Unfortunately there is no 'legitimate land claims process' and the federal government does not negotiate honestly.
Unist'ot'en camp
Thu, 2018-12-13 12:34
#52
Thu, 2018-12-13 13:57
#53
The BC land claims process has always been a one way track to extinquishment of sui generis title to the unceded territories in exchange for at least enough money too pay for the tens of millions that the Indian Act bands have borrowed to engage in the rigged process. I sat on the Lower Mainland Regional Advisory Committee under the formal process in the mid '90's and I heard loud and clear the the only thing business interests wanted was "certainty" of land title. Certainty always meant in the end turning any land allocated under the treaty into private property. I had the opportunity to get my white snout into the gravy train that treaty negotiations has been for negotiators and consultants but I would not stoop to helping the colonizers. When I sat on the RAC I was most impressed with a couple of young women from the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation who presented a history and summary of what it would take to get them into the process. The Tsleil-Waututh are leading the fight in their Burrard Inlet homeland against the obscene idea of shipping bitumen almost daily out of their unceded territory.
Using the state to enforce the removal of people claiming rights under our Charter at the behest of a corporation is fascism 101. If you support that kind of action to clear away protest prior to the courts hearing all the issues then in my view that makes you a fascist, someone who supports using the coercive force of the state to further the ends of corporations.
Thu, 2018-12-13 19:59
#54
Unfortunately there is no 'legitimate land claims process' and the federal government does not negotiate honestly.
That is what I just said.
Thu, 2018-12-13 20:15
#55
The BC land claims process has always been a one way track to extinquishment of sui generis title to the unceded territories in exchange for at least enough money too pay for the tens of millions that the Indian Act bands have borrowed to engage in the rigged process. I sat on the Lower Mainland Regional Advisory Committee under the formal process in the mid '90's and I heard loud and clear the the only thing business interests wanted was "certainty" of land title. Certainty always meant in the end turning any land allocated under the treaty into private property. I had the opportunity to get my white snout into the gravy train that treaty negotiations has been for negotiators and consultants but I would not stoop to helping the colonizers. When I sat on the RAC I was most impressed with a couple of young women from the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation who presented a history and summary of what it would take to get them into the process. The Tsleil-Waututh are leading the fight in their Burrard Inlet homeland against the obscene idea of shipping bitumen almost daily out of their unceded territory.
Using the state to enforce the removal of people claiming rights under our Charter at the behest of a corporation is fascism 101. If you support that kind of action to clear away protest prior to the courts hearing all the issues then in my view that makes you a fascist, someone who supports using the coercive force of the state to further the ends of corporations.
As a lawyer, you must stand alone in not hoovering up as much lolly as you can from indigenous nations.
The problem for indigenous nations is that they are bargaining against their own money.
As an example of this tactic, consider that you book a flight online and duly pay with your credit card. For whatever reason, your plans change and you need to cancel the flight. You cannot cancel it online and must waste your time contacting a customer relations representative. The rep informs you that the airline policy is to charge a $100 cancellation fee and refund the rest in 'points' toward your next flight.
You are now in a position where you are negotiating against your own money.
The federal government does the same thing with land claims. BC nations have never ceded their lands but the feds force them into onerous legal costs (costs that will impoverish some small nations for generations) in order to get back that which they never surrendered in the first place.
The whole process stinks but each successive federal government keeps the smelly process intact because, in Ottawa, process over progress is the order of magnitude where ivory towers and budget allocations trump good governance.
Thu, 2018-12-13 21:20
#56
Never mind the weasel words, I support the rule of law and, as an officer of the court, you should have a better understanding of that responsibility than I. The issue before the courts is not indigenous rights but blockading a public bridge.
Some babblers are prone to accept only court decisions they agree with, spouting the usual neomarxist nonsense when faced with decisions they don't like. The problem with that attitude is that it plays directly to our venal political class who have no hesitation in pandering to identity politics by ignoring decisions they don't like.
As Marx famously said: Principles? I have principles but if you don't like them, I have others!
That was Groucho, not Karl.
Thu, 2018-12-13 21:38
#57
Civil disobedience is a moral responsibility for some of us when the stakes are planetary survival. As a labour lawyer I know that injunctions are the tools of the oppressive corporations. They are based on torts that date to the slave trade when the British invented them to stop slavers from killing each other over fights for "chattel." They have been used throughout Canada's history to destroy working class peoples resistance and are now being used against indigenous activists.
Fri, 2018-12-14 06:09
#58
Unist’ot’en Camp will have to wait until Friday for injunction decision
A B.C. judge has reserved her decision on whether to grant an injunction against members of a Wet’suwet’en clan so the $40-billion LNG Canada project can proceed.
Justice Marguerite Church put the matter over to Friday afternoon, said Warner Naziel of the Unist’ot’en Camp south of Houston, B.C.
“She asked for an argument against an injunction,” Naziel said Thursday after attending the first day of the court hearing.
“Our lawyer stated that it is a constitutional issue which affects the outcome of the Delgamuukw decision.”
Delganuukw was a 1984 case launched by leaders of the Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan First Nations, who took the provincial government to court to establish jurisdiction over land and water in northwest B.C.
Now they are relying on Delgamuukw again, said Naziel who is named with his partner Freda Huson in the injunction and civil suit filed by TransCanada subsidiary Coastal GasLink....
Fri, 2018-12-14 10:07
#59
Happy anniversary: the day Petronas blinked
On July 25 last year, Petronas cancelled their $36B Pacific Northwest LNG project, including a massive LNG terminal in the middle of the salmon nursery on Lelu Island.
Faced with court challenges by four Indigenous groups: the Tsimshian tribe of Gitwilgyoots, the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs, the Gitxsan House of Gwininitxw and the Gitxsan House of Luutkudziiwus, as well as Skeena Wild Conservation Society, Petronas withdrew from the project rather than face a potentially adverse court decision.
“Together with our neighbours we fought the Petronas projects in court and the proponent saw the writing on the wall and withdrew, which gave the Skeena watershed a much-needed reprieve” – Simogyet Gwininitxw (Yvonne Lattie)
quote:
And: we must forge ahead because there is still so much to do on so many fronts.
“Without protection at the watershed level, the Skeena salmon are still at risk,” notes Simogyet (Chief) Gwininitxw. Because the court case was never completed – it was declared moot after the project was cancelled – issues of vital importance to First Nations remain unresolved. These include the standing of hereditary chiefs before Canadian courts, and the level of consultation owed to First Nations, such as Gitanyow, whose territory is geographically removed from a project site, but who depend salmon that would be affected.
“Through the entire north-west, Simgigyet (hereditary chiefs) are responsible for the health and abundance of the land, to ensure that their House members are able to fish, hunt and gather sufficient food,” said Simogyet Yahaan (Donnie Wesley) of the Tsimshian Tribe of Gitwilgyoots. “The proponent’s withdrawal before the court had made a ruling on our case means that our traditional Indigenous governance is still not fully recognized by Canadian courts”.
