It’s completely crazy -- the DFO is considering allowing oil drilling in the newest Marine Protected Area. The Laurentian Channel, a diverse area of ocean 1,200 km off the coast of Newfoundland, would be open to oil and gas drilling and exploration in 80% of the proposed area. That doesn’t sound much like it’s being protected.

The DFO is being manipulated by the powerful oil lobby, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), and it looks like the DFO has bowed to its pressure. This disgusting manipulation is endangering our oceans and the wide array of life that lives in this precious area -- coral, sharks and leatherback sea turtles to name just a few. 

But we still have time to prevent this ridiculous proposition from going through. The proposal hasn’t been finalized yet and a huge outcry now could turn the tides and truly protect our oceans. We can’t let the CAPP use the government to further its greed. 

CAPP is a powerful lobby group representing 90% of Canada’s oil and gas producers including dirty oil giants like ExxonMobil, Shell Canada, BP and Suncor. The massive corporations it represents have revenues upwards of $100 billion a year. And its using that financial might to move the hands of government into allowing oil and gas drilling in the Laurentian Channel. 

This amazing stretch of ocean is home to two species-at-risk, the leatherback sea turtle and the Northern wolffish as well as being critical spawning, nursery and migratory areas for countless other marine life. It would be the largest Marine Protected Area in Canada, at just under 12,000 square kilometres allowing for true protection of biodiversity. Seismic testing and oil drilling pose unacceptable risks to protecting these precious creatures and must not be allowed to happen. 

SumOfUs is effective when it comes to changing the DFO’s mind. Late last year over 26,000 caring members like you signed a viral petition to change the Fisheries Act to protect wild salmon from farmed salmon blood contaminating their migratory waters. Within days the Minister announced that the Act would be reviewed and thousands more SumOfUs members sent him a letter demanding change. We know that when we work together we can get the DFO to listen and do what’s right for protecting our oceans.