Merry Christmas, and Happy Birding

Well, it's that time of year again. It's a time of orchestrated chaos for those living in the city, when you begin to feel like everyone around you has lost their wits (and that you may soon join them). For those living in small coastal communities, it's a time when the weather is slightly worse, the days are slightly shorter, and some people simply decide to hibernate until conditions improve. At Living Oceans, it's a time when we wind down for a couple of weeks, so this will be the final blog post for the year.

How we go to meetings

Living Oceans Society's head office is in the small island community of Sointula, B.C. (we also have a satellite office outpost in the wilds of Vancouver). Life in Sointula is pretty easy. Your morning commute, for example, is only a few minutes long and of the few interruptions that do occur, many are due to various hoofed mammals who are intent on doing their commute first.

C'mon buddy, keep it mooooooving

Victories in the context of centuries

Last week was a good week for groups working on oceans issues in B.C. The House of Commons voted in support of a legislative ban on tankers on B.C.'s North Coast, Justice Bruce Cohen ordered the release of 10 years' worth of salmon health records for 120 salmon farms, and a Federal Court judge ruled that DFO has failed to meet its responsibility, under the Species At Risk Act, to protect the critical habitat of B.C.'s resident killer whales.

So, good news, right? High-fives all around! 

Victory on Tanker Ban Motion, Victory for the Coast

In case you haven't been following Water Blogged over the past few days, you may have missed our urgent appeals to phone/write your MP and urge him/her to vote in favour of a motion in support of a legislated tanker ban on Canada’s Pacific North Coast. Well, those phone calls and emails paid off: the motion was carried tonight in the House of Commons!

One more reason to tell your MP to vote for the tanker ban tonight

The CBC reports that Canada is not prepared to deal with a major oil spill.

In entirely related news, your MP has the chance to vote for a ban on tanker traffic on B.C.'s North Coast. The vote is this evening, at approximately 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

So, if you haven't already, get in touch with your MP and remind them to vote for the ban. The Liberals, NDP and Bloc Québécois have indicated that they support the ban. The key thing is getting them to show up.

Remember, the vote is at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time tonight. In the words of Johnny Cash: you've got 25 minutes to go. (Figuratively, at least).

Ask your MP to vote for a legislated tanker ban on B.C.’s North Coast

URGENT: Ask your MP to vote for a legislated tanker ban on Canada’s Pacific North Coast!  

Dear friend,
We need your help TODAY. We’ve reached a decisive point in the battle to keep B.C.’s coast oil free. On Tuesday evening, December 7, your Member of Parliament will vote on a motion to ban oil tankers on the North Coast. Please take a moment to send the action alert below because it’s CRITICAL that MPs vote to approve the motion.