“Other projects are just waiting in the wings, such as the approved and permitted Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Project. Given the BC government’s ongoing love affair with LNG, it’s only a matter of time before we have a new LNG pipe dream to deal with,” warned Richard Wright, spokesman for the Gitxsan House of Luutkudziiwus. “It’s time for the federal government to step up and act on their responsibility to protect Canada’s second largest salmon run.”
Fri, 2018-12-14 14:44
#60
I’m in good company this morning. These are some of the leaders of the non-existent Unist’ot’en Clan leadership and membership.
Yesterday, the CGL lawyers argued adamantly that the Unist’ot’en Clan does not exist.
Sat, 2018-12-15 00:00
#61
The B.C. Supreme Court has granted Coastal GasLink an interim injunction to pass through a blockade along the pipeline’s route south of Houston.
The decision allows the company to cross the Morice River bridge to access the pipeline's right-of-way and begin pre-construction activities.
article continues below
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“Our focus is on respectfully and safely moving forward with project activities, including gaining safe access across the Morice River bridge," Coastal GasLink said in a statement issued Friday after the decision.
"We understand there are individuals who do not share the same opinions about this project, and we respect that. We simply ask that their activities do not disrupt or jeopardize the safety of our employees and contractors, surrounding communities or even themselves.”
The $6.2-billion Coastal GasLink pipeline will bring natural gas from Northeast B.C. to Kitimat, where it will processed and shipped to Asian markets through the LNG Canada project.
The company had been denied access to the bridge by a camp blockade led by members of the Unist'ot'en, one of 20 clans within the Wet'suwet'en Nation that's been characterized as the lone holdout against letting the project go through its traditional territory.
Sat, 2018-12-15 00:06
#62
So, 19 out of 20 Wet'suwet'en clans support the pipeline and the environmental busybodies support the only holdout, making no mention of the level of support the Wet'suwet'en have for this project.
Keep your prominent pink probiscusses out of indigenous affairs, you parasites. You are a part of the colonialist agenda, not part of the solution for indigenous peoples.
Sat, 2018-12-15 00:55
#63
Judge Rules Uni'stoten Gate Must Come Down For Pipeline
https://aptnnews.ca/2018/12/15/judge-rules-unistoten-gate-must-come-down...
"...Judge Marguerite Church of the BC Supreme Court sided with Coastal Gas Link, a subsidiary of TransCanadaCorp, which filed an injunction to get construction going on the $40-billion LNG Canada build.
'People were crying but I feel emboldened because we are getting so much support,' said Warner Naziel of the Indigenous Unist'ot'en Camp - a land-based healing centre on Wet'suwet'en traditional territory south of Houston BC.
'I'm heart-broken,' said John Ridsdale, hereditary Chief Namoks, after the ruling. 'They have a right to commit violence against us to get what they want. The company can instruct the RCMP to come in. The last time we dealt with the RCMP they sent in over 200 members..."
"Outside of the court house Freda Huson told local media: 'It was so tough sitting there listening to their lies. And because everything was sprung on us we didn't have much time to respond. They had all the time in the world to do 2500 page binders. We didn't get to respond."
Sat, 2018-12-15 06:01
#64
An Interim Injunction was granted with an Enforcement Order to take affect in 72 hours. An extension of time was granted. We have until Jan 31, 2019, to respond to the volumes of affidavits presented by CGL
The ruling had three main components:
–Adjournment of the hearing of the plaintiff’s (Coastal GasLink) application for an interlocutory injunction to a date to be set no later than May 1, 2019, unless the parties agree otherwise.
–Extension of the time for the defendants to file and serve an application response, and a response to civil claim to Jan. 31, 2019.
–An interim injunction in the form sought by the plaintiff that will remain in force until judgment is rendered in the interlocutory injunction application or until there is a further order of the court. It goes into affect 72 hours after Friday afternoon’s ruling.
Sun, 2018-12-16 13:08
#65
On December 13th, 2018 Wet’suwet’en Dinï ze’ were denied the ability to wear their chief’s regalia in the Prince George court house. The Dinï ze’ and Ts’akë ze’ ceremonial regalia represent the House group and the House group’s territory. It embodies all that makes us Wet’suwet’en and brings forth the power of the land and ancestors to the situations in which they are worn by our clan representatives.
In 1880, the Indian Act made the wearing of Witsuwit’en regalia for ceremony and potlatching (the balhats) illegal. Indigenous peoples were forced to have approval of the Indian Agents to wear their ceremonial regalia outside the reserve boundaries. In 1901, most of the Wet’suwet’en’s ceremonial regalia and ceremonial items for the balhats were burned in Hagwilget by Father Morice and Father Wagner in an attempt to wipe out Wet’suwet’en governance and undermine the traditional leadership. The potlatch ban was not overturned until 1952, although Wet’suwet’en bravely risked imprisonment when they resumed their balhats practises in 1906.
Today, we are appalled that our Dinï ze and Ts’akë ze’ continue to be denied the freedom to exercise our laws and culture through the use of ceremonial regalia as our laws and traditions require. The court shows disrespect for our highest chiefs by denying them this right. Particularly, in the face of Premier Horgan’s public commitment to work with Indigenous groups to implement UNDRIP in a meaningful path towards reconciliation (Horgan, Sept 13th, Victoria). Article 8.1 of the UNDRIP clearly states:
Indigenous Peoples and individuals have the right not to be subjected to forced assimilation or destruction of their culture.
Further, Article 8.2 (a) states:
States shall provide effective mechanisms for prevention of, and redress for:
(a) Any action which has the aim or effect of depriving them of their integrity as distinct peoples, or of their cultural values or ethnic identities.
The UNDRIP clearly defines that Indigenous peoples have the right to their cultural practises and that states have a responsibility to ensure we are not deprived of our cultural integrity.
Denying our Dinï ze’ and Ts’akë ze’ the use of their regalia directly challenges their integrity as the highest chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en who carry the weight of the lands, ancestors and people behind them.
Sun, 2018-12-16 13:03
#66
Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs Deeply Concerned About National
Energy Board’s Decision
December 14, 2018 – The Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs are deeply concerned about the National Energy Board’s decision this week denying the Office of the Wet’suwet’en’s request to participate in a jurisdictional challenge to permits issued for TransCanada’s Coastal GasLink pipeline project which, if built, will cross Wet’suwet’en House territories. Wet’suwet’en dinï ze' & ts'akë ze' (male and female hereditary chiefs) have been opposed to the project for years.
“They said we wouldn’t be impacted by their determination of the jurisdictional issue and also that we didn’t have information which would be helpful for them,” said Dinï ze' Na’moks (John Ridsdale). “Our 18-page submission to the National Energy Board set out very clearly how we would be significantly impacted not only by the pipeline, but by the board’s decision on the jurisdictional issue itself. We also told them very clearly about the unique perspective we could bring to that issue. They just chose not to hear us.”
