Alexandra Morton

It’s been brought to my attention that the Vancouver Sun recently ran a story called “Women of Influence” and notable by her absence was Alexandra Morton, the tireless fighter against fish farms and for the protection of our wild salmon.

I’m not going to replay all of Alex’s achievements because even with the biases of the crumbling Canwest empire, she’s known to the people that count as the most influential woman in BC and has been for more than a decade.

She has taken her fight throughout BC and in the place where they plot the destruction of our fish, Norway. She has marched and paddled throughout the province and done it all on a shoestring.

Originally from the US, Alex came to BC and her beloved Broughton Archipelago to watch Killer Whales. She fell in love with a Canadian whale watcher and married here. She was put to a test few of us could endure – her husband drowned before her eyes and those of their four year old son.

Based on what she was told from First Nations people, she found an unbelievable number of sea lice in the waters of the Broughton Archipelago and soon saw the destruction they were causing with migrating Pink and Chum salmon smolts. She tested and was threatened with arrest for illegal testing by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans who weren’t doing their job of testing and lost face when this doughty woman did it for them.

Starting from scratch, her findings and papers were validated by almost every independent fisheries scientist in the world, a fact that didn’t faze the BC government – who were licensing and “policing” the fish farms – at least in part because the media wasn’t covering it, preferring to cover up for rapacious Norwegian Companies who were decimating our salmon making huge profits which went into bank accounts in Oslo. I can say with great pride that the only media coverage she got – and it was from the beginning – was from my radio show. I bear with pride the fact that I was fired at least once over my coverage.

In fact, the main media, when they did cover this issue, made their op-ed page available, apparently on request, to nit wits like Patrick Moore, the failed fish farmer and environmental traitor and the flack for the fish farms, Mary Ellen Walling who is permitted to publish rubbish stating it to be science..

Month after month, Alex would have her work published by scientific papers without even a sidebar note in the Canwest papers. Month after month her work would be validated by the world’s top scientists in the field without a line about it in the Sun or Province.

In the papers that once carried the most courageous columnists of their time, current columnists in the Sun and the Province acted as if Alex and the sea lice issue simply didn’t exist. Lately, the Canwest papers, unable to ignore any more, have covered the issue as if it just happened 6 months ago and they were on the cutting edge!

It would be comforting to say that this lack of coverage didn’t matter but it did. Thousands of British Columbians who depend upon these rags for their news didn’t know about Alex and what she was doing. This meant that there was no pressure on the government or the NDP opposition to raise the issue. Hundreds of thousands of fish have been destroyed as their migration began yet the “establishment” and their captive media are unconcerned that their lack of coverage was contributing greatly to this ongoing calamity.

What you say can be very damaging; even more damaging is what you don’t say, ignoring vital facts.

Alexandra Morton was recently invested with an honorary degree by Simon Fraser university, a university with courage to honour a woman who consistently pisses off the government whose money they depend upon.

Alexandra Morton must know, and we must all tell her, that she is THE woman of influence in British Columbia and so say the thousands of people flocking to her colours to join the many thousand others who support this courageous citizen.

This Crown Land is public land that the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands (MAL) leases to people and companies. MAL is also in charge of regulating the salmon feedlots. Even for this government, the arrogance is breathtaking.

What sort of hold have these Norwegian fish farm companies got on this government? What is the explanation for this utter and absolute giveaway of Crown land to foreign companies to use virtually free while their operations wipe out wild salmon stocks year after year? No one, least of all I, would accuse this government, its leader or any member of it of corruption but it must be said that if these circumstances prevailed somewhere else, in the absence of a rational explanation, one would have to suspect hanky panky of some sort.

The situation is getting desperate. The federal fisheries minister Gail Shea comes to BC and announces $637,678 in funding to support innovation and sustainability in the aquaculture industry in British Columbia. This from the press release -

“This investment supports the British Columbia aquaculture industry in developing projects that are more innovative, sustainable and competitive in the international aquaculture playing field,” said Minister Shea. “I am pleased by the range of projects in this province that are receiving funding under DFO’s Aquaculture Innovation and Market Access Program (AIMAP). It demonstrates the scope and potential of the industry, its focus on environmental stewardship, and the economic benefits it offers to coastal communities”.

Gag me with a spoon! Has this half wit and her colleague John Duncan (recently raised to cabinet once more exhibiting the truth of the Peter Principle) the gall to come to this province and reward those who would wipe out natural fish stocks so they can grow other inferior and often alien species to their profit and the loss of the citizenry at large!

