Take Action
The urgent need to protect our oceans must become a priority for our government. Despite international commitments to create a national network of MPAs by 2012, so far less than 1% of Canada’s oceans and great lakes are protected. Nova Scotia is known as ‘Canada’s Ocean Playground’, yet we have no protection of our inshore waters and no land-use policy when to regulate coastal development.
One of the most effective tools for encouraging government to take action is by contacting elected officials through a phone call or written letter. A personal letter from a citizen carries a powerful message. Your letter doesn’t have to be longer than a paragraph. Be sure to ask for a reply. The best closing sentence is “I look forward to receiving your response”. We at CPAWS are also always happy to receive copies of the letters you send to elected officials.
In your letter you could highlight:
- Make the letter personal and explain why the protection of the Oceans is important to you. You can bring up any number of factors, such as how you enjoy surfing, swimming or walking on the beaches around Nova Scotia or your concerns about conservation of wilderness and wildlife, protection from climate change effect and protection of endangered species.
- Explain why you think your request will benefit the public as a whole, ie. the livelihoods of coastal communities around Nova Scotia, the tourists who come to visit ‘Canada’s Ocean Playground’
- Much progress has been made in protecting areas of high conservation value on land, now the time has come to make the same gains in the marine environment.
- Nova Scotia’s diverse coastline is becoming increasingly threatened and there is an urgent need for legal protection of important coastal and marine ecosystems.
- Federal governments of Canada, including DFO, Parks Canada and Environment Canada, have made a commitment to establish a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by the year 2012. Progress on this commitment is being made along the West Coast of Canada, but a significant gap exists for the protection of the coastal and marine environment around the Maritimes, particularly in Nova Scotia, the only coastal province without an inshore MPA.
- With increasing threats of overfishing, heavy industrial development, pollution and climate change, steps urgently need to be taken to protect the productive waters around Nova Scotia.
- MPAs have several benefits including protecting the marine environment for future generations, increasing fish catches, supporting eco-tourism, and allowing for the recovery and protection of marine species and their habitats.
- It is imperative that MPAs are designated now before these fragile ecosystems which are the lifeblood of Nova Scotia’s environmental, social, cultural, and economic well-being are further degraded.
Write directly to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans:
The Honourable Gail Shea
House of Commons
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
Parliament Buildings, Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1A 0A6
Find your MLA and inform them directly at their constituency office
Find your MP and let them know what you care about
For more tips on letter writing visit: http://www.cpawscalgary.org/takeaction/tips_politicians.php