Hereditary Chief Na’moks’ comments relate to the NEB’s consideration of whether TransCanada’s project, a 670 kilometer liquefied natural gas pipeline to go from Dawson Creek to Kitimat, falls under provincial or federal jurisdiction. If it is in federal jurisdiction, permits issued for the project by BC’s Oil and Gas Commission may be determined to be legally invalid or the company may need additional federal permits. In October, the NEB received requests from many parties requesting official standing to make submissions on the jurisdiction issue. Earlier this week the NEB denied standing to the Office
of the Wet’suwet’en.
“Look at who got standing,” said Dinï ze' Na’moks. “Aside from one environmental organization, it’s just companies connected to the project, large pipeline and drilling companies, and several provinces. How can the NEB say that those companies and governments will be impacted by the jurisdictional issue and have something to say, but not the Wet’suwet’en Chiefs? We, too, are a government with our own jurisdiction. And we, too, have an important and valuable perspective to offer the NEB.”.....
Tue, 2018-12-18 15:00
#67
CLANS JOIN TOGETHER TO BLOCK LNG FROM UNIST’OT’EN TERRITORY
After a judged approved an injunction against the Unist’ot’en for blocking the Morice River Bridge, other Wet’suwet’en clans have stepped in.
The blockage has been moved onto Cas Yika territory, a member of the Gidimt’en clan 44 km before Unist’ot’en territory.
Molly Wickham, a member of the Gidimt’en clan, said the five clans of the Wet’suwet’en are banning together to protect their territory.
“Now that the injunction has come down it’s a safety risk to all of our territories and all of the people on the territories,” said Wickham.
quote:
The Hereditary Chefs are the ones who have the final say and the power to make agreements on behalf of the nation about their territories.
Chief Na’mocks Hereditary Chief of the Wet’suwet’en said the Hereditary Chiefs have not given LNG permission to go onto the land.
Tue, 2018-12-18 15:03
#68
Breaking: Three offices of BC NDP Cabinet Ministers are currently being occupied by Vancouver supporters of Unist'ot'en / Dark House.
No jurisdiction on unceded lands!
The provincial government has promised to uphold the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, but this government has approved the LNG Project even though all the Wet'suwet'en Clans have rejected the Coastal GasLink pipeline. We demand that the BC govt must revoke all permits until the project meets the standards of free, prior and informed consent, and intervene in this situation immediately. It is unacceptable that this government is going to oversee the RCMP removing Indigenous peoples from their land, like at Oka and Standing Rock. reposted from Harsha Walia
Tue, 2018-12-18 15:06
#69
"Gitumden Clan of Wet’suwet’en Nation is now building a checkpoint in support of the Unis'to'ten Clan’s fight against industry and to protect their traditional lands. They will control who gains access to Morice River Road West, where the Unist’ot’en Camp is."
Tue, 2018-12-18 15:10
#70
Inside NDP MLA George Heyman's office protesting the court injunction against The Unist'ot'en and NDP support for LNG.
Wed, 2018-12-19 11:05
#71
..includes a 2 min video
quote:
While the Unist’ot’en camp blockade is still in place, a new barricade has been erected approximately 20 km down the road by the Gitumden clan.
“We are constructing a camp. We are going to be controlling access to Gitumden Territory as a collective,” Molly Wickham told APTN News.
“We need to uphold our responsibility, it has been on the shoulders of the Unist’ot’en for too long.”
The new camp is set up on the Morice River Road – the same access road the Unist’ot’en camp is on.
“We are creating conditions where we can stay here and live here,” said Wickham.
quote:
Structures are now being built along the side of Morice River Rd.
“Morice River Road is the only access into the camp and into the back reaches of all Wet’suwet’en Territories and so you have to come through Gitumden Territory,” said Wickham.
Wed, 2018-12-19 11:10
#72
Thu, 2018-12-20 05:43
#73
New checkpoint prevents Coastal GasLink from posting injunction notice at bridge says company
A checkpoint set up on Morice River Rd by the Gitdumt’en Clan of the Wet’suwe’ten Nation in British Columbia has blocked an attempt by Coastal GasLink to post an injunction notice on the gate of the Unist’ot’en camp 20 kilometres down the road according to the company.
“We hoped to be able to communicate and find solutions, but unfortunately that didn’t happen,” said Jacquelynn Benson, a spokesperson for Coastal GasLink.
“We posted the interim injunction at the new Gitdumt’en checkpoint and will now take a step back to ensure the safety of everyone involved.”
A message was also posted on a Facebook site set up by the Unist’ot’en camp at approximately 11 p.m. PT that said the company “tried to serve an injunction order today at the bridge but couldn’t,” the post said.
quote:
On Friday, a B.C. judge granted an interim injunction to Coastal GasLink to have the gate that blocks access to the road leading to the CGL pipeline site removed.
Members of the camp say the gate is still in place.
“Fists raised to the new Wet’suwet’en Access Point on Gitdumt’en Territory, which is being enforced by house chiefs of all five Clans and is outside and before the injunction zone,” said the Facebook post. “The situation we have is not an Unist’ot’en problem; it’s a Wet’suwet’en and government problem.
“They are trying to reduce it down to try and move the pipeline forward, and as far as we are concerned that’s not going to happen as Hereditary Chief Kloum Khun says.”
Thu, 2018-12-20 20:11
#74
Fri, 2018-12-21 08:57
#75
Hands off Unist'ot'en! Respect Indigenous sovereignty
quote:
In response there were actions in Canada and the US on December 16 and 17. Vancouver supporters occupied three BC Government offices: BC NDP Cabinet Ministers George Heyman, Shane Simpson and Melanie Mark, followed by a rally and march.
In Toronto, supporters dropped a banner in support of Unist’ot’en Camp, reading “TransCanada Stay Off Unist’ot’en Land”. This was followed by a rally in Yonge-Dundas Square.
In Seattle, where Chase Bank gave a $1.5 billion loan to TransCanada, 350.org Seattle laid a fifty-foot oil pipeline and simulated an oil spill in the regional bank headquarters.
The situation is urgent. Organizers state: "Wherever you live, on Turtle Island or beyond, we need you to take FIVE MINUTES to send emails RIGHT NOW to tell the provincial and federal governments, RCMP, and industry: they do not have jurisdiction on unceded lands." Click here for more information on how to send your message.
Fri, 2018-12-21 19:03
#76
LATEST REPORTS AND REQUESTS FROM THE FRONT LINE OF RESISTANCE
Breaking News:
PRINCE GEORGE, B.C., Canada: On Friday, December 21, 2018, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Marguerite Church ruled on an amendment to a recent injunction against Unist’ot’en. On Tuesday, December 18th, the Gitdumt'en Clan set up a second checkpoint outside the injunction zone that is being enforced by all five Wet’suwet’en clans.