Then we have the Liberal leader, Dr Ignatieff, who comes to town and the only news about fish farms that came out of this Liberal tentative tiptoe into the wilds of far off British Columbia was that the local Libs couldn’t even get a pallid excuse for a resolution controlling fish farms onto the agenda for the national convention.

Thus we have the Harper government appointing a half wit to run our fisheries and the Liberals can’t even get the fish farms discussed at the convention.

Again, I would be the last one to suggest any monkey business but if you were told that this sort of thing happened, say in the State of Alaska (where they have banned fish farms – I use this just as an example) the first thought to cross your mind, I daresay, would be that the fix was in.

What are we to do in this province? Simply stand around and watch as our governments, federal and provincial, acceded to by the Federal Liberal opposition, give away – not sell but give away our resources to the United States wreaking havoc to the oceans and rivers from which they were taken?

No one, especially Canadians, want to disobey authority but what other option do we have? Are we just to stand aside and watch the open theft? These bastards, the fish farmers and their getaway car drivers in Ottawa and Vancouver are like bank robbers, not content to just take the money and run but blow up the bank as they go!

We live in a country where crooks like Allan Eagleson, Conrad Black and Brian Mulroney get Orders of Canada, where the man who set up the terms of reference for the investigation into Mulroney so as to prevent the Inquiry asking why he was paid that money in the hotel room was ewarded with the Governor-General’s sinecure and tries to throw Alexandra Morton in prison.

To their great credit, Simon Fraser University, known for waving the middle finger at the establishment upon which they rely for funds, recently awarded a Doctorate to Alexandra Morton and did so in plain language telling the world what she had done for her adopted province.

Thank God we have at least one public institution in this country with a sense of what’s right and what’s wrong and the courage to behave accordingly.

The government of BC’s handling of this issue has been disgraceful.

As soon as Gordon (Pinocchio) Campbell took office he began to deal with the moratorium the NDP had placed on the development of new fish farms. He started by returning all fines paid by fish farms for shoddy practices.

Then in full possession of the facts about Atlantic salmon escaping and crowding wild salmon off the spawning beds AND in full knowledge of the terrible impact of lice from fish farms on wild salmon smolts, he lifted the moratorium. For nine years Campbell and his ministers have maintained that fish farms were safe in the face of all the independent evidence to the contrary. The only fair description of the Campbell government is that they lied through their teeth.

In this prevaricating policy the Canwest media were in their camp. The fish farmers PR flack had steady access to their op-ed pages. First class writers on these two papers, writers who specialized in outdoors matters, wouldn’t touch the issue. Bad news about fish farms was buried in sidebar comments. Alexandra Morton, the hero from Echo Bay who started the research into the sea lice problem was ignored while turncoats like Patrick Moore had access to space.

We live in a country that gives Orders of Canada to the likes of Conrad Black, Alan Eagleson and Brian Mulroney and tries to put Alexandra Morton behind bars for “illegal testing”.

On June 17, Alex was honoured with an honourary Doctor of Science at Simon Fraser University. That to me, and I think Alex, was a higher compliment than the highly political Orders of Canada and Orders of BC would ever be.

I, along with many friends and compatriots watched Alex receive her honour and there wasn’t a dry eye amongst us.

Canada could do with fewer Mulroneys, Blacks and Eaglesons and with a hell of a lot more Dr. Alexandra Mortons.

Sea lice protest, May 8, at BC Legislature in Victoria.

We all know what a word or punctuation mark can do to a sentence. For example, to write “John, says Mary, is a lousy bed companion” is very different than “John says Mary is a lousy bed companion.”

(In fact, perhaps both are, but that’s not the point).

Today I’m going to deal with a single word in a sentence; the word is “nearly.”

Some background.

On Saturday, May 8, well known and much loved Alexandra Morton ended her walk from her home in Sointula to Victoria in opposition to farmed salmon in the ocean, with a rally at the steps of the Legislature.

The Victoria Times-Colonist and Vancouver Sun, both owned by Canwest, gave appalling coverage, starting with the absurd statement than “nearly” 1,000 people were there. Please look at the picture accompanying this story and see how preposterous that statement was. It mattered a great deal because that statement trivialized the event and I say that was deliberate by the use of “nearly.”

