Federal Vote

We have not made a statement on this blog yet about the Federal vote being thrown out, primarily because I have been so angry that I really did not want to deal with it yet. 

Vancouver Animal Defense League activists along with Fin Free Victoria and other Canadian organizations have been working our asses of for an entire year to push this bill through.  We contacted every single MP in Canada numerous times on the phone and through email speaking to them about our DNA tests and the endangered/threatened species we found for sale in Richmond and Vancouver. When CITES added 5 more shark species to the protected list last month we thought for sure it would go through. 

Before the vote we were told by several conservative MP's that even though they actually support the bill they will not be voting for it because they faced 'external pressures' to vote against it.  We lost by 5 votes because Stephen Harper squashed this bill.  Even though legally he cannot whip the vote (require all members to vote the same) he did that with this bill.  The conservative MP's of Canada do not represent their constituents, they are not acting on behalf of the people of Canada, instead on Harper's agenda.  A recent poll showed that 81% of Canadians support a shark fin ban, so why would our government ignore this?  The Canadian government does not give a shit about animals, the environment and the scientists who are studying these issues and asking for them to act.    

The Vancouver Animal Defense League is committed to shutting down the shark fin trade in Canada and we will continue this campaign.  As of right now we are switching gears to provincial efforts and we will work on gathering support from MLA's for a provincial ban on the sale and trade of shark fins. 

In 2014 once CITES finalizes the new status for the five species of sharks we will continue with more DNA tests.  Of the five new species who have been granted Endangered status we found three of them for sale here in Vancouver and Richmond when we did our DNA testing.  We found not one, but five porbeagle, six scalloped hammerheads and two great hammerheads for sale.  If we find these same species for sale in 2014 then Canada will be in violation of CITES and ideally we can shut down those responsible for importing them. 

What we can ask of the public right now is to contact your MLA and ask them to support a shark fin ban, especially before the election in May. 

Thank you for continuing efforts to stop the shark fin trade in Canada.

VADL

Our protest campaign against SUN SUI WAH

Our FINTASTIC FRIDAY NIGHT demos are up and running again, this time against Sun Sui Wah.  Join us every single Friday night from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at 3888 Main St in Vancouver.  One of the best ways to fight the shark finning industry is to support those businesses that do not have shark fins on the menu (like Fortune Garden - THANK YOU AGAIN!). 
Check out some of the young people who have joined us the last couple demos! 

This little girl even made her own sign.  Such passion from young people who want to have sharks in the oceans when they grow up.  

VADL

Thank you Fortune Garden!

We would like to express our deepest gratitude on behalf of the sharks to Fortune Garden Restaurant for taking shark fin soup off of the menu.  Now that they are FIN FREE we would like to encourage the public to support them.  It is so important to support Chinese restaurants with no shark fin soup on the menu, there are lot's of them out there.  By voting with your money you can let them know you appreciate their positive decisions for the oceans. 

FORTUNE GARDEN cares about marine conservation and we are thankful for their decision to remove shark fins from their menu.  

VADL

VADL GEAR!!

Support our campaigns by buying our gear!

http://vadl.spreadshirt.com/

FEDERAL SHARK FIN VOTE

The vote on the Federal Bill C-380 will most likely be March 28th. Send this on to everyone you can think of! Urgent action is needed.

Hon. Gerry Ritz office (Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food) has requested that we ask everyone we know to e-mail, fax, or phone them and voice your opinions regarding Bill C-380 "Banning Shark Fin Trade Canada Wide". The receptionist is extremely polite and said they are taking all messages seriously and will vote accordingly on the 8th. CALL CALL CALL!!!! Here's the link with all of his contact information. Gerry Ritz is one of the key MP's that will be voting on this issue!!! 

 

gerry.ritz@parl.gc.ca

Telephone:	613-995-7080
Fax:	613-996-8472

TAKE ACTION NOW!

We are less than two weeks away from the national shark fin vote and the sharks need your help!  We have collected the emails from every single MP in canada so you can email them all at once, just copy and past the emails into your BBC address line.  Please ask them to support MP Fin Donnelly's private members bill C-380.  It is important when contacting MP's to be polite, include your address or constituency and please remember to put the addresses in BCC so all of the MP's do not get a massive list of emails in their letters.