This morning’s ruling is an amendment by Coastal GasLink to include Gitdumt'en territories within the initial injunction, and circumvent Wet’suwet’en right to steward and protect their unceded lands based on their traditional governance as upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada in the 1997 Delgamuukw decision.
According to the Wet'suwet'en Access Point on Gitdumt'en Territory, “Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs have not made any agreement with the Canadian or British Columbian governments to surrender or permit access to Wet’suwet’en lands for any pipeline construction activities.”
Fri, 2018-12-21 19:06
#77
Sat, 2018-12-22 11:07
#78
Captivating Encounter Between Pipeline Employees and Indigenous Land Defenders in Northern BC
After a Canadian court issued an injunction to force the Wet’suwet’en nation to allow pipeline workers to enter their territory, a neighbouring clan constructs a second checkpoint. This video shows the illuminating encounter that took place when employees from TransCanada arrived at the new checkpoint. Filming by Jesse Freeston.
Sat, 2018-12-22 11:32
#79
quote:
Parallel occupations at Shane Simpson and George Heyman’s offices found similar results. Members of Alliance Against Displacement and Bread, Roses and Hormones marched into Simpson’s office with signs and banners and managed to buttonhole him in his office. Simpson refused to receive or read the letter and called the police, so members of the delegation read the statement out loud to him while he gazed out the window waiting for the police to arrive.
The demands of the three delegations were the same; that each NDP executive council member:
1) Must commit to upholding the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Anuk Nu’at’en (Wet’suwet’en laws) and collective Title.
2) Must revoke all permits associated with the $40 billion fracked gas project LNG Canada until the project respects Anuk Nu’at’en and meets the standards of FPIC under UNDRIP, the full principles of which your government has promised to abide by.
3) Use your power as an Executive Council member to intervene in the interim injunction and enforcement order against Unist’ot’en. This interim injunction order and enforcement order clearly violates and criminalizes the right of the Unist’ot’en to occupy, manage and maintain their lands.
If you are unable to uphold these commitments to Anuk Nu’at’en, UNDRIP, and reconciliation, then we demand that you resign from the Executive Council of the B.C. Government.
Shane Simpson said that he expected the injunction to be enforced and the pipeline to go through, and that it was needed because of jobs. On Tuesday afternoon Melanie Mark agreed to meet with some of those who carried out these office occupations. She received the demands and, after an hour and a half long meeting, took no firm position.
Then, on Monday night there was a major solidarity march and rally in the streets of downtown Vancouver. Beginning outside the CBC building (neither the CBC nor any major media has substantially covered the threats to Unist’ot’en) about 300 people rallied and chanted. Speakers at the beginning of the march included Audrey Siegl and Cecilia Point from Musqueam, Cease Wyss from Squamish, Secwepemc leader Ida Manuel from Tiny House Warriors, and Levinia whose father was Wet’suwet’en and worked on the Delgamuukw case. In the pouring rain and whipping wind, and escorted by a heavy presence of motorcycle cops, the marchers took and blockaded the Georgia Viaduct and then the Cambie Street bridge, disrupting traffic and yelling out in defence of Unist’ot’en. Nlaka’Pamux Nation member Billie Pierre, Northern Tutchone leader Malcolm T. from WAHRS and VANDU, Nisga’a and Nuu-chah-nulth organizer Herb Varley, and Coast Salish youth leader Siem gave inspiring speeches during the march as well.
A week after Coastal GasLink was awarded its injunction to break the Unist’ot’en Camp, it is clear that the courts alone have not decided anything. The five clans of the Wet’suwet’en have stepped up and declared that this is a struggle to maintain their jurisdiction and title against corporate power and have taken action to not allow the gains of Delgamuukw to be eroded.
And at the same time, urban Indigenous people in Vancouver and elsewhere are showing, as Herb Varley, an occupier of MLA Shane Simpson’s constituency office said during the sit-in, “this is colonialism right here.” The conflict between Indigenous peoples and the Canadian state, public, and corporate interests that occupies their territories is coming to a head on the territories of the Wet’suwet’en, but the front lines are everywhere.
Sun, 2018-12-23 09:59
#80
..in this piece the judge appears to have ignored the delgamuukw decision on who has authority over the territory.
Injunction extended against camps blocking B.C. LNG pipeline work
quote:
On Friday, the temporary injunction was expanded to include the Gitdumden checkpoint built this week by members of a neighbouring Wet’suwet’en clan. It now extends to all LNG blockades south of Houston.
The Gitdumden checkpoint has been publicly supported by hereditary chiefs of the Office of the Wet’suwet’en and the Union of BC Indian Chiefs.
The 670-kilometre liquefied natural gas pipeline, approved in November, is set to bring natural gas from northeast B.C. to Kitimat’s LNG Canada export terminal. The $40-billion project is set to be up and running as early as 2022.
In her ruling, Justice Marguerite Church said the company could face significant harm if the block forces Coastal GasLink to delay its construction in January.
Marguerite also pointed to the 20 First Nation bands that signed agreements with the company, as well as Wet’suwet’en companies like Kyah Resources. Kyah is jointly owned by Witset and Roga Contracting Ltd.
Sun, 2018-12-23 10:11
#81
..a real news report
Indigenous Nation Blocks TransCanada Pipeline with New Checkpoint
When TransCanada attempts to deliver a Canadian court injunction against a decade-old Wet’suwet’en checkpoint, they run into a second checkpoint instead. The Wet’suwet’en people have never signed treaties with Canada or sold their lands, a fact confirmed by Canada’s Supreme Court in 1997 in a landmark case known as Delgamuukw.
Tue, 2018-12-25 11:43
#82
A Tribe Called Red - Unist'ot'en Camp - Stadium Pow Wow
Tue, 2018-12-25 13:25
#83
..this and other invasions of indigenous territory, the deals cut with governments, the involvement of the courts and police, the agreements with band councils, creating division amongst people, the promise of jobs, the destruction of ecology are done at the whim of corporations. who offer nothing but false promises and outright lies with zero guaranties that they will even go ahead with proposed projects. this is not way we should be running our affairs. it represents a total lack of imagination by those in power.
Canada’s LNG Dream Just Turned Into A Nightmare
quote:
Conceding to U.S. LNG dominance
Going forward, Exxon’s recent withdraw throws more doubt on Canada’s ability to challenge the U.S. for market share in the Asia-Pacific region, which represents 72 percent of all global LNG demand with that demand projected to increase to 75 percent amid China’s increased gas and LNG usage as the country tries to reach a government mandate of 10 percent natural gas usage for power generation by 2020, with further earmarks set for 2030.
Moreover, the window for Canada to become a major LNG export player has already closed as the US pushes through with its so-called second wave of LNG project development. Since early 2018, a second wave of projects set to bring 10 million tons per annum (mtpa) more to the market under binding sales and purchase agreements (SPAs) have reached the starting blocks.
...
