Highlights from Green candidate Nic Dedeluk’s visit to Cortes Island

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents Around 30 people turned out to meet Green candidate Nic Dedeluk when she came to Mansons Hall on Monday, October 7. Cortes Currents recorded 145 minutes of the two hour meeting, which is far too much to fit into a half hour broadcast. So today’s program consists of a few highlights.  A copy of the unedited audio is embedded in the written version of this story.  As a third of the audience came from the Cortes Island Academy, Dedeluk told them, “I'm so thankful that youth are here and participating in this. You're part of the reason I'm doing this. I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother, and I'm concerned for the children yet unborn.”     Dedeluk also gave an overview of her life before becoming a candidate, “I am a marine biologist. About 25 years ago, I came up to study whale/ vessel interactions. I fell in love with the area and I've lived in Alert Bay since 2003. Some of you who have spent time on the watermight've run into a small Zodiac program that does boater education and lets people know about the whale watching guidelines, Strait Watch. That was a program that I helped create in 2003, as well as the Cetus Research and Conservation Society. That program and society still carries on today even though I'm no longer with them.” “In 2013, I started working for the Namgis First Nation.  I'm their Aquatic Resources Manager. If it has to do with the ocean or the rivers, those are projects that fall under my supervision and I really love my job.” “While working with Namgis, and still under Namgis, I was subcontracted to work on another project called the Broughton Aquaculture Transition Initiative. That was a four year program where we did work with two fish farm companies, MOWI and Cermaq, as we transitioned to closure 17 fish farms in the Broughton area. That program just ended in March, and so I'm now back to my aquatic resources position  with just Namgis.  The Broughton project was a project of the Namgis, the Mamalilikulla, the Kwikwasut’inuxw Haxwa’mis nations together. As a biologist, I have experience working with multiple levels of government and organizations to find selective successful paths forward meeting the conservation needs.  So that's quite a bit about me. I'd love to hear about you. I'd love to learn more about your concerns on Cortes and hopefully answer some of your questions.”  The format we agreed upon at the beginning of the meeting was that speakers who were okay with having their comments included in the broadcast would speak their names and anyone who wished to remain anonymous would not. I believe everyone gave their name.