Thank you for taking action!
VADL

diane.ablonczy@parl.gc.ca, Eve.Adams@parl.gc.ca, Mark.Adler@parl.gc.ca, leona.aglukkaq@parl.gc.ca, Dan.Albas@parl.gc.ca, harold.albrecht@parl.gc.ca, Chris.Alexander@parl.gc.ca, malcolm.allen@parl.gc.ca, mike.allen@parl.gc.ca, dean.allison@parl.gc.ca, Stella.Ambler@parl.gc.ca, rona.ambrose@parl.gc.ca, rob.anders@parl.gc.ca, david.anderson@parl.gc.ca, scott.andrews@parl.gc.ca, charlie.angus@parl.gc.ca, scott.armstrong@parl.gc.ca, keith.ashfield@parl.gc.ca, niki.ashton@parl.gc.ca, Jay.Aspin@parl.gc.ca, alex.atamanenko@parl.gc.ca, Robert.Aubin@parl.gc.ca, Paulina.Ayala@parl.gc.ca, john.baird@parl.gc.ca, Joyce.Bateman@parl.gc.ca, mauril.belanger@parl.gc.ca, andre.bellavance@parl.gc.ca, carolyn.bennett@parl.gc.ca, leon.benoit@parl.gc.ca, Tyrone.Benskin@parl.gc.ca, candice.bergen@parl.gc.ca, maxime.bernier@parl.gc.ca, dennis.bevington@parl.gc.ca, james.bezan@parl.gc.ca, Denis.Blanchette@parl.gc.ca, Lysane.Blanchette-Lamothe@parl.gc.ca, steven.blaney@parl.gc.ca, kelly.block@parl.gc.ca, Francoise.Boivin@parl.gc.ca, Charmaine.Borg@parl.gc.ca, ray.boughen@parl.gc.ca, Alexandre.Boulerice@parl.gc.ca, Marjolaine.Boutin-Sweet@parl.gc.ca, Tarik.Brahmi@parl.gc.ca, peter.braid@parl.gc.ca, garry.breitkreuz@parl.gc.ca, scott.brison@parl.gc.ca, RuthEllen.Brosseau@parl.gc.ca, gord.brown@parl.gc.ca, lois.brown@parl.gc.ca, patrick.brown@parl.gc.ca, rod.bruinooge@parl.gc.ca, Brad.Butt@parl.gc.ca, gerry.byrne@parl.gc.ca, paul.calandra@parl.gc.ca, blaine.calkins@parl.gc.ca, ron.cannan@parl.gc.ca, John.Carmichael@parl.gc.ca, Guy.Caron@parl.gc.ca, colin.carrie@parl.gc.ca, Sean.Casey@parl.gc.ca, Andrew.Cash@parl.gc.ca, chris.charlton@parl.gc.ca, Sylvain.Chicoine@parl.gc.ca, Robert.Chisholm@parl.gc.ca, Corneliu.Chisu@parl.gc.ca, michael.chong@parl.gc.ca, Francois.Choquette@parl.gc.ca, olivia.chow@parl.gc.ca, david.christopherson@parl.gc.ca, rob.clarke@parl.gc.ca, Ryan.Cleary@parl.gc.ca, tony.clement@parl.gc.ca, denis.coderre@parl.gc.ca, joe.comartin@parl.gc.ca, Raymond.Cote@parl.gc.ca, irwin.cotler@parl.gc.ca, Joan.Crockatt@parl.gc.ca, jean.crowder@parl.gc.ca, nathan.cullen@parl.gc.ca, rodger.cuzner@parl.gc.ca, Joe.Daniel@parl.gc.ca, pat.davidson@parl.gc.ca, don.davies@parl.gc.ca, libby.davies@parl.gc.ca, 