Steel safeguards could impact investor certainty in LNG Canada’s Kitimat project
Ottawa’s steel safeguards could be putting LNG Canada’s 40 billion dollar Kitimat investment in jeopardy.
According to the joint venture, if temporary safeguards recently put in place by Ottawa become permanent, Canada’s reputation as a global leader in the energy market could be at risk.
Provisional safeguards were put in place in October on several steel products required by LNG Canada for the construction of their Kitimat plant.
Now, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal are holding a number of hearings in Ottawa to determine whether or not to extend these provisions over a 3 year period.
LNG Canada claims that, if extended, these provisions, intended to stall a surge of imported steel in light of US tariffs, could have a serious impact on investor certainty.
Thu, 2018-12-27 13:48
#84
Is the next Standing Rock looming in northern B.C.?
Ground zero in the global battle against climate chaos this week is in Wet’suwet’en territory, northern B.C. As pipeline companies try to push their way onto unceded Indigenous territories, the conflict could become the next Standing Rock-style showdown over Indigenous rights and fossil fuel infrastructure.
quote:
The threat of eviction has sparked outrage and support across Canada. As a visitor, researcher and filmmaker, I had the opportunity to visit the camp in 2012. The Unist’ot’en represent a powerful story of decolonization and transformation.
Their approach of asserting responsibility to the land and the fish rather than demanding rights from the state, land-based healing of colonial trauma and re-invigoration of Indigenous laws and protocols are an inspiration for land defenders and climate justice activists in Canada and around the world.
Bulldozing through their territory would lead to a major confrontation at a moment when the federal government has expressed a commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous communities.
Coastal GasLink has negotiated agreements with the elected councils of all 20 First Nations on the route. But the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs, the leaders according to traditional governance and decided by consensus in the community, say they are the only authority that can legally sanction development in their territory.
The community says the Unist’ot’en camp is not a blockade, protest or demonstration. It protects against encroaching industrial developments and creates a space for the community to “heal from the violence of colonization.” TransCanada’s attempt to enter their territory by force is an extension of this colonial violence, the community says.
The Wet’sewet’en and the adjacent Gitxsan First Nations were plaintiffs in the ground-breaking Delgamuukw court case, heard by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1997. The ruling recognized that the Wet’suwet’en rights and title to 22,000 square kilometres of northern B.C. had never been extinguished.
Despite this, federal and provincial governments continue to push through industrial and extractive projects without consent.
In the lead-up to the 2015 federal election, Justin Trudeau promised a new nation-to-nation relationship and said his government would “fully adopt and work to implement” the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
UNDRIP includes the provision that “Indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for the development or use of their lands or territories and other resources.” However, the Trudeau government has abandoned its commitment to informed consent, and requires only “duty to consult and accommodate.”
The government’s failure to respect internationally recognized Indigenous rights while pushing through projects such as Kinder Morgan is widely considered a betrayal by Indigenous communities in Canada.
TransCanada’s attempt to evict the camp must also be seen in a global context of increased threats against Indigenous communities. According to Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: “The rapid expansion of development projects on Indigenous lands without their consent is driving a global crisis. These attacks — whether physical or legal — are an attempt to silence Indigenous peoples voicing their opposition to projects that threaten their livelihoods and cultures.”
Mon, 2018-12-31 06:48
#85
..5 min video
We are people with laws older than Canada and British Columbia. We have protected who we are through all colonization and genocide attempts - reservations, residential schools, 60s' scoop and divide and conquer tactics. We will keep doing it for all the ones yet to be born - for all of humanity.
Wed, 2019-01-02 11:54
#86
Message from Unist'ot'en member Karla Tait
Unist'ot'en yin'tah is under threat. Unist'ot'en member Dr. Karla Tait speaks on the healing power of our Yin'tah, Wet'suwet'en law, and the divide and conquer of our Wet'suwet'en communities by pipeline companies and the province.
We need your support to keep our territories healthy!
Sat, 2019-01-05 04:35
#87
Leader hopes to avoid violent clash with RCMP at Unist’ot’en camp
Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chief Na’Moks says he understands the police have a job to do, but his people have the right to be on their territory.
Na’Moks was responding to growing rumours that the RCMP are getting ready to enforce an interim court injunction to clear people out of the Unist’ot’en camp to allow work to get underway by Coastal GasLink.
“Our law says that there are trespass laws and our people are there to protect the territory, and we will express the fact that this is trespass and our hope is that nothing violent will happen, but … we are peaceful people and all we want is for the pipeline not to go through,” said Na’Moks.
While there has been “no solid confirmation” about RCMP action, Na’Moks says he is aware of heavier vehicle traffic in the area and hotels in three nearby towns are full.
quote:
“We have a human right to protect clean water, (there’s) so very little left on this planet. That’s all we want, is our rights, title and our freedoms and access to clean air and water and land,” said Na’Moks.
Na’Moks says Coastal GasLink’s lawyer is pushing for the two sites to be vacated the first week in January as any delay would impede the company’s timelines. However, Na’Moks points out that heavy snowfall and cold weather at this time makes preparatory work impossible.
The injunction states that Coastal GasLink must have access to the road and bridge blocked by the Unist’ot’en House Group by Jan. 31.
Na’Moks says they are considering their options, including possible court action, but will not be making any decision on how to proceed as of yet.
“At this point in time, we’re actually waiting to see what they’re going to do. As I stated, we want to remain peaceful but we do have to defend our rights and titles,” he said.
Sat, 2019-01-05 13:20
#88
LNG Canada Megaproject Leaves Massive Emissions Gap in B.C. Climate Plan
The positive directions in British Columbia’s new climate plan will be offset by the greenhouse gas emissions from the C$40-billion LNG Canada liquefied natural gas megaproject, particularly if both phases of the project are built, data analyst Barry Saxifrage concludes in a post for National Observer.
“The LNG Canada project is massive,” Saxifrage writes. “It will sprawl from new fracked gas wells in northern B.C., across the coast mountains via the hotly-contested, 650-kilometre Coastal GasLink pipeline, to a new liquefaction terminal in Kitimat. From there, the gas will be loaded onto supertankers and shipped to Asia. The LNG terminal is designed to be built in two phases, each of which will produce 13 million tonnes of liquid natural gas. The first phase is now going ahead.”
The two phases together would constitute the “biggest capital project in B.C. history,” he adds, and produce up to 10 million tonnes of climate pollution per year, more than all the cars, trucks, and SUVs on the province’s roads today.
“Despite the increase in emissions, the B.C. government says LNG Canada will be compatible with the province’s legislated climate targets,” he writes. But Saxifrage helps clarify the point with a series of charts that show the province’s emissions performance since 2007, the province-wide reductions in the CleanBC plan, and industry emissions in three scenarios—a baseline with no LNG production, a second snapshot with phase one of LNG Canada, and a final one with both phases in operation.
