In this update I will discuss the next step I’ll be taking: a road trip to Minister Lebouthilliers home riding to educate her constituents about DFO’s mismanagement of the Elver Fishery.
But first, I have to acknowledge the overwhelming support we’ve received. It warms my heart that over 2000 people have signed this petition to help me and 1100 others get our jobs back. Thank you so very much!! The situation is dire—I am employed by a cooperative of 17 fishers in Shelburne County that equally split a single licence. We can’t afford to lose out on yet another season. Without it, many of us don’t know how we’ll possibly make it through this year.
Minister Lebouthillier did not even meet with a single person from the Elver fishery before making her decision. She has also refused to meet with us since. She won’t even meet with anyone from the press. To put it bluntly, Minister Lebouthillier has buried her head in the sand. This is the same tried-and-true DFO strategy that caused this crisis in the first place. Diane’s silence leaves me with no choice but to find a different way to make my voice heard. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
In a last-ditch effort, I’ve spent the last of my savings on a rental car. My plan is to embark on a road trip to educate Canadians about how DFO has mismanaged this fishery into a major crisis. People need to know about this. The regional leadership of DFO must be held accountable for this cataclysmic failure. Why do they have complete job security when every year I don’t even know if I’ll have a job to return to? They have taken my job away THREE times in FIVE years. This should be a national scandal.
I started my road trip last night. I travelled from the Annapolis Valley to the South Shore, where I put up over 150 posters! Here’s a tally of all the signs we’ve put up so far. Over 300 in total!
The next leg of my journey will bring me to Mr. Mike Kelloway’s riding of Cape Breton-Canso. Mr Kelloway is the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Fisheries.
My ultimate destination is Minister Lebouthillier’s home riding of Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine. I think her constituents, particularly our fellow fishers, would be very interested to know that she shut down our fishery without meeting with a single elver fisher. Not a single one of us, despite our pleas. We would be willing to discuss this with her anywhere, anytime, and she knows that. The elver fishery is a canary in a coal mine. If it can happen to our fishery, it can happen to yours. If anyone lives in her riding and would like to connect, please reach out!
Lastly, and I’ve gone back and forth on this, here’s a link to a fundraiser I created to financially support this journey. Alternatively, you can etransfer me at zacharynb@me.com. I think it’s important to say that I can and I will do this with or without financial support. I have a rental car, determination, and, thanks to the Minister, lots of free time. If, knowing that, any of you would like to chip in to make things a little easier for me, I would be very grateful. A little bit goes a long way. But really, even just signing the petition is already doing so much! Please only donate if you are able.�
You can follow my journey over on Twitter under the hashtag #OpenTheElverFishery. Here’s a link to my most recent post.
Thank you for all the support,
Zachary Townsend
(Former) Plant Manager
Shelburne Elver, Ltd