The use of “nearly” can only mean that they actually counted but couldn’t quite make 1,000. There is no other construction one can put on that sentence. For if they hadn’t counted, how could they say that there were fewer than 1,000 people at the rally? This cannot be a guess or speculation because on its plain construction it’s clearly a statement of fact.

The truth is that they didn’t count at all, so their statement is a plain falsehood making one wonder if they were even there. It’s fascinating that when later challenged on their estimate, the Times-Colonist said that they evidently had asked the police who said it was 1,000-2,000, which doesn’t quite explain the “nearly 1,000.” Their nose, in fact, got longer.

‘Thank goodness for people filming’

Let’s look at some other estimates from people used to assessing the size of crowds.

Holly Adams, who was shooting for Global News, said, “I spoke with police outside the Legislature and they estimated just over 4,000 people, and that was just before 5:00 p.m.” That was the estimate used by Global on their newscast.

Wendy Bales, who is a director of the Fraser Valley Regional District, said, “I was there and figured at least over 4,000, with some people coming and going for parts, so there were many more. Global TV reported over 4,000. I was also surprised (but then not) at the lack of coverage. As with so many things, the important stories have to be told by the people, and you can’t believe the story on the surface. So what else is new? Thank goodness for the ‘net’! I can’t wait for the real story to be told. Thank goodness for all the people filming.”

Vicky Husband, who has an Order of Canada, is probably the best known environmentalist in the province. She has seen many rallies and said, “Our estimate is between 4,000 to 5,000″ — the largest crowd she had ever seen on the Legislature lawn.

Erling Olsen, owner/skipper of the Pacific Viking, the fish boat which escorted the canoe that started in Hope and crossed the Georgia Strait, talked to a Victoria Police Officer who told him he had never before seen a crowd of demonstrators at the Legislature as large.

A conservative estimate

Environmental activist Ivan Doumenc did a bit of measuring and I thought it was the last word.

“I took a very conservative guess: I assumed — which is very unrealistic, based on what the photo shows — that each person used two square meters on an exclusive basis. That’s a rectangle of one meter by two meters with no one else but its sole occupier on it. Measure that at home, and you will realize that it’s a very, very conservative assumption indeed. I also assumed that not a single person was standing to the left or the right of the frame of the photo, and I further assumed that the columns of people still moving toward the lawn in the photo’s far background were actually not going to the rally.

”In spite of that, I still found that approximately 3,000 people were occupying my polygon. Once you add more realistic estimations that other people must have been standing outside of the picture, that some people in the far background are actually going to the rally, et cetera, you easily find yourself in that 4,000 plus range which was given to Global News on that day at by several on-site police officers.”

Willfully ignored?

One little word — “nearly” — graphically shows us Canwest’s bias against environmentalists and its obeisance to the Campbell government.

Now with one little word we can understand why Canwest has assiduously avoided covering Alexandra Morton’s eight-year struggle to get the word out about sea lice from fish farms killing migrating wild salmon smolts with the exception of the occasional article, usually buried in the business section.

This explains why Canwest has neglected to interview experts like Dr. John Volpe, Dr. Neil Frazer, Dr. Martin Krkosek, Irish lice specialist Dr. Patrick Gargan and Dr. Daniel Pauly of the University of British Columbia, said by the prestigious Science Magazine to be one of the top 50 scientists in the world.

That’s why Canwest has never appointed a member of their staff to thoroughly investigate the entire issue.

This explains why Canwest has not gone to Norway to ask Marine Harvest, the biggest fish farmer on our coast, all the questions that have been raised. (Several environmentalists including Alex and my partner, Damien Gillis have been several times).

This explains why the fish farmers’ spokesperson gets an op-ed piece, it would seem, when she wants.

It also explains that because the Vancouver Sun’s editorial page, run as it is by a Fraser Institute alumnus, has never to my knowledge published an editorial critical of fish farming; this, no doubt, explains why columnists Vaughn Palmer or Mike Smyth have avoided like a plague dealing with the horrendous impact of fish farms on migrating wild salmon.

What you didn’t read

What was it that Canwest did not cover on May 8th?

There were First Nations’ speakers including Grand Chief Stewart Philip, Grand Chief of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, probably the most powerful native leader in the province. His speech was sometimes humorous but always carried the firm conviction that his people not only opposed fish farms in the ocean but were prepared to take the matter as far into the court system as needed.

The reason this was so important, and should have been reported, is that the two senior governments have clearly vowed to do nothing, leaving the courts the only way to go. Given the record of First Nations in court since the Calder case in 1973, this speech of Grand Chief Phillips and his colleagues had huge meaning, and I would have thought that even Canwest would understand its importance.

