Call it part two of Alexandra Morton’s “Get Out Migration.”
The “face of salmon farm opposition” was back at Spirit Square on Wednesday, calling on federal candidates to remove netpen salmon farms from the coastal waters.
“Today we stand with a choice,” Morton told a small group of supporters, who turned up their coat collars to keep out the biting wind. “We can work with (wild) salmon…or ignore them.”
Morton’s Get Out Migration – a public campaign to get farmed salmon into closed containment systems or into dry land rearing pens – came through Campbell River last April.
Now, with a federal election on May 2, Morton is calling out candidates to see where they stand on the issue.
North Island NDP candidate Ronna-Rae Leonard called wild salmon a keystone species and said she supports closed containment land-based raising of farmed salmon.
Sue Moen of the Green party also attended the rally and said people need to work together to find solutions which will result in long-term employment while protecting other species and the environment.
However, neither candidate specified exactly what their parties would do. No one attended from Liberal candidate Mike Holland’s camp and Conservative incumbent John Duncan was also a no-show, although he was reportedly spotted in a nearby restaurant sipping hot coffee.
“There’s supposed to be a representative here from John Duncan’s office…John Duncan’s office?” asked Darren Blaney, as his request seemed to blow away in the stiff wind.
To learn more about Morton’s campaign, visit www.votesalmon.ca