The province ends up with gaps of six megatonnes per year if only the first phase of the project is completed, or 11 megatonnes with both phases. Saxifrage says B.C. has already approved phase 2, leaving it to Royal Dutch Shell and its consortium partners to make the decision based on market conditions.
“Either way, LNG Canada is creating a multi-million-tonne emissions gap that the new CleanBC plan doesn’t have answers for at this point,” Saxifrage states. “The big unanswered question is who in British Columbia will be assigned the burden of making extra cuts to offset LNG Canada’s pollution. The CleanBC plan kicks that can down the road.” But the transportation and buildings sectors “are already tasked with making huge reductions between now and 2030,” and the only other source of emissions to be cut is an industry sector largely dominated by LNG.....
Sat, 2019-01-05 17:43
#89
ACTION ALERT - International Call to Action for Gidimt’en Access Checkpoint
Yesterday, members of the RCMP’s Aboriginal Police Liaison met with the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs and indicated that specially trained tactical forces will be deployed to forcibly remove Wet’suwet’en people from sovereign Wet’suwet’en territory. Police refused to provide any details of their operation to the Dini’ze and Tsake’ze (hereditary chiefs) including the number of officers moving in, the method of forcible removal, or the timing of deployment. By rejecting the requests for information by the Dini’ze and Tsake’ze the RCMP indicated that they intend to surprise and overwhelm the Wet’suwet’en people who are protecting their territories on the ground.
The RCMP’s ultimatum, to allow TransCanada access to unceded Wet’suwet’en territory or face police invasion, is an act of war. Despite the lip service given to “Truth and Reconciliation”, Canada is now attempting to do what it has always done - criminalize and use violence against indigenous people so that their unceded homelands can be exploited for profit.
The RCMP were advised that there are children, elders, and families visiting and present at the Gidimt’en Access Point, to which they did not respond. Since it was established, the Gidimt’en Access Point has hosted gatherings, workshops, and traditional activities for Wet’suwet’en, and provided an essential space for Wet’suwet’en to reconnect with their traditional territories.
Article 10 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples clearly states “Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their land or territories.” Any removal of Wet’suwet’en peoples by the RCMP, or any other authoritarian forces, will directly violate UNDRIP and the Trudeau government’s promise to implement UNDRIP. We are now preparing for a protracted struggle. The hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en and the land defenders holding the front lines have no intention of allowing Wet’suwet’en sovereignty to be violated. In plain language, the threat made by RCMP to invade Wet’suwet’en territories is a violation of human rights, a siege, and an extension of the genocide that Wet’suwet’en have survived since contact.
Canada knows that its own actions are illegal. The Wet’suwet’en fought for many years in the Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa court case to have their sovereignty recognized and affirmed by Canadian law. In 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the Wet’suwet’en people, as represented by their hereditary leaders, had not given up rights and title to 22,000km2 of Northern British Columbia. Knowing that further litigation would be prohibitively expensive to Indigenous plaintiffs (and that pipeline construction could be completed before any significant legal issues could be further resolved) TransCanada and the provincial and federal governments are openly violating this landmark ruling.
The creation of the Gidimt’en Checkpoint was announced in the Wet’suwet’en feast hall, with the support of all chiefs present. Under ‘Anuc niwh’it’en (Wet’suwet’en law) all five clans of the Wet’suwet’en have unanimously opposed all pipeline proposals. TransCanada lawyers have argued that the Unist’ot’en are essentially a rogue group without a rightful claim to Aboriginal title. The Gidimt’en intervention shows that the Unist’ot’en are not alone, and that the hereditary chiefs of all clans are prepared to uphold Wet’suwet’en law in refusing CGL access.
The Wet’suwet’en have laid out a path toward the implementation of UNDRIP, and the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent requirement of international law. Canada has chosen to ignore this path toward reconciliaiton. We call on all people of conscience to act in solidarity through an international day of action on Tuesday, January 8th, 2019.
Support the Wet’suwet’en by offering physical support to the camps, monetary or material donation, or by taking action where you stand. We are conducting peaceful actions as sovereign peoples on our territories, and ask that all actions taken in solidarity are conducted peacefully and according to the traditional laws of other Indigenous Nations. Forcible trespass onto Wet’suwet’en territories and the removal of Indigenous peoples from their lands must be stopped. Provincial and federal governments must be confronted.
- Gidimt’en Access Point
Sat, 2019-01-05 20:01
#90
We have confirmed reports of a charter bus in Smithers full of police unloaded in the last half hour.
We are calling on media to attend tonight if you can.
Sat, 2019-01-05 20:15
#91
International Solidarity with Wet'suwet'en
In Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories, join us at 11:30 am at the Provincial Court Building, 800 Smithe for an Indigenous led march to Victory Square.
This "All Nations Stand With Wet'suwet'en" action will make sure our demand is heard loud and clear: NO RCMP ATTACK ON UN-CEDED TERRITORY!
For all other locations organize solidarity events in your own community.
We call on all supporters of Indigenous Rights and Climate Justice to immediately contact the political leaders of Canada and the province of British Columbia. Demand they instruct the RCMP to stand down to allow for a peaceful and negotiated process of implementing Wet'suwet'en jurisdiction with regard to any type of development in their territory.
Province of BC
David Eby
Attorney General of BC
Phone: 250-387-1866
Fax: 250-387-6411
Honourable Michelle Mungall
Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources
PO Box 9060, Station Prov Gov, Victoria, BC, V8W 9E2
Phone: 250-953-0900
Fax: 250-356-2965
Honourable George Heyman
Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy
Phone: 250 387-1187
Fax: 250 387-1356
Honourable Scott Fraser
Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation
Phone: (250) 953-4844
Fax: (250) 953-4896
Federal
The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau -
Telephone: 613-992-4211
Email: [email protected].
Fax: 613-941-6900
The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Fax: 613-954-0811
You can also contact the RCMP directly and let them know your view of their impending operation.
British Columbia (E Division)
Telephone: 778-290-2929
Email: [email protected]
Or National RCMP headquarters:
National Headquarters
Ottawa, ON
Telephone: 613-843-5999
Email: [email protected] (media office)
Sun, 2019-01-06 06:41
#92
Seven communities are now hosting events and actions in response to the urgent action alert from Wet'suwet'en Access Point on Gidumt'en Territory.
Check the description for links to actions in Ottawa, Prince George, Seattle, St'át'imc, Vancouver, Victoria, and Whitehorse. If you are thinking of mobilizing in your community, the time is now (!!!) with confirmed reports of RCMP deployment.
Take action against the provincial government in B.C, federal government of Canada, and Canadian consulate internationally. Demand that the provincial and federal government uphold their responsibilities to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ‘Anuc niwh’it’en (Wet’suwet’en law). Under ‘Anuc niwh’it’en (Wet’suwet’en law) all five clans of the Wet’suwet’en have unanimously opposed all pipeline proposals.