One might have thought that Canwest would have at least taken a clip of Alexandra Morton’s speech.

These three papers did a great disservice to readers by not reporting what happened — indeed they practiced censorship by remaining silent (except when they pretended to count the crowd).

It’s trite to say that you can deceive by what you say and by what you don’t say. Canwest, its dailies as well as its community papers, and the Black community papers have, by saying so little, kept their readers in the dark on hugely important environmental issues including not only fish farms, but the Campbell government’s unbelievable destruction of our rivers and giveaway of energy to other jurisdictions.

Embrace new media

The use of the word “nearly” tells us where Canwest apparently is — a staunch supporter of Gordon Campbell’s destruction of the environment so dear to real British Columbians.

Canwest is bankrupt and has now been purchased. Because of the new ownership’s association with Canwest past, this change doesn’t give us any optimism about their coverage to come of environmental concerns.

There is this hope, however. President Obama taught us how to use the Internet and that where we must go if we want to save our precious heritage.

Readers can start their trek to truthfulness by going to www.thecanadian.org. (Sorry for the shameless plug … no, to hell with, it I’m not a bit sorry!)

Where Parisians past cried “aux barricades” we sing out “to the Internet.”

Tom Paine, the “media” catalyst for the American Revolution, rallied Americans with the stirring words “these are the times that try men’s souls”.

Are these words applicable to British Columbia, its governments and the farmed fish issue?”

I say, clearly yes, with this difference – Paine was rallying for an armed revolution while those who oppose fish farms in BC waters rally for changes within the confines of our democratic system.

ALEXANDRA LEADS THE FIGHT – AS USUAL

Alexandra Morton, who surely needs no introduction, has led the fight to save our wild fish from destruction by sea lice from farmed fish pens for nearly a decade. She has done this with a media that has deliberately refused to deal with the matter. Her fight has been relentless so that even the government’s servile hand maiden, the BC mainstream media, has finally been forced to report that there is indeed a problem.

Here’s what Alexandra Morton has to say:

“We cannot match the corporate fish farm PR machine, nor their lobbying power. So I am simply inviting people to make themselves visible by joining us on foot, electronically and by mail. This will be peaceful, colourful, musical, fun, family oriented. Unless we all stand up and become visible, government will continue to degrade the laws of Canada to the benefit of the salmon farming industry, as suggested in the most recent throne speech.”

The forces of protest and boycott have finally united their efforts and the call for action is for a major ongoing demonstration starting on Earth Day, April 22. I’m not going to outline the proposed action here but will do so when final plans in place. What is important at this point is to understand what’s brought this about, namely a tissue of ongoing blatant lies by the Campbell government now joined in pathetically ignorant enthusiasm by the federal government.

THE CAMPBELL GOVERNMENT LIED ABOUT ESCAPES!

When I first got into the fish farm issue in 2001 the concern was the escapement of Atlantic salmon into our waters. The government opened by denying that it was happening. When that lie was disposed of it they said that no Atlantics were moving into BC Rivers – while independent biologist Dr. John Volpe, who leads the Seafood Ecology Research Group at the University of Victoria, refuted this statement by simply going into the rivers and counting Atlantics by the hundreds. Atlantics don’t breed with Pacific salmon but they do force our fish off spawning beds and they are spawning there and experts fear that they will establish themselves.

ALEX ARRIVES ON THE SCENE

In 2002 I first came into contact with Alexandra Morton, who lived in Echo Bay in the Broughton Archipelago when I learned of her concerns that sea lice from Atlantic salmon fish farms were attaching themselves to and killing migrating Pink and Chum Salmon smolts, especially the former. Alex had been testing migrating smolts and the evidence was there – sea lice from nearby fish farms were doing to wild salmon smolts just what they had been doing to wild Atlantic Salmon and Sea Trout smolts in Norway, Scotland and Ireland.^*

The federal Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s response was to threaten to throw Alex in jail for illegal testing!

POLITICS TRIES TO TRUMP SCIENCE

From that moment on, politics took on science. Independent peer reviewed study after study after study verified Alex’s findings – sea lice from fish farms were slaughtering Pink salmon smolts especially and that it was only a matter of time, and not much of that, before the runs would be wiped out.

