Skeena – Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen was in Prince Rupert on Tuesday to kick off a campaign in support of protecting the Nass, Skeena and Stikine rivers.
Cullen introduced a Private Member's Bill that would grant the three rivers protection under the Navigable Waters Act, which were among those removed from the Act as part of the omnibus budget bill introduced last year, and will spend the coming months building his case by collecting as many signatures as possible.
"I'll be going with petitions door-to-door across the northwest this summer, going to farmers' markets and fish halls, going on the docks and on ferries talking to British Columbians and northwesterners. I'll be asking them to send a message back to the Conservative Government that it is just absolutely not right and not fair to say our rivers are disposable and can be dumped in," he said on June 25, noting his impression was rivers were removed from protection to allow pipelines to be pushed through.
"This isn't a left or a right issue, this isn't Conservative or NDP, this is about right and wrong. It is wrong to say that these rivers should be held up and sacrificed for any one industrial project to go through."
While the program begins with the three major rivers in the region, Cullen is also turning to his constituents to extend protection in the riding.
"I have launched an initiative on the website that allows people to go in and add other bodies of water they want protected. I introduced one bill to protect these three major rivers and in the fall will take the suggestions of other rivers and lakes people think are important and introduce complimentary legislation to protect them," he said.
Cullen was joined at the announcement by North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice, who pledged to offer assistance on the provincial level.
"I really support this initiative because our rivers are so important to us economically here in the northwest, particularly the Skeena and Nass rivers in the North Coast riding," she said.
"Fishing employs hundreds of people in the summer at fish plants, and our fishing industry is not dying despite what people are saying."