N.S. Woman Rides Scooter To Ottawa To ‘Save Our Salmon’

Sonja Wood is a household name in Nova Scotia as an activist and singer-songwriter.

In 1985, she walked to raise awareness on the famine in Ethiopia and, following a car accident, advocated for the twinning of Highway 101.

Now, she’s headed to Ottawa on her power scooter to stand for all the salmon in Atlantic Canada.

She says things like dumping, mining and construction are affecting the local salmon.

Wood recently passed through Moncton during her 30-day journey to the nation’s capital.

“Nova Scotia has been basically raped by bigger companies and a government who doesn’t care about the wild Atlantic Salmon and we’ve had enough. We’re also very concerned about the future of the salmon here within the New Brunswick area,” she says.

Wood chairs a group called ‘Friends of the Avon River’, who have been advocating for free tidal flow for nearly 20 years.

“We formed a couple of petitions, but the last one we were promised that we would get an answer to. The 11th of September, they let us know that our petition had become obsolete even though we were promised that if we had it in on the due date we would be answered before the House stops sitting,” says Wood.

She plans on arriving in Ottawa just in time for the election to speak with candidates directly about her concern for the species.