The government handled these points as a Josef Goebbels might have – it simply denied the obvious facts and said that the “science” was on its side. This plain lie was especially pernicious because many of the public want to believe their leaders and don’t want to believe that the Gordon Campbell government could lie through its teeth. Spin, yes, but surely their government wouldn’t just plain lie!

But they did lie and they still do. Not only can they not get any independent science to back them, they consistently refuse to discuss the issue. As Dr John Volpe, has bluntly stated: “the debate is over.” UBC’s Dr. Daniel Pauly, Director of the Fisheries Center at the University of British Columbia, named by TIME as one of the world’s top 50 scientists, agrees and calls Alex “a spunky hero”.

THE NORWAY SCENE

The former Norwegian Attorney General Georg Fredrik Rieber-Mohn, who authored Norway’s original sea lice policy, has recently stated unequivocally that Norway’s policy on sea lice, which the industry successfully lobbied to weaken, has failed miserably and that lice from fish farms were wiping out Atlantic salmon runs; and that the policy must change dramatically. Even the largest shareholder in Marine Harvest – the world’s largest salmon farming company and #1 in both Norway and in British Columbia – agrees that we must move the farms. In 2007, when he was fishing on the River Alta – one of Norway’s most majestic wild salmon rivers – John Fredriksen made a plea as a passionate angler to relocate open net cages to save wild salmon. This from the world’s #1 fish farm entrepreneur!

ENTER THE FEDS

Still the Campbell government denies and denies and is now joined now by the federal government as Fisheries Minister Gail Shea, who last August attended a worldwide fish farm convention in Oslo, encourages even more fish farms for BC! Here we have DFO, mandated to protect our salmon, at the same time shilling through the minister, for those who would destroy them!

THE COHEN COMMISSION AND THE FRASER SOCKEYE

Mr. Justice Bruce Cohen has a broad commission to look at the catastrophic wild salmon situation in BC. It’s of critical importance that we the public of BC show how much our wild salmon mean to us. Mr. Cohen must know our resentment that government fish farm policy has not lonly led to hugely depleted returns of Pinks and Chum but, strong evidence indicates, has permitted sea lice from fish farms to kill sockeye migrating from the Fraser River where the 2009 returns were catestrophically low.

THE PUBLIC LOSES PATIENCE

How long can decent British Columbians who love their province stand idly by as its very soul, the Pacific salmon, is deliberately slaughtered by foreign corporate interests that are encouraged to do so by the two senior governments?

Haven’t we all shown the patience of Job with these politicians who clearly put the interests of donors to their party coffers ahead of those of the people they’re elected to serve?

Has the time not arrived where we British Columbians must take action, action sustained until we’ve rid ourselves of these disgraceful companies who profit hugely from our enormously important assets and the governments that support them?

THE TIME IS NOW!

I say it’s long past time. We have been robbed blind by Marine Harvest and others with the connivance, indeed the encouragement, of our governments. Surely we must act with firmness, conviction and steadfastness starting now!

The public must be informed of those who market farmed salmon and restaurants that serve them and be encouraged to boycott these places in favour of those who do not.

We must march in protest in ever increasing numbers and occasions; we must also demonstrate against those who supply fish farms, especially those who provide feed from small fish populations from South American waters, which have consequently been wiped out or dangerously depleted.

This is, of course, an economic issue and a health issue as well. Marine Harvest and friends make hundreds of millions literally stealing our assets; study after study say that wild salmon are far healthier to eat than farmed ones full of chemicals and colourants.

THE CRUX OF THE MATTER

“THE WILD SALMON BELONG TO THE PEOPLE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA AND THEIR SAFETY IS CRITICAL TO OUR ENVIRONMENT; THEY ARE THE SOUL OF OUR PROVINCE AND OUR SOUL IS NOT FOR SALE”

It is time, past time for citizens of BC to rally around Alexandra Morton and fight this fight to a finish – a finish that will put paid to the Atlantic salmon fish farms in our province.

^*It should be noted that Atlantic salmon and Sea Trout smolts are considerably larger than our wild salmon smolts so are hardier when they meet the lice, fortifying the point that our salmon are at an even greater risk than they are.

Alexandra Morton

Here’s an Article by Rafe at The Common Sense Canadian which tells us that even the former Attorney General of Norway and the owner of the world’s largest salmon farming company agree that salmon farms must be moved out of migration routes.

A lifelong contrarian

Those who complain I’m not even-handed don’t get my purpose.

