Islands Radio, CFIM Holds 30th Annual Radiothon

Serge Rochon, Aunt Emma (Odette Leblanc) and Charles-Eugène Cyr.

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After serving the people of the Magdalen Islands-Iles de la Madeleine, CFIM held its 30th annual radiothon festivities. 

Three thousand, eight hundred and twelve (3812) Islanders renewed their membership card for the radio station, during the Radiothon. This record appears to be two percent more than in 2010.

Chairman of Islands Community Broadcasting, Serge Rochon, declared himself very satisfied with the Islands Community Radio since it has eclipsed its own record of 3700 registered members in 2009.

Source: CFIM

Photo: Luc Miousse

A Sea of Death and Destruction

"Come Follow Me" Jesus said, "An I Will Make You Fishers Of Men."

The fishing seas has been a hard one for the traditional tradesmen of the Magdalen Islands. The season's first catch was on May 9th, 2011, a week later than anywhere else on the east coast of Canada. The Magdalen Islands fishermen missed the valuable Mother's Day Weekend, which undoubtedly made a huge dent in their seasonal sales.

The lobster count is down overall from last year. The price per pound at the wharf is poor particularly since the other provinces had time to saturate the market before Magdalen Islands lobster arrived. It didn't help that Newfoundland sold over a million pounds of lobster at $3,65/pound last week and drove the price even lower. And then there is the wind.....

It hasn't stopped blowing 30 to 40 kilometers/hour and occasionally above from the northeast since the season began. The experienced fishermen are suffering from aches and pains in their legs and backs as the boats are hitting down hard on the sea after each choppy wave. Yesterday was no exception....

We lost a fisherman yesterday in Etang-du-Nord. Donald Bourgeois fell overboard and drown. They recovered his body because he floated to the surface immediately (perhaps he had the regulatory life jacket on) and an autopsy will be done to determine if the fall was related to an unknown medical condition or if it was purely accidental. The islanders sympathies go out to his family and friends.

We also lost a fishing boat yesterday. The waves were sufficiently high or strong to capsize the boat with a crew of three fishermen. The men were saved by the crew of a near-by fishing vessel, but it gives a strong idea of just how bad the conditions on the sea are just now. It is not so bad to keep the boats in the harbours but it is bad enough to make it dangerous on the sea or at the very least very uncomfortable.

Rest in Peace Donald Bourgeois!

This is a repeat of  the Magdalen Islands Online article Fishing 2011 aux Iles de la Madeleine

Dr David Suzuki's Declaration To Help Protect The Gulf of Saint Lawrence

Gulf of Saint Lawrence Flag

World famous Canadian environmentalist, Dr. David Suzuki arrived on the Magdalen Islands on Friday, April 29th, 2011, to help with the struggle to protect the Gulf of Saint Lawrence from the oil drilling prospects. On Saturday, there was a ceremony held at Old Harry beach and the declaration was presented along with a flag for the Gulf. 

Accompanying Dr Suzuki was Georges Stroumboulopoulos of CBC's "The Hour" television show, Karel Mayrand, Executive Director of the David Suzuki Foundation in Quebec and Danielle Giroux of the islands Attention FragÎles. There were also about 40 to 50 islanders who are interested in keeping the oil cartels out of the Gulf and plenty of local children who joined them for a flag-raising ceremony for the protection of the Gulf of St. Lawrence against potential oil and gas spills.

Video clip of the declaration speech given by Dr. Suzuki.

David Suzuki Foundation, Old Harry from Luc Fontaine/DocuFilm on Vimeo.

During the ceremony, Dr. Suzuki revealed a flag on a sea-blue background with a bright orange starfish at its centre, representing the Gulf's many resources and the five provinces bordering it. Dr. Suzuki also initiated a vibrant call to action to protect the Gulf of St. Lawrence and its ecosystem and communities by reading a statement titled "The Declaration of the Defenders of the Saint-Lawrence."

"A very strong current passed between Dr. Suzuki and the people of the Islands. His visit and his support provided a wave of hope to the people in the community, who must continue to mobilize our neighbours in the Atlantic Provinces to protect the Gulf of St. Lawrence and its precious and renewable resources," commented Danielle Giroux, President of Attention FragÏles and spokesperson for the St. Lawrence Coalition.

"The Gulf of St. Lawrence is one of the planet's most precious and unique ecosystems," declared Dr. Suzuki. "Nature cannot be forced to conform to human borders and economy. Instead, we must maintain its health and subordinate our interests to the gulf."

