Dear sir,
The federal election provides us with the opportunity and the sense of urgency for everyone to get involved in the halibut issue.
With the use of political pressure we must force the Conservative Party to make a commitment to change their halibut policy during the campaign.
This year’s late opening and early closure has already impacted our lives.
The uncertainty of when the in-season closure will come is also causing problems. Nobody can make plans to fish halibut in August with certainty.
The precedent this halibut policy sets could be even more devastating - we fear that Canadians will suffer the privatizing of other marine resources in the near future.
The Kitimat Halibut Allocation Task Force, in concert with all the other BC Sport Fishing Coalition members, is launching a Halibut Petition Campaign during the election.
We are requesting everyone to get involved in the campaign. Please contact any Task Force member for the petition and poster. We would be happy to fax or e-mail you the petition. The petition will also be posted to our website where it can be downloaded. http://fightforhalibut.wordpress.com/
Step 1 - please print off the petition, collect 15 signatures and then fax it to Stephen Harper, Jack Layton, Michael Ignatieff and the Sports Fishing Institute (SFI).
Please also fax it to Nathan Cullen and Clay Harmon in Skeena. Fax numbers are provided on the petition. The more, the better!
Step 2 - please e-mail the poster and petition to all your family, friends and fishing partners in your contact list and stress the urgency for them to get involved.
The strength of the petition will be measured by the politicians by the total of signatures and the addresses of where the signatures originate.
Please also post this petition and poster on your Face Book page and share with your friends. If everyone does a small part, collectively we will make a big difference.
We the people of Canada own the halibut resource. We should not have to lease halibut quota from a commercial quota holder in order to fish for halibut after the in-season closure.
We each have a responsibility to defend our individual rights to this resource that the Conservative government has forgotten we collectively own.
As parents we have an inherent obligation to defend our children’s and grandchildren’s rights to fish for halibut and all other marine resources in the future.
Please join the Halibut Petition Campaign and stand with all Canadians to send a loud and clear message to the political party leaders that “we, the people, own the halibut resource!”.
Sincerely,
Ron Wakita,
Kitimat Halibut
Allocation Task Force.