Note: the Wet'suwet'en Access Point on Gidumt'en Territory are conducting peaceful actions as sovereign peoples on their territories, and ask that all actions taken in solidarity are conducted peacefully and according to the traditional laws of other Indigenous Nations.
Also important: Each clan/house group manages the use of their own territory. No Clan can make decisions regarding another Clans Territory; that would be against Wet’suwet’en Law. Unist’ot’en homestead sits on Unist’ot’en/Gilsteyu Dark House Territory. From the Widzin Kwa bridge at 66 km passing the bridge going down to 44 KM it becomes Gitdumt’en territory, where the creation of the Gidimt’en Checkpoint was announced in the Wet’suwet’en feast hall, with the support of all chiefs present.
No consent, no fracked gas pipeline!
No jurisdiction on unceded lands!
Canada and RCMP out of Wetsuweten territory!
Sun, 2019-01-06 11:02
#93
I hope that Canadians will not sit idly by as they have done so often before as their settler state's fraudulent and usurpacious 'just-us' system attempts to crush these people's legitimate resistance against Canada, Brutish KKKolumbia and corporate resource extractors. I have sent off emails and will make phone-calls tomorrow. For the Wetsuweten, the Secwepemc and other resisting peoples, Sovereignty is the answer and Canada is the problem.
About the Pipeline
http://rabble.ca/babble/indigenous-issues-and-culture/bruce-clark-about-...
Sun, 2019-01-06 11:25
#94
Open letter to Canadians opposing Canadian pipelines and oil
Dear fellow Canadians,
I’m writing this as an open letter to every Canadian who has protested the Canadian oil and gas industry. I’m writing this to ask – what if you win? What if you succeed and completely shut down Canada’s oil and gas industry? What happens next?
Obviously, if you’ve ever marched, protested or argued against Canadian pipelines or Oilsands, you must believe that you are financially insulated from the hundreds of billions this industry puts into the Canadian economy. Or you are OK with the crushing blow to the Canadian economy, because your heartfelt belief is that the Canadian oil and gas industry is so environmentally bad for the planet.
These are the people I desperately want to have a conversation with.
I write this letter, not as a Calgarian, Albertan, or even as a Canadian. But I write this as a human being. A human being with two young children, and one who doesn’t go a day without being concerned about how we’re leaving this planet.
So, let’s say that all the anti-Canadian pipeline and oilsands campaigns finally crippled this industry, to a point it can’t rebound. Which feels like a real possibility these days. But what is not just a possibility, but a reality, is that Canadians without their own oil and gas industry would still consume the same amount of energy.
And as Canadians continue to consume 1.5 million barrels of oil per day, the amount we need to import from foreign countries would rise from the current 56%, to 100%. And as completely confused as I already am that we currently import 850,000+ barrels of oil per day, while having the 4th largest reserves in the world. I have absolutely no idea how anyone can think importing an additional 650,000 barrels a day is better for Canada or the environment?
Let’s start with where it’s coming from, with Canada importing 61% from the US, 12% from Saudi Arabia, 6% from Azerbaijan, 5% from Norway, and 4% from Nigeria. I’m going to skip past each of these countries environmental, safety, employee and human rights track records, as there’s no point defacing them when Canada’s oil and gas industry is the world leader in all of these. And I’ll expand on this later, but I thought for arguments sake, we can pretend all these countries have the same standards as Canada.
How could it possibly be more environmentally positive to drill oil in the Middle East, pipeline it to their ports, tanker it 10,000+kms across the ocean, and then deliver it to Canada? Remembering that we have it right here.
So, you’ve won, and there’s no more of what you believe is “dirty oil”. And now we’re importing an additional 650,000 barrels a day into Canada. Let’s not forget, that the 5% of the world’s oil production which Canada currently produces daily, would need to be replaced, or prices would inflate and everyone across the globe would have to pay more at the pumps. And more for the 1,000’s of items manufactured from oil.
But don’t worry about the extra cost, as no other country has an anti oil industry campaign against them, that has stopped or slowed them down like Canada has. And with technology getting better every day, Canada’s 5% worldwide production amounts will be easily replaced.
And let’s go full circle to the Canadian’s protesting new Canadian pipeline projects. If we eliminate our own industry, and we’re importing 650,000 extra barrels of oil daily, we’ll have no other choice but to build new pipelines and facilities to bring this additional oil from the US pipelines and foreign tankers.
So, wouldn’t that be an ironic punch in the face. Where Canadians protesting Canadian owned and operated pipelines, end up shutting down all the investment it takes to move Canadian resources through Canadian pipelines. Just so we are forced to build pipelines and facilities to move more foreign oil into Canada.
And I mentioned that we’d pretend all countries have the same environmental requirements and standards when exploring and developing their natural resources. But it isn’t even close.
You can Google articles with examples of Canada’s environmental standards in this industry, versus any other country. But instead, do yourself a favour and ask someone who’s worked in Canada’s oilpatch, and around the world. Every one of them has countless stories of horrendous environmental issues abroad, which haven’t been allowed in Canada in 30+years (or ever).
So, let’s look at what Canada’s environmental standards are for this industry. And by that, I mean you should go look it up. Don’t take my word for it, but find some reputable publications and factual documents, and not someone’s rambling blog.
Look it up, and please let me know if I’m wrong. Because as much as I needed to write this letter, to get a few things off my chest. I also wrote it, as I believe everyone needs to do better at having a conversation about climate change, the environment, and our responsibility to all do better.
So, I welcome the opposing opinion, as I don’t know why this topic has become a name calling divisive shouting match, where no one will listen to the other side.
But while I have you here, I did want to throw out a couple specific projects, and how protesting them doesn’t make any environmental sense to me. One is Energy East, and the other is BC LNG. The first one is dead, but my fingers are crossed that it can be revived. The second is still approved, for now.
If you look at a map of Canadian pipelines, there is no major pipeline going from Alberta to the east coast of Canada. This means that almost every drop of gas in every vehicle east of Winnipeg is from refined foreign oil. The amount of oil that would’ve travelled on the Energy East pipeline is almost the same amount of oil that we import from Saudi Arabia every day (roughly 100,000 barrels a day).
But what if we didn’t protest Energy East, and instead told the Premier of Quebec that he cannot block a national pipeline. Eastern Canadians would’ve paid (at a minimum) $10-$15 less per barrel than they are currently paying for Canadian oil versus foreign oil. But there was also the billions (not millions, but billions) in revenue that each province would receive from this pipeline running oil through their province.
And I know we’re focusing on the environment, and not the financial benefits of Canada’s oil and gas industry. But, the trick with clean energy and technology, is that it takes money to develop and get to market. So I could be wrong, but I’m almost certain that not one oil company would’ve been upset if Quebec hadn’t killed this pipeline, but instead, took their multi billions a year in revenue from it, and invested all of it into new clean energy technology.
Another thing I encourage you to Google, is the amount of new clean energy technology that has been developed by, and for, Canada’s oil and gas industry.
