Senator Daniel Christmas of Nova Scotia, Canada, joins Dr. Lori Marino, President of the Whale Sanctuary Project, for this conversation about whales and the whale sanctuary.
Senator Christmas served on the Standing Committee on Fisheries & Oceans, which in 2017 was considering Bill S-203: the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act.
“It was very intense,” he recalls. “We heard [testimonies] from those who were strongly opposed to the S-203 legislation and equally we had people who very strongly believed we were doing the right thing.
“I wish we had the whales here tonight so we could ask them what do they think.”“And I was so frustrated, I said: ‘I wish we had the whales here tonight so we could ask them what do they think.’”
Senator Christmas told his colleagues that if he could have had such an opportunity, he would have wanted to ask the whales, “What is best for your family?”
Speaking of when he first heard that the whale sanctuary would be located in Port Hilford near Sherbrooke, he says he was “so joyful,” not only for Nova Scotians but for the whales from aquariums and entertainment parks who would have “a brand-new home where they could be looked after with love and respect and with some dignity finally.”
The senator also talks about the honor and respect with which whales have always been held by the Mi’kmaq people and says that the sanctuary will give young people the opportunity to reconnect with that relationship.
“I think we’ve forgotten who [the whales] are as people, as persons,” he says. “There’s an opportunity to bring something back from the past that was lost. And hopefully it won’t just remain with us [but] that others will come to Nova Scotia and see these beautiful creatures, and we can share the stories, the relationship, the honor and the respect we have.”