I read comments to this column regularly and both enjoy them and profit from them. In my last article on Federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea there were concerns expressed that I was not giving equal time to both sides of the issue so I thought I might set out what my mandate is (self-made of course).

To start with, I’m not a journalist in the ordinary narrow construction of that word. The late Denny Boyd once said I was a cross examiner — a misplaced barrister, so to speak. I agree. I’m not an ‘on the one hand, on the other hand’ broadcaster and writer; instead, I am an editorialist. I don’t report news; I give my take on it and invite response.

Last week’s subject was the West Coast fishery and the role of the Fisheries minister. That anyone would argue that it’s her job to promote aquaculture generally and fish farms in particular astonishes me. I quoted former DFO scientist Otto Langer who set out the minister’s duties in stark terms, namely “to conserve and protect fish habitat”. Surely anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of English would understand that statutory mandate clearly excludes shilling for any industry.

If Minister Shea goes to aquaculture conferences surely it should be to admonish the industry and urge them to clean up their act not gush over how important their industry was to Canada.

But back to my mandate. As an editorialist I see it my duty to hold the establishment’s feet to the fire. I say “prove it” when government or industry make promises. I’m a lifelong contrarian. When a government, industry or trade union tells a story my inclination is to say (to myself, of course) “barnyard droppings” or its more earthy equivalent.

Opinion informed by facts

It’s astonishing how often the establishment can’t deal with questions put to them. In that regard, let’s look at the fish farm business, which, for me, started in 2000 when caged Atlantic salmon were escaping and getting into B.C. rivers and streams. My listeners of the day will remember that Dr. John Volpe, a noted fish biologist, and his crew were diving some rivers on Vancouver Island and were finding hundreds of escaped Atlantics. In the meantime, one cabinet minister named John Van Dongen stoutly maintained that only three Atlantic salmon had been found in our rivers — only to be contradicted by his colleague, the late Stan Hagen, who said there were only two!

Then marine biology researcher Alexandra Morton started her examination of the relationship between huge swarms of sea lice attracted to the huge number of hosts in the fish farms with migrating pink and chum salmon. The provincial minister of Agriculture, Food and Fish and the federal minster of Fisheries and Oceans, one would have thought, would have been there alongside Morton getting the truth by scientific tests — but this was from the truth. In fact, the DFO threatened her with jail for illegal sampling!

As fishery experts from Norway, Scotland, Ireland and of course Canada came into the debate supporting Morton’s findings and certifying her methodology, the ministries mounted a stirring defence of the industry and — without a single solitary independent fisheries biologist to support them — said that the science was on their side! I traveled to Galway, Ireland, and met Dr. Patrick Gargan, head of the fish lice program on the west coast of that nation. He and his staff were utterly astonished at the Canadian and B.C. governments. One of his colleagues looked at me and asked, “Can’t you people read out there? Have you not seen the documented evidence of sea lice devastating wild salmon (salmo salar) and sea trout (salmo trutta)– both of which are much bigger when they migrate past the fish cages than are pink salmon and chum smolts?”

As the independent science firmed up, the governments still raised ridiculous explanations for diminishing wild salmon.

In praise of the ‘precautionary principle’

Let me pause here to observe that both governments placed the onus of proof on the wrong shoulders. A firm, but totally ignored, rule for doing things that might hurt the environment is the ‘precautionary principle’ and here is how it’s generally stated: The ‘precautionary principle’ is a moral and political principle which states that if an action or policy might cause severe or irreversible harm to the environment — in the absence of a scientific consensus that harm would not ensue — the burden of proof falls on those who would advocate taking the action.

This means, of course, that the onus of proof that sea lice damage migrating fish rests upon the farmers — not Alexandra Morton and aging columnists.

I’ve strayed a bit from my point so let’s return to it. My job as an editorialist or, if you prefer, a ‘common scold’ is to apply the ‘precautionary principle’ and hold those who would use the environment to demonstrate that they will do no harm. In doing that I must, of course, examine all the evidence including that presented by the government. If, however, the only government evidence comes from public servants, I must weigh evidence against that which is not tainted by government money. I must also compare government ‘evidence’ to that of independent scientists — which I have often done.

So, gentle readers, if you’re looking for an evenhanded journalist to whom everything is ‘on the one hand, on the other hand’ I advise you to listen to broadcasters and read ‘journalists’ who use that standard — a standard where the evil is on the same footing as the good.

