON'T CARE, judging by your non-attentance! You all can scream very loudly (I have heard it at several SFAB meetings when DFO had new bad news for your fishing season) when it affects you personally but you are unwilling to fight the general fight that needs to be won. Wake up people, that's not gonna work like that!
The natives, who you so often blame for a lot, were out in full force yesterday and they showed that they care! Maybe they DO care a lot more than YOU for salmon!? And maybe therefore they DO deserve a way bigger chunk of the pie and maybe - that's what I am starting to think now - maybe they do deserve the control over the resource!? At least they don't think that a minor business trip up island was more important yesterday that sending a strong message to Ottawa and our provincial government. Think about that next time you blow off when you hear natives netting the rivers while you are closed by DFO. Maybe you just don't deserve better in return for your complacency. Wake up or learn how to golf!
Finished but not sorry for my rant!
)] What an ignorant statement
