I’ve loved the ocean ever since I was a little girl. I want to explore everything the ocean has to offer, but I may never get to do that. I aspire to have a career that is focused on the study and conservation of the ocean, and as I gain a better understanding of politics, it upsets me to see how those who govern our country don’t care about the sustainability of our oceanic environment.
After watching documentaries like Blackfish and The Cove, I’ve discovered the atrocities endured by whales, dolphins, and porpoises in captivity. There have been many attempts to ban captivity such as, Bill S-203 that was created to stop marine mammal captivity at the Vancouver Aquarium and Marineland in 2015. For the past 3 years the bill has been subject to a series of procedurals hurdles. Members of Parliament from four parties, along with many activists like myself, who want to ban captivity have called on the senate to stop playing games. They have had enough time to vote yet they continue to push it away, implying that this issue is not important. I ask that the senate begin addressing the matters that are important to Canadian citizens, like protecting our oceans immediately as time is running out.
Another Bill that is being pushed to the side is Bill S-238, which addresses the importation of shark fins. Although shark finning is banned in Canada, the importation of shark fins is not. As of 2017, Canada was the third largest importer of shark fins, importing over 144,000 kilograms. It’s sad to see that up to 100 million sharks, if not more, have to lose their life yearly because we don’t take small steps to protect them.
I was blessed to swim with whale sharks and see wild dolphins this summer, which was the best experience I’ve had in my life thus far, but at the current rate of deterioration of marine life in the next 10 years I won’t be able to see an abundance of dolphins and whale sharks as I did this summer.
There was a time when I felt hope for marine life when your government came into power, but the faith has been destroyed in just a short three years. There are so many things that need to be changed in order to protect marine life, that I thought would happen, but has not yet. As of November, 2017, Canada lead the developed world in per capita consumption of garbage. Our garbage ends up in the oceans, like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, on coastlines, and other countries, like the Philippines. Mr. Trudeau, you were asked to take action about this issue in the past and I am asking you again to do something more than create another non-binding agreement like the most recent Ocean Plastic’s Charter. Please create new laws, force companies to eliminate plastic bags, and ban other things like micro-plastics. You are responsible for a country with the largest coastline in the world, you may not see it, but small changes will have a large impact on protecting all ocean creatures from dying, and it can start in Canada.
I ask that you, Mr. Trudeau help fight for the voice of the dolphin mom, who’s child is ripped away from her and forced to live in a bathtub, deteriorating every day. I ask that your government act on your promises and create, pass, and enforce laws to help save marine life all over the world. What would you do if your child was ripped out of your arms? And where you lived was being destroyed by garbage and your children’s future was compromised because you didn’t take necessary action to create a future where your children could thrive. Do you want to be responsible for a future that suffocates your children? Because this what you’re doing to the ocean.
By: Founder, Sarika Ganguli
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