Meet with your MP!

You’ve emailed the federal government and called the Prime Minister to help get open net-pen fish farms out of B.C. Take the next step.

B.C.’s fish farm licenses are expiring on June 30, 2024 and this deadline presents another opportunity to get fish farms out.

Help keep the pressure on and meet with your MP. You DO NOT need to be an expert about fish farms, their impacts or wild salmon. We will give you some talking points and facts to prepare but speaking from the heart matters just as much.

Step #1: Identify your MP and setup a meeting

Visit https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en to search for your MP by name, constituency or postal code. Look at their profile to see what their current roles are and click on the contact tab to find their email address and constituency office phone number.

Call your constituency office. Tell them you are a constituent and would like to request a meeting to discuss your concerns about the impacts factory fish farms have on B.C.’s coastal waters and wildlife. If you are unable to make a meeting with your MP, you can likely arrange to meet with a staff member of their constituency office.

Step #2: Prepare and Meet!

Take some time to prepare for your meeting.

1. Confirm your meeting time and meeting length.
2. Plan out what you would like to say.  (Some resources and tips are listed further down). Here’s a rough outline of how your meeting might go.
   • You’ll first introduce yourself and any others who have accompanied you.
   • Thank your MP for taking the time to meet with you.
   • Explain why you care about B.C.’s wild salmon and wildlife or coastal waters.
   • Note your concerns with open net-pen fish farms and the upcoming license renewal on June 30, 2024. Speak to what matters to you, such as the impacts on wild salmon, wildlife, or the threats posed by disease and parasites from factory fish, the waste that is released into coastal waters, or the conflicting mandates of DFO to both protect wild salmon and promote aquaculture. Leave space for your MP to ask questions or respond to your concerns.
   • Highlight solutions! This includes a shift to land-based aquaculture and increased investments in restoring wild salmon populations and their habitats.
   • Make your request: Ask your MP to call on the federal government to keep their promise to transition from factory fish farms in 2025. Ask that they oppose renewing licenses in June.
   • Listen to their response and answer any questions. This is important! They might tell you important information, their opinions on the issue, or suggest how else we can engage government to get fish farms out. Plan on taking notes on their responses.
   • Identify if there are any action items to do following the meeting. They might request you send additional information, ask you connect them with other contacts, or suggest a followup meeting.
   • At the end of the meeting, thank them once again and ask them for a photo
   • Leave any relevant documents with them

Tips and Resources

Tips

• Bring a friend! There’s strength in numbers and you will likely be more comfortable if there are multiple people present to discuss this issue.  One person can also be a meeting note-taker. If you are meeting as a group, we recommend limiting it to a maximum of three people and make sure your MP’s office is aware of the number of people attending the meeting. Coordinate with your group ahead of your meeting to have a clear plan for who is speaking to what.
• Bring a pen and paper to take notes as well as any documents you need to reference. If you want to go paperless, have links to key documents ready for your reference.
• Speak from the heart, but keep your approach positive, courteous and respectful to make your meeting and message more impactful and help build your relationship with your MP.

Resources

• Scientific weight of evidence against open net-pen salmon farms
• Fish farm impacts to BC wildlife
• 3 reasons fish farms threaten wild salmon

Step #3: After your meeting

• Perform any action items from your meeting and send your MP a thank you email
• Connect with us and let us know how it went and what you heard! Send details to meghan@watershedwatch.ca
• Tell your friends and family and ask them to arrange their own meetings with their MPs