We’ve just spoken with Elections B.C., looking for email addresses so that we might ask the candidates running in the upcoming election whether they support a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation for the Salish Sea.
The Prime Minister invited Canadians to nominate sites last August, and since then the Salish Sea Trust and SeaLegacy have been working to submit the application, and to identify support for this prestigious international honour for places with ‘outstanding universal value’.
At the moment, the north coast of B.C. has a Marine Area Protection Plan, and last fall the Queen announced a sustainability and protection plan for the Great Bear Rainforest on the mid-coast. However the southwest corner of the coast around the Salish Sea has no plans to ensure that the health and biodiversity, fisheries or other protections will be in place to ensure that our cultural and natural heritage is not lost.
And so we wanted to ask all candidates in the 50 or so constituencies around the Salish Sea, which serve some 3.5M residents, whether they would support a World Heritage Site?
Unfortunately Elections B.C. tells us that they don’t collect the email addresses of candidates, nor are they mandated to publish them. The result is neither we nor the public can easily be in touch with those running for election. We think this is a major oversight, one which works against the democratic process — and prevents candidates from letting the public know what they stand for.
We think the more the public knows about their candidates and their goals, the more people will get out and vote on election day — which will help all of us in the long run.
We would therefore appreciate it if your readers might ask their candidates about support for the Salish Sea and a World Heritage Site. And if they wish, your readers are also welcome to express their support for a World Heritage Site. Just contact us at salishseatrust@shaw.ca.
Laurie Gourlay
Interim Director, Salish Sea Trust