Green Party commissioner Stuart Mackinnon
opened with a statement
that lasted nearly 10 minutes and ended with an outburst of sustained
applause and cheering from the public gallery, as people also took to
their feet as a motion came forward to limit the importation and display
of cetaceans.
“Commissioners, the time to act is now. The aquarium has no
intention of listening to us or listening to the voters. They have no
intention of ending captivity for cetaceans themselves. Therefore, we
must do it here and now,” he said. “The fate of these creatures is in
our hands.”
A voice pipped up in the crowd, “Thank you, Stuart.”
The park board chairman and Green Party commissioner, Michael Wiebe,
called for quiet. NPA commissioner Sarah Kirby-Yung, a former
chairwoman, was quick on the draw to second the motion and later said
she did not have prior notice of Mackinnon’s plan.
There was but one question from the board table as NPA commissioner
Casey Crawford asked what was behind the timeline to bring back a staff
report for May 15. Since he had started preparing his motion earlier
that day, Mackinnon said that staff considered the spring date a
reasonable deadline.
There were no amendments to the motion calling for a ban, no
disagreement around the table. Rather, one by one, the people
representing three separate political parties, as well as an
independent, voiced their support and spoke of their own personal
connection with the aquarium. Some also showed emotion, the kind of
feeling and “sincerity,” to use the word of Kirby-Yung, that spurred
many to run for public office in the first place.
Catherine Evans, the lone Vision representative at the table, said
changing public sentiment compelled her to support a ban on captive
cetaceans and she didn’t need a plebiscite to confirm that.
“It has changed even dramatically in the three to four years and
support is plummeting, frankly,” she said, noting there is less
tolerance for keeping large, free-ranging animals in what are “unnatural
environments for them.”
In one aspect, the ban came about because of the good work of the
aquarium itself and its commitment to education and awareness of
graceful mammals such as beluga whales and playful displays from rescue
dolphins and other animals.
“There is no criticism of the care that the aquarium gives to
cetaceans implied in our motion — that is not the issue. It is more
fundamental than that. It really is an ethical issue about humane
treatment,” said Evans, noting the historical abuse of animals in
entertainment, agriculture and science laboratories did not change
without being forced to.
As NPA commissioner Casey Crawford would a few minutes later, Evans
described a learning experience that opened her mind to the complexities
of nature and biodiversity. It happened at the aquarium and featured a
wooden, spinning wheel that displayed the salmon lifecycle and a “tiny,
tiny, tiny” chance of survival because of natural and man-made
obstacles.
Her eyes were glossy and she said, “No live salmon were involved in that learning.”
Wiebe said he wants to see the aquarium feature local wildlife and
indigenous culture as well as seafood in an effort to promote
environmental conservation.
“I grew up with the aquarium, I had a sticker on the back of my
car, I was there for a lot of the births,” he said. “I understand what
it does to a child when you learn, but I understand that things have
changed and I continue to watch this change. And I am now happy to be a
part of it.”
John Coupar, a former board chairman who's with the NPA, began his
comments, as he sometimes does, with a reference to his late father, a
park board arborist and an advocate for public places who was born 100
years ago.
“We have made some positive changes in the city but we have also
made changes that have been negative,” said the two-term commissioner.
“We brought smelts back in False Creek. I was, a couple a weeks ago,
along those creosote piles that we have now wrapped. […] I have
tremendous value for the marine environment and consider myself an
environmentalist.”
He said his decision was not a foregone conclusion, far from it. In
fact, activists afterwards said they were particularly surprised Coupar
voted in favour of a ban.
The commissioner said, “Listening to the speakers tonight, I heard
[aquarium CEO] John Nightingale say a couple times in the media that
commissioners had made up their minds in advance, and I think that is
untrue. I think commissioners listen very carefully and take these
decisions to heart — really, really think them through.
“The aquarium has done some tremendous work over the years in terms
of, at the time, what was needed for us to understand and change our
thinking. I come to the position where I think the time has come for us
not to have cetaceans in captivity in Vancouver. It’s just time.”
With stated support from a majority four commissioners and no amendments
on the table, the motion was set to pass. The following three board
members made the decision unanimous.
Fellow NPA commissioner Casey Crawford paused briefly, with a catch
in his breath, as he spoke about his late mother, the head docent at the
Vancouver Aquarium, where he spent many days as a child interacting
with animals such as iguanas, fish and sea cucumbers. The orca whale of
his childhood is gone, and so, too, are the beluga whales that his
children came to know.
“Now the tanks are empty and the conversation has become, what are
the benefits of returning beluga to the tank and do these benefits
outweigh the concerns,” he said. “Frankly, I have not been convinced
that valuable and vital research is dependent on the return of beluga to
the Vancouver Aquarium.”
Thinking ahead to 2029, he asked what would happen then once the
aquarium promised to phase out cetaceans. “But then what? What will the
future be for them?”
Crawford said his family gets as much, if not more, out of other
exhibits, such as jellyfish and sloths, than of the cetaceans. He was
optimistic of what’s to come.
“I had a fascinating experience at the aquarium that was more than
just cetaceans,” he said. “It’s a brilliant place and I can’t speak more
highly of it, but it is a complete package that is not just cetaceans.
[…] There is a future for the aquarium in Vancouver and I am proud to
have this world-class facility in Stanley Park.”
Independent commissioner Erin Shum asked that staff include broader
concerns to help mitigate any legal action brought forward by the
aquarium, which had raised millions in fundraising and grants to build a
massive expansion project that has not only not yet begun but has
already been scaled back for a possible conversion to a time when they
would willingly not house cetaceans.
“I am concerned that we do need to address some of the legal and financial implications,” said Shum.
The last to speak was Kirby-Yung, who previously worked in the
communications department at the aquarium and considered many there
colleagues. She said afterwards the experience was very difficult but
she had no doubt the elected board had the authority to take a decision
that reflected the public will of voters.
“I would suggest it is entirely appropriate because that is
democracy,” she said at the table, referencing a comment from the
aquarium CEO John Nightingale that politicians are too influenced by
ideology rather than expertise in the field.
“Public policy is based on ideology and it is the job of elected
officials to listen to the public,” said Kirby-Yung. “It is the right
time to have a conversation around what the future of the Vancouver
Aquarium looks like because there are no longer whales there and the
expansion […] hasn’t yet begun. If there is going to be change, I think
now is the time to talk about it. The plan that was proposed is
described by [Nightingale] as a compromise, and I don’t think, on a
topic as important as this, that it should be about compromise.
“I have tremendous respect for the people at the aquarium, my former
colleagues, and personally this is a very challenging topic for me,”
she said. “I have tremendous appreciation for what they have done and I
also have every confidence they can turn their significant capability
and passion and intellect towards looking at what the aquarium of the
future might look like.”
Before the vote was officially counted, Nightingale stood and left the gallery.
He exited out the back door toward the parking lot and did not stop
for interviews. However, communications staff were prepared with printed
copies of a prepared statement.
In terms of amending park board by-laws, staff will return with a report by May 15, 2017.
As well as legal and financial concerns, the report may also
consider the fate of five beluga owned by the aquarium currently on loan
at marine parks around North America.
mstewart@vancourier.com
Twitter:
@MHStewart
Link to article:
http://www.vancourier.com/news/unified-park-board-takes-bold-stance-on-vancouver-aquarium-1.11511725