So, Energy East would’ve taken the amount of Canadian oil, which they are already buying from foreign countries, while generating a ton of money for Canada/Canadians. And then that money could’ve been invested into renewable green energy development. But, Climate Change is a world wide problem, not just a Canadian one. So, as crazy as this might sound, I do believe that BC building facilities to ship Canadian liquid natural gas (LNG) to the world, could have an incredibly positive carbon emissions net benefit.
Currently, China alone has over 700 super coal plants. Just one of them emitting almost as much CO2 as the entire Canadian Oilsands (this is easy to look up). So, what if we could help China get their energy from Natural Gas instead of Coal, as it’s WAY better for the environment. (Side note – also look up Natural Gas and its carbon footprint, as I find very few people realize that it has been unfairly lumped in as a dirty fossil fuel).
And very quickly, I would like to address how we got here in the first place. Why is the perception of Canada’s oil and gas industry so bad across the rest of Canada?
The industry really must start by looking inward, as it has done a very poor job of promoting itself and the strides it’s made over the years. And it can still improve. As can all of us individually.
Because who outside of the industry knows that the Oilsands greenhouse gas emissions have dropped 29% since 2000. Or that a barrel of oil sent from the Oilsands to a refinery on the US Golf Coast has a smaller carbon foot print than a barrel of oil traveling from an oil well in California (it’s small difference, but it’s still better).
And to understand why it’s tough for this industry to promote itself – it is Canadian after all, which explains a lot about its uncomfortable feelings towards self-promotion. And I’ve met a ton of extremely intelligent and thoughtful engineers, geologists, accountants, and tradespeople in this industry, but I’ve never met a Public Relations person – and if there is one, they are very underfunded.
Who is not underfunded, are the groups who make an extraordinary amount of money from Canada not being able to get its natural resources to other customers (the US is our biggest customer at 99%, which is a percentage no business can survive with). And you can’t blame these people for making money off Canada’s inability to build pipelines. But, how they’ve done it, by spending hundreds of millions on PR campaigns to smear Canada’s industry, and pitting us against each other, is beyond is infuriating.
If you only look up one item, please do some research on how openly organizations have been about making donations in the name of the environment, which only target one country’s oil industry. This has made a lot of headlines lately, but I’ve read national Canadian media articles investigating this as far back as 2010.
In conclusion, I would like to point out that I tried my best to use as few statistics as possible, as I’ve seen arguments get derailed with debates on stats. As if the $80 million that Canada losses every day due to no pipeline capacity, is any different if its $40 million or $100 million. It’s a lot of millions, that have turned into billions. And it’s costing hundreds of thousands of good hardworking Canadians financial hardship.
And if it saves the environment, and the planet, then there certainly is an argument for it. But if it’s not helping at all, and potentially harming the planet. Then everyone needs to get educated on all the facts and start to talk to each other about a real solution. And get our industries, politicians, and every Canadian on board with a solution that works.
And please, please, please, don’t take your information from this subject off some rogue website, that’s for or against my stance. Take the time to get your facts from vetted and fact checked publications.
No one should get their facts from a nameless person shouting on the internet. So, my name is Demian Newman, and the two kids I’m leaving this planet to are Olivia and Liam. And both of them need to grow up in a country which is thriving as a world leader, both economically and environmentally – as anything less would be un-Canadian.
Sincerely,
Demian Newman
p.s. If you don’t have time to look up information on everything I’ve mentioned above. Here are a few links:
This first one is on personal energy use and personal accountability. Fun fact: If each of us does a better job to minimize our individual carbon footprint, the industries selling it won’t need to produce as much. Scary fact: literally every economist has said we will use more energy each and every year. This article does a good job expanding on that.
https://www.c2cjournal.ca/2018/12/03/we-have-met-the-carbon-enemy-and-he...
https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy/oil-sands/18091
http://www.ethicaloil.org/news/myth-busting-are-greenhouse-gas-emissions...
https://www.aboutpipelines.com/en/blog/what-you-know-about-pipelines-and...
https://ipolitics.ca/2014/07/18/how-clean-is-our-dirty-oil-youd-be-surpr...
http://www.stockhouse.com/opinion/independent-reports/2018/04/02/followi...
Read more at http://www.stockhouse.com/companies/bullboard#Ou0Pzy0FC26liqlS.99
Sun, 2019-01-06 11:31
#95
We have confirmed reports of a charter bus in Smithers full of police unloaded in the last half hour.
We are calling on media to attend tonight if you can.
Oooh, your prayers are rewarded! I'm sure any media answering the call to jihad will be fully appraised of the agenda against pipelines and 'saving the environment' but the furtherance of indigenous issues, not so much.
Sun, 2019-01-06 15:07
#96
Sun, 2019-01-06 20:07
#97
This protest against Coastal Gaslink is doomed to end in tears without any effect on the parties that indigenous people need to force change upon, namely the gatekeepers of influence - the senior bureaucrats to whom churning policy and burning funding is the lifeblood of power. This is what civil service careers are built upon, not tedious delivery of services mandated by foolish politicians. Politicians come and go but civil service mandarins , their power bases and especially their budgets are forever.
No matter what caring politicos do, the mandarins will churn and burn till the funding is used up because no-one dares challenge them. These are the entities that indigenous protesters need to make uncomfortable but, with the usual short-sightedness and with the unhelpful agendamongering of 'activists' playing for their own ends, the protesters fall victim to the authorities, again.
It is a short-sighted tactic when a long game strategy is required. This protest is against the wrong target at the wrong time.
Sun, 2019-01-06 23:05
#98
MartinN fuck off
Mon, 2019-01-07 00:02
#99
Mon, 2019-01-07 09:20
#100
B.C. Indigenous group anticipating RCMP action at anti-LNG pipeline camp
quote:
On Dec. 14, the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs issued a statement saying they were deeply concerned by the National Energy Board's decision denying their request to participate in a jurisdictional challenge to the permits issued to TransCanada's Coastal GasLink pipeline project, which would cross Wet'suwet'en territories.
quote:
When the company announced the agreements with First Nations elected councils in September, it also said it would continue holding discussions with some hereditary governance groups.
LNG Canada announced on Oct. 2 that its joint venture participants had taken a positive investment decision to construct the Kitimat export facility.
B.C. Premier John Horgan said LNG Canada's decision ranked on the historic scale of a "moon landing," emphasizing just how much the project means to an economically deprived region of the province — an estimated $23 billion in provincial revenue.
In a notice of civil claim filed Nov. 23, Coastal GasLink says construction on the pipeline is scheduled to begin this month for completion in 2021.
"Coastal GasLink has project agreements with all 20 elected Indigenous bands along the length of the project in British Columbia," the company said in the court document.
While members of another Wet'suwet'en house, the Unist'ot'en of the Gilseyhu clan, erected a camp and checkpoint in the area of the planned pipeline years ago, the Gidimt'en gate was erected 