Coalitions are difficult to put together and even more difficult to keep together and wise environmentalists know that. The way to go is find common ground and common assets that can be to the benefit of all. I believe that opponents to fish farms and private power can do much in common with the Wilderness Committee which has done so much to help to help in the rivers cause and against fish farms over the past couple of years. I believe a new umbrella group called the Salmon Circle will play a great role as will the BC Wildlife Federation. If the Campbell autocracy believes the election decided the environmental issues he’s in for a very big surprise.

Oddly enough, in a backhanded way, the victory of the Liberals on May 12 last has made organizing opposition easier. Before May 12 Liberals who opposed fish farms and private power were loath to support the NDP and either held their noses and voted Liberal or stayed at home. This constitutes a large mass of potential support for our cause.

The issues are not complicated though the government wants you to think they are.

The sea lice from salmon farms are destroying Pink, Chum and Sockeye smolts. This is no longer a scientific issue and hasn’t been one for some years.

Private power destroys rivers, their fish and the general ecology they maintain; the power produced is mostly at a time we don’t need it thus will be sold to the US. Because of the sweetheart deals BC Hydro has been forced to make with private power companies they will have to export at a huge loss and therefore are condemned to bankruptcy; private power has virtually no impsct on BC’s power requirements.

In both cases the government, its ministers and the premier are lying through their teeth and that is very easy to prove.

On the power side the government and their Charlie McCarthy’s make out that increasing the capacity of the gas powered Burrard Thermal will damage the environment. If anyone were suggesting that Burrard Thermal in fact produce more power that would be another matter. But no one, including the BC Utilities is considering increasing the output of Burrard Thermal. This is how the government deceives us. Campbell says BCUC wants Burrard Thermal to expand so we’re going to get rid of it making it appear that they’re good little boys and girls fighting for the climate.

It’s essential to know what Burrard Thermal does. Where I live, Lions Bay, we often have power outages for several days so many have bought a small gas fired generator to give them power when they can’t get it from their power switch. Isn’t that just prudence? Would Mr. Campbell say that we simply freeze to death (these power outages nearly always follow foul weather). The generators aren’t used when the power switch works and similarly as a province we use Burrard Thermal when normal power isn’t fully available. The government’s position and that of its lackeys want to deceive the public.

It’s the same with the fish farmers. One of the raw lies put out by industry and government alike is that the lice attacking the wild salmon are not the same kind as in fish farms.

Here’s what Alexandra Morton says about this allegation  …

Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s statements regarding sea lice, sockeye and fish farms are increasingly misguiding.  … the statement is not only untrue it is just plain stupid given that Marine Harvest posts their sea lice data on the web.

Yes, there are two species of sea lice predominately infecting salmon on this coast, Lepeophtheirus salmonis, the salmon louse which is the largest, and Caligus clemensi, a species that can exist on species of fish other than salmon which makes Caligus a little harder to track.  We have found that young sockeye are most often infected with Caligus, although we see Lepeophtheirus on them as well.

Both Caligus and Lepeophtheirus are recorded in Marine Harvest’s sea lice counts and posted on their website …if you go to its site you can click on each far site and get pdfs such as I have attached.  It becomes immediately apparent that farm fish have both species of lice.”

With more and more people examining these issues not from a party political point of but with the eyes of British Columbians wanting to preserve our heritage, government and industry deceit becomes more and more obvious.

In 1983 a freshly elected Socred Government ran on a restraint program winning a near landslide. When they brought in “restraint” legislation a large portion of the population objected to such an extent that the government had to back down.

In 2009 the issues are far, far graver than in 1983 and when the public rises in anger, as it will, I predict there will very substantial changes indeed.

Perhaps I was tired … just cranky … or I just gave a lousy speech. Here’s the speech I wanted to give.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am here to throw the strength of the Save Our Rivers Society, of which I am the official spokesperson, behind the fight to save our salmon and move fish farms out of the oceans. We have a common cause of saving our fish. Campbell doesn’t give a damn about fish and ands is hugely economical with the truth.

“Lie”, with or without the “f” word should be avoided. Lawyers tell you not to call someone a liar because that may mean that you’re saying he’s a habitual liar. Churchill got around that in a speech to the Commons in 1906 when he coined the phrase “terminological inexactitude”. I will use that term abbreviated to TE in this article and henceforth

Premier Campbell and the cabinet have been TEing from the second they assumed office in May 2001.

In November 2001 the Campbell government removed the moratorium on fish farms in our oceans. This was before Alexandra Morton did her superlative work on the sea lice problem. The worry was that these caged Atlantic Salmon might escape and establish themselves in BC streams.