In order to educate the public about the interdependence between citizens and the St. Lawrence River, the David Suzuki Foundation launched a new campaign last month, "The St. Lawrence: Our Living River". The campaign will offer individuals the opportunity to reconnect with the St. Lawrence River and Gulf by taking one or several of eight "David Suzuki Blue Actions" or by participating to an activity in their community on June 10^th, the first-ever St. Lawrence Action Day.

Dr. Suzuki and Georges Stroumboulopoulos were at the Magdalen Islands to film a special online segment that will be posted on the CBC's website in late May or early June. The main objective of the web segment is to raise Canadians' awareness of the Gulf's importance and the risks associated with oil and gas drilling.

To view a web segment of the flag-raising ceremony and to watch Dr. Suzuki read the Declaration of the Defenders of the St. Lawrence Gulf, visit:http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/oceans/projects/saint-lawrence/help-us-protect-the-gulf-of-saint-lawrence/

To send a letter to tell the government to protect the Gulf, visit: http://action.davidsuzuki.org/fr/st-laurent

Local Environmental Group Takes Action Against Gulf Drilling

A letter came in the inbox from the Saint Lawrence Coalition, an environmental group set up to protect the Gulf of Saint Lawrence from the reckless drilling of oil. An oil spill such as that in the Gulf of Mexico one year ago has brought many concerns to islanders and the population of at least four other provinces. This is the letter in whole. There will be more information coming in the next few days and weeks. You can support the moratorium at http://www.coalitionsaintlaurent.ca/

Dear St. Lawrence Coalition members,

Our next actions will be crucial in determining the future. To guarantee the success of these actions, we need your help.

Urgent action of the Coalition:

Participate in the consultation on the draft Scoping Document of the Offshore Board that will define the requirements of an environmental assessment of the Corridor Resources Inc. drilling project.

Background: Last February 22, Corridor Resources Inc. filed a proposal with the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board for exploratory drilling at the site of Old Harry, offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. This project could be realized as early as 2012. However, since 2005, all exploratory drilling projects are submitted only to a screening, a form of environmental assessment that does not involve a public hearing or broader consultation with the public. Moreover, this review was overseen by the Petroleum Board. Recall that the Board was severely criticized in the recent Wells Report that noted the conflict of interest inherent in the Board’s structure and emphasized that the safety of the workers and the environment is not adequately ensured. Note also that it was exploratory drilling that led to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Consultation with the Board: Following the tabling of this drilling proposal, the Petroleum Board has produced a draft Scoping Document, the objective of which is to specify the requirements of the impact study that Corridor Resources must realize before obtaining its permit. The Board is now inviting the public to provide comments on the Scoping Document by March 28, 2011.

Note that this is a preliminary step leading up to the impact study; we do not comment on the impact study at this stage.

Position paper: While we fundamentally challenge the legitimacy of the Petroleum Board to regulate in a safe manner this industry, we have decided to participate in this consultation to officially express our concerns, as provided by law. Indeed, the number and significance of public concerns tabled in this process could lead the authorities (the Board and/or the Federal Ministry of Environment) to make the environmental assessment process more stringent and to put it under the authority of an environmental commission as provided in Article 20 of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act: a commission may be established if public concerns warrant. For this reason, we also invite you to participate in great numbers in this consultation.

Our position paper clearly challenges the legitimacy of the Board, proposes that the spatial and temporal scope of the environmental assessment be increased and requests that it be conducted by an independent environmental commission as explained above.

What you can do: We will send you our position paper* so that you can provide comment. Please return your comments to us no later than Friday, March 25 at 17h.

You can also submit your own position paper (in French or English) to be received at the Board no later than March 28. It may be a simple letter that summarizes your concerns.

The St. Lawrence Coalition’s position paper may stimulate your thoughts and provide a basis for your comments to the Board.

We will also send a position paper produced by Marianne Papillon (in French). The initiative of this citizen may inspire you. Ms. Papillon has agreed to allow her text to be reproduced in part or in whole.

We believe that significant, interprovincial participation in this consultation will adequately communicate the concerns of the population associated with this project and offers a good chance of bringing about the formation of a commission.

Future action:

Engage representatives of the federal and provincial governments to communicate our concerns about the need for a commission and a review of the structure of the Petroleum Board.

Soon, we will prepare a form letter expressing our concerns about the need for an environmental commission and an in depth review of the structure of the Board. You will be asked to send this letter to several key leaders, whose contact information we will provide.