Anne-Marie.Day@parl.gc.ca, bob.dechert@parl.gc.ca, dean.delmastro@parl.gc.ca, barry.devolin@parl.gc.ca, paul.dewar@parl.gc.ca, stephane.dion@parl.gc.ca, Pierre.DionneLabelle@parl.gc.ca, Rosane.DoreLefebvre@parl.gc.ca, earl.dreeshen@parl.gc.ca, Matthew.Dube@parl.gc.ca, john.duncan@parl.gc.ca, kirsty.duncan@parl.gc.ca, linda.duncan@parl.gc.ca, Pierre-Luc.Dusseault@parl.gc.ca, rick.dykstra@parl.gc.ca, wayne.easter@parl.gc.ca, mark.eyking@parl.gc.ca, julian.fantino@parl.gc.ca, ed.fast@parl.gc.ca, Kerry-Lynne.Findlay@parl.gc.ca, diane.finley@parl.gc.ca, jim.flaherty@parl.gc.ca, steven.fletcher@parl.gc.ca, judy.foote@parl.gc.ca, Jean-Francois.Fortin@parl.gc.ca, Mylene.Freeman@parl.gc.ca, hedy.fry@parl.gc.ca, royal.galipeau@parl.gc.ca, cheryl.gallant@parl.gc.ca, marc.garneau@parl.gc.ca, Randall.Garrison@parl.gc.ca, Rejean.Genest@parl.gc.ca, Jonathan.Genest-Jourdain@parl.gc.ca, Alain.Giguere@parl.gc.ca, Parm.Gill@parl.gc.ca, shelly.glover@parl.gc.ca, yvon.godin@parl.gc.ca, Robert.Goguen@parl.gc.ca, peter.goldring@parl.gc.ca, ralph.goodale@parl.gc.ca, gary.goodyear@parl.gc.ca, Bal.Gosal@parl.gc.ca, jacques.gourde@parl.gc.ca, claude.gravelle@parl.gc.ca, nina.grewal@parl.gc.ca, Sadia.Groguhe@parl.gc.ca, stephen.harper@parl.gc.ca, Dan.Harris@parl.gc.ca, jack.harris@parl.gc.ca, richard.harris@parl.gc.ca, Sana.Hassainia@parl.gc.ca, laurie.hawn@parl.gc.ca, Bryan.Hayes@parl.gc.ca, russ.hiebert@parl.gc.ca, Jim.Hillyer@parl.gc.ca, randy.hoback@parl.gc.ca, ed.holder@parl.gc.ca, Ted.Hsu@parl.gc.ca, carol.hughes@parl.gc.ca, bruce.hyer@parl.gc.ca, Pierre.Jacob@parl.gc.ca, Roxanne.James@parl.gc.ca, brian.jean@parl.gc.ca, peter.julian@parl.gc.ca, randy.kamp@parl.gc.ca, jim.karygiannis@parl.gc.ca, gerald.keddy@parl.gc.ca, Matthew.Kellway@parl.gc.ca, jason.kenney@parl.gc.ca, peter.kent@parl.gc.ca, greg.kerr@parl.gc.ca, ed.komarnicki@parl.gc.ca, daryl.kramp@parl.gc.ca, mike.lake@parl.gc.ca, kevin.lamoureux@parl.gc.ca, Francois.Lapointe@parl.gc.ca, Jean-Francois.Larose@parl.gc.ca, Alexandrine.Latendresse@parl.gc.ca, guy.lauzon@parl.gc.ca, Helene.Laverdiere@parl.gc.ca, denis.lebel@parl.gc.ca, dominic.leblanc@parl.gc.ca, Helene.LeBlanc@parl.gc.ca, Ryan.Leef@parl.gc.ca, Kellie.Leitch@parl.gc.ca, pierre.lemieux@parl.gc.ca, megan.leslie@parl.gc.ca, Chungsen.Leung@parl.gc.ca, Laurin.Liu@parl.gc.ca, Wladyslaw.Lizon@parl.gc.ca, ben.lobb@parl.gc.ca, tom.lukiwski@parl.gc.ca, james.lunney@parl.gc.ca, lawrence.macaulay@parl.gc.ca, peter.mackay@parl.gc.ca, dave.mackenzie@parl.gc.ca, Hoang.Mai@parl.gc.ca, wayne.marston@parl.gc.ca, pat.martin@parl.gc.ca, brian.masse@parl.gc.ca, irene.mathyssen@parl.gc.ca, Elizabeth.May@parl.gc.ca, colin.mayes@parl.gc.ca, john.mccallum@parl.gc.ca, phil.mccoleman@parl.gc.ca, david.mcguinty@parl.gc.ca, john.mckay@parl.gc.ca, cathy.mcleod@parl.gc.ca, Costas.Menegakis@parl.gc.ca, ted.menzies@parl.gc.ca, rob.merrifield@parl.gc.ca, Elaine.Michaud@parl.gc.ca, larry.miller@parl.gc.ca, Christine.Moore@parl.gc.ca, james.moore@parl.gc.ca, rob.moore@parl.gc.ca, Dany.Morin@parl.gc.ca, Isabelle.Morin@parl.gc.ca, Marc-Andre.Morin@parl.gc.ca, Marie-Claude.Morin@parl.gc.ca, maria.mourani@parl.gc.ca, thomas.mulcair@parl.gc.ca, joyce.murray@parl.gc.ca, Pierre.Nantel@parl.gc.ca, Peggy.Nash@parl.gc.ca, Jamie.Nicholls@parl.gc.ca, rob.nicholson@parl.gc.ca, rick.norlock@parl.gc.ca, Jose.Nunez-Melo@parl.gc.ca, deepak.obhrai@parl.gc.ca, gordon.oconnor@parl.gc.ca, Joe.Oliver@parl.gc.ca, tilly.oneillgordon@parl.gc.ca, Ted.Opitz@parl.gc.ca, Erin.OToole@parl.gc.ca, massimo.pacetti@parl.gc.ca, Annick.Papillon@parl.gc.ca, christian.paradis@parl.gc.ca, Claude.Patry@parl.gc.ca, lavar.payne@parl.gc.ca, Eve.Peclet@parl.gc.ca, Peter.Penashue@parl.gc.ca, Manon.Perreault@parl.gc.ca, Francois.Pilon@parl.gc.ca, louis.plamondon@parl.gc.ca, pierre.poilievre@parl.gc.ca, joe.preston@parl.gc.ca, AnneMinh-Thu.Quach@parl.gc.ca, bob.rae@parl.gc.ca, john.rafferty@parl.gc.ca, lisa.raitt@parl.gc.ca, james.rajotte@parl.gc.ca, Murray.Rankin@parl.gc.ca, brent.rathgeber@parl.gc.ca, Mathieu.Ravignat@parl.gc.ca, Francine.Raynault@parl.gc.ca, geoff.regan@parl.gc.ca, scott.reid@parl.gc.ca, Michelle.Rempel@parl.gc.ca, blake.richards@parl.gc.ca, greg.rickford@parl.gc.ca, gerry.ritz@parl.gc.ca, Jean.Rousseau@parl.gc.ca, Romeo.Saganash@parl.gc.ca, Jasbir.Sandhu@parl.gc.ca, andrew.saxton@parl.gc.ca, francis.scarpaleggia@parl.gc.ca, andrew.scheer@parl.gc.ca, gary.schellenberger@parl.gc.ca, craig.scott@parl.gc.ca, Kyle.Seeback@parl.gc.ca, Djaouida.Sellah@parl.gc.ca, judy.sgro@parl.gc.ca, gail.shea@parl.gc.ca, bev.shipley@parl.gc.ca, devinder.shory@parl.gc.ca, scott.simms@parl.gc.ca, Jinny.Sims@parl.gc.ca, Rathika.Sitsabaiesan@parl.gc.ca, joy.smith@parl.gc.ca, robert.sopuck@parl.gc.ca, kevin.sorenson@parl.gc.ca, bruce.stanton@parl.gc.ca, Lise.St-Denis@parl.gc.ca, Kennedy.Stewart@parl.gc.ca, peter.stoffer@parl.gc.ca, brian.storseth@parl.gc.ca, Mark.Strahl@parl.gc.ca, Mike.Sullivan@parl.gc.ca, david.sweet@parl.gc.ca, glenn.thibeault@parl.gc.ca, david.tilson@parl.gc.ca, Lawrence.Toet@parl.gc.ca, vic.toews@parl.gc.ca, Philip.Toone@parl.gc.ca, Jonathan.Tremblay@parl.gc.ca, brad.trost@parl.gc.ca, Bernard.Trottier@parl.gc.ca, justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca, Susan.Truppe@parl.gc.ca, Nycole.Turmel@parl.gc.ca, merv.tweed@parl.gc.ca, tim.uppal@parl.gc.ca, Bernard.Valcourt@parl.gc.ca, Frank.valeriote@parl.gc.ca, dave.vankesteren@parl.gc.ca, peter.vanloan@parl.gc.ca, maurice.vellacott@parl.gc.ca, mike.wallace@parl.gc.ca, mark.warawa@parl.gc.ca, chris.warkentin@parl.gc.ca, jeff.watson@parl.gc.ca, john.weston@parl.gc.ca, rodney.weston@parl.gc.ca, David.Wilks@parl.gc.ca, John.Williamson@parl.gc.ca, alice.wong@parl.gc.ca, stephen.woodworth@parl.gc.ca, lynne.yelich@parl.gc.ca, terence.young@parl.gc.ca,Wai.Young@parl.gc.ca, Bob.Zimmer@parl.gc.ca