At first, industry and government denied that there were any escapes. (TE) When not even they could keep a straight face with that one they denied that escaped Atlantics were getting into our rivers.(TE) Indeed at one point, after hundreds of thousands had escaped, then the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, John Van Dongen  told me and my audience that only three escapees had been found in BC streams (Big TE). Three! Then a week or two later his colleague, the late Stan Hagen, Minister of Development corrected his colleague and advised that only two had been found! (Bald faced TE) If we’d continued this ridiculous charade they would likely have told me that au contraire, it was Pacific Salmon trying to break into Atlantic Salmon fish cages! In fact as fish biologist John Volpe who was actually with his colleagues in the rivers counting Atlantics there were hundreds and he’d only had the time and resources to examine a miniscule number of streams.

In 2002 Alexandra Morton, a whale researcher living at Echo Bay in the Broughton Archipelago, acting on an observations of local First Nations people observed there were way more sea lice in the waters since fish farms had arrived. Alex began her long battle by testing some pink salmon fry finding them smothered in sea lice. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans first reaction was not to deal with the problem but charge Alex with illegal testing! From then to this day the DFO have been part of the problem as they have TEd all the way.

From the outset the Campbell government denied there was problem (TE). As one independent scientist after another verified her findings Campbell and his ministers would TS through their teeth saying over and over that science was on their side. The more the evidence piled up, the more Campbell told TEs and the more permits and expansions his governments issued.

When the Ministry of AFF inspectors were off to inspect the farms, Van Dongen warned the farms and had to resign after first TEing than he hadn’t done it.

In 2994 fish farm operators were refunded more than $2.3 million paid in fines for breaking the law. Instead of admitting that this was because the fish farmers, Van Dongen alleged these were unfair fines under the previous NDP government (TE).

Run after run failed and the fact ignored with the premier denying the lice from fish farms were to blame (TE). When finally some farms were forced to fallow during the pink and chum smolts migrations, and runs were dramatically increased far from admitting that this proved Alex right they said it proved that lice were no problem all long! (TE)

The TEs continue

During the 1997 election, then opposition leader Campbell promised never to privatize BC Rail, (TE) a pledge he made again in 2001 when he won. (Big Time TE)

In 2002 and 2003 Campbell developed an Energy plan. He said that while from then on, BC Hydro would not be allowed to produce new energy all of which thenceforth had to be private he and the Independent Power Producers told the public that these were small run of the river projects. (unbelievable TE) and that they were “run of the river” meaning rivers weren’t dammed and diverted (TE) The government and the private power people said these were small operations (TE). Campbell’s “r of’ r” turned out to be massive damming and diversion projects that left as little as 5% of the flow in the original river bed.

Campbell and his ministers told us that BC was a net importer of energy. (TE as National Energy Board and StatsCan demonstrated BC was a new exporter).

Campbell and his ministers told us private river power this was a good deal for BC Hydro (TE) when in fact they’ve been forced by Campbell to enter into take or pay contracts with private power companies whereby they must pay TWICE what the power is worth.

Campbell and his ministers said we needed the private power in BC (TE) when in fact it’s mostly produced during the spring run off when BC Hydro doesn’t need it.

(The only man telling the truth was Don McInnes, head of Plutonic/General Electric, the biggest of the private companies, who said one would have to have been “in a coma” not to know that this power was for export).

Campbell and his ministers said private river power would be good for BC (TE) when in fact because of huge contracts with private power companies would soon be unable to pay the 100s of millions of dollars a year into the public treasury as per usual.

Campbell and Company said that these private power schemes have a very “small ecological footprint” (TE – see Powerplay series at saveourrivers.ca)

Campbell said that strict environmental rules would prevail (TE).

Campbell’s Finance Minister Colin Hansen did a video on private rivers where every statement was a demonstrable TE.

Finance Minister Hansen in the run-up to the election said that the deficit would be $495 million dollars (he had to know that was a pre-election TE)

Campbell said during the election that harmonizing the PST and the GST wasn’t even on the radar screen (TE)

On it goes … and instead of coarsely calling them “bleeping liars”, which I fully admit was wrong, I should have used softer language that means precisely the same thing. I can only say in mitigation that after being TEd from the start. After enduring the lies (oops! TEs) lies of this premier and his government and looking at the faces of the crowd listening to me, I simply lost my cool. And I apologize.