Then we will invite you to personalize this letter as you wish; you can reproduce it in whole or in part, and send it to representatives of the governments concerned.

We hope that we can count on you at this important time.

Danielle and the entire team: Karel, Jean-Patrick, Christian, Sylvain, Jérôme and Patrick

--------------------

Danielle Giroux

Spokesperson

Saint Lawrence Coalition

Erosion Is Becoming An Extreme Concern on the Islands

As the 2011 Seal Hunt Approaches Protests Escalates

Léonce Arseneau

A complaint has been filed with the Quebec Police Force, Sûreté du Québec Îles-de-la-Madeleine, by certain members of the Madelinot Community. The problem has arrived with the FaceBook Group Page called “La Chasse aux phoques, stop aux mensonges”, (The seal hunt, stop the lies). The complaint alleges that anti-seal hunt activists have made online threats to kill them and their families.

The justified evidence that is now in the hands of the investigators are emails sent to the administrators of the Group Page and messages posted to discussion boards and social networking websites.

Everything is in the hands of investigators from Quebec provincial police," said island resident Léonce Arsenault, who has founded a pro-seal hunt page on Facebook.

Mr. Arseneau had said that some of the alleged threats called for the seal hunters to be slaughtered.

"Some dead sealers? I want to see it again and again and again," read one post from an anonymous writer. The poster welcomed the death of four Quebec sealers who died during a botched coast guard towing operation in 2008.

"Lots of sealers blood everywhere, everywhere, everywhere," the post said.

The Magdalen Islander has also provided police with comments posted on Facebook.

"Quick ... we're organizing a massacre of seal killers. Who wants to participate?" said one post.

"Their family members should be killed in the same (way) while they watch," another activist wrote in a forum.

Arsenault said the violent postings constitute propaganda that could influence people to act. "They're trying to demonize a group, in this case seal hunters and islanders," said Arsenault. "They're inciting violence. This is serious."

Distinguishing Magdalen Islands Lobster

Over the past two years, the prices of seafood has pretty much hit the bottom of the barrel. The price of lobster plummeted from approximately $6.50CDN to $2.50CDN at the wharf. The industry is suffering and the fishermen even more. This makes the price of lobster far less than the price of beef or pork or even process meat substitutes. Lobster is still considered a luxury food.

On the islands, a renewable resource strategy was put in place in the late nineties and has been working well in spite of the lower prices giving the islands an excellent name for high quality, large lobster full of sweet meat. However, although islands lobster are well known through eastern Quebec, it is relatively unknown throughout the world as Islands lobster gets mixed into the fray.

What is relatively unknown to the world is that the lobster in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence is living in an environment that is fed great quantities of cold, fresh water coming down the Saint Lawrence Seaway. This water is mixing with the salt water from the Atlantic giving the density of salt around 50% normally found in lobster waters. This gives Magdalen Islands lobster more of the sweet/salt taste that is generally preferred.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ – Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation du Québec) has decided to prepare a marketing strategy to help processors of seafood markets in Quebec and the United States.

The organization, Transformation Alimentaire Québec (TRANSAQ) MAPAQ is leading this important project for the sustainable future of fisheries. With declining prices for seafood, the Associate Deputy Minister and Director General of TRANSAQ, Dominique Fortin, just completed a tour of eastern Quebec.
According to her, two things that must be done are unanimous in the industry:

1.     Strengthen marketing in companies of fisheries and aquaculture;

2.     Increase awareness of marine products from Quebec.

The department plans include improving the tools available within MAPAQ. It also plans to organize meetings between the heads of major grocery chains in Quebec and industry. Through various means, MAPAQ will present more marketing of seafood products from Quebec.  

"Everyone is in agreement with the fact that among seafood transformation companies, we must strengthen the marketing function," she said.

Magdalen Islands Lobster

Cape Dauphin Fishermen's COOP in
Grosse Isle

The Fishermen's Association’s of the Magdalen Islands also has the MAPAQ support in their efforts to have an eco-certification and traceability of the islands lobster.

According to the deputy minister, the law on naming rights of the origin of food would distinguish Islands lobster from lobster of Eastern Canada and the world.


"The islands lobster is recognized within Quebec as Quebeckers want. Outside Quebec, there may be other people who want it too. We must distinguish it from other lobster," she says.


Negotiations are under way to adopt a new name for next season.