Petition to the Government of Canada
  Whereas:
  
    Canadians care deeply about the health of the ocean, and depend on a thriving ocean ecosystem;
    In 2019, over one million cruise ship passengers travelled off British Columbia on their way to Alaska;
    These ships generate significant amounts of pollutants that are harmful to human health, aquatic organisms and coastal ecosystems;
    Canada’s regulations under the Canada Shipping Act addressing the discharge of sewage and greywater are much less stringent than those in US Pacific coastal states;
    Canada permits sewage to be discharged with 18 times greater fecal coliform counts than does Alaska;
    Canada does not require that ships built before 2013 treat greywater discharges;
     22 of the 25 cruise ships sailing off British Columbia in 2019 were built before 2013;
    The Salish Sea in Washington State is a no-discharge zone prohibiting the discharge of sewage in order to protect public health, water quality, and sensitive marine resources;
     Canada has zero no-discharge zones off British Columbia;
    Canada does not require third party independent observers on board cruise ships as is required by Alaska; and
    Canada’s less stringent regulations encourage cruise ships to discharge their waste off British Columbia.
  
  
    We, the undersigned, concerned citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:
    1. Set standards for cruise ship sewage and greywater discharges equivalent to or stronger than those in Alaska;
    2. Designate no-discharge zones to stop pollution in marine protected areas, the entirety of the Salish and Great Bear Seas, and in critical habitat for threatened and endangered species; and
    3. Require regular independent third-party monitoring while ships are underway to ensure discharge requirements are met.