Honourable senators, I rise today to celebrate World Oceans Day, which takes place on June 8 every year.

This past Saturday, I celebrated a magnificent World Oceans Day. I spent most of the day holding the tender hand of my 2‑year‑old grandchild, Violetta.

In the morning, she and I had a great time marvelling at starfish wriggling between her fingers, gazing in wonderment at a rare blue lobster and learning from the displays on alternatives to plastic at the World Oceans Day open house at St. Francis Xavier University.

That afternoon, Violetta and I continued our celebration by walking barefoot in the sand on Mahoney’s Beach, and dipping our toes in the crystal-clear waters of St. George’s Bay as we marvelled at the seabirds cavorting overhead.

How fortunate we are to be able to celebrate in this way?

World Oceans Day was officially recognized by the UN General Assembly in 2008, but the concept was originally proposed by Canada’s International Centre for Ocean Development and the Ocean Institute of Canada at the Earth Summit in 1992.

Oceans cover 70 per cent of our planet. They are the earth’s lungs, providing 70 per cent of the oxygen we breathe. They are a major source of food and medicines and are a critical part of the biosphere.

In Nova Scotia, we prize our oceans for many reasons — lobster, economic, health, recreation, well-being and cultural inspiration.

As bucolic as our World Oceans Day was on Saturday, there is now a pall hanging over our bonny, bonny shores.

Heeding the warnings and evidence of sea levels rising and the warming of the oceans, Halifax joined Vancouver earlier this year as the second Canadian city to declare a climate emergency.

There is evidence of accelerating coastline erosion and flooding, adjacent to the Mi’kmaq communities along the Bras d’Or Lake — Cape Breton’s inland sea.

Like Halifax city councillors, young Nova Scotian students from Amherst to Lunenburg are joining their peers in Canada and in 150 countries in Fridays for Futures marches inspired by Swedish student Greta Thunberg who famously told world leaders at the Davos World Economic Forum earlier this year that “Our house is on fire.” The sign of a school striker, Katie Hutten of Halifax, said, “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”

Colleagues, let’s listen to these young people before it’s too late. Our beautiful and bountiful oceans are precious and essential natural assets. As we approach our summer break, I would like to invite you all to come visit Nova Scotia, “Canada’s Ocean Playground,” and dip your toes in our pristine waters. Thank you, welalioq.