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Send letter to the following official:
✲ Transport Canada, Anchorages Initiative Elizabeth May, MP Adam Olsen, MLA George Heyman, Minister Env BC Catherine McKenna, Minister Env Canada John Horgan, Premier BC

Subject: ✲
Deactivate new Freighter Anchorages at Salt Spring Island, Marine Conservation

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'Preview' will show the letter in full. Freighters have started to anchor at Salt Spring Island. There is now an attempt to dump the unresolved problems of nearby industrial ports into our group of protected islands. Vessels are anchoring right next to our neighbourhoods. Lights and noise from engines and generators are unbearable, and are transforming our rural community into an industrial nightmare. More and more vessels are anchoring. Some stay over a month. Harmful air pollution by diesel fumes is placed next to people. Water pollution has been observed and accidents can happen anytime. Emissions from leaks and spills have nowhere to go. They will hit shores and people right near the most populated town Ganges. The most recently activated anchorages in Captains Passage outside Ganges are unreasonably close to both people and to sensitive environments (they are located at the edge of what DFO considers critical habitat for the southern resident Orca population). This is not acceptable. There is not enough space here to allow industrial expansion without harming these islands. The Provincial Government of BC established the commitment to "Protect and Preserve" the Gulf Islands as law in the Islands Trust Act. Five decades of effort and many sacrifices have been made to protect and preserve these special islands. The Federal Government committed to a National Park Reserve in the Gulf Islands, and a larger National Marine Conservation Area that includes Salt Spring Island and the southern Gulf Islands. There is now an attempt by the Port Authority of expanding into the southern Gulf Islands and putting all of these efforts at risk. Transport Canada is in process of approving this attempt. This is not acceptable. Expanding industrial port activity and increasing the use of anchorages for large ocean going vessels is not compatible with the mandate "Protect and Preserve" for these islands. It would seriously undermine all ongoing efforts to achieve this objective at local, provincial, and federal levels. The quality of life in an undisturbed protected area, the character of Salt Spring Island and surrounding islands, the function of a green oasis between two major urban centres, and the economic value of tourism in a getaway destination would all be harmed if industrial shipping is placed around Salt Spring Island. I ask you to do everything possible to prevent this scenario. (1) The two anchorages in Captains Passage outside Ganges Harbour, and other planned anchorage sites at Salt Spring Island, need to be deactivated. (2) The Interim Protocol of expanding anchoring in the Gulf Islands needs to be terminated, with all anchorage sites being phased out. (3) Effective protection is needed for the National Marine Conservation Area, with clear and specific rules to prevent industrial expansion in this area. This process has taken too long and needs to be completed. (4) We object to Parks Canada's plans to allow industrialization of a marine conservation area, in particular by allowing freighters and tankers to anchor, and by allowing the industrialization of aquaculture and commercial fishing in Zone 3 and 4. We ask you for your help in preventing industrialization in the southern Gulf Islands. If the national framework by Parks Canada proves to be too general to efficiently meet the specific protection needs for the southern Gulf Islands, then other rules and regulations by Transport Canada, DFO, and the Province of BC should be used to achieve this objective. Anchoring freighters are a nightmare for the environment, for residents, and visitors of Salt Spring Island. Please do everything within your power to help us. Please update me about the steps that you are taking to deactivate these anchorages and completing the necessary protection of the Gulf Islands including the marine area. Thank you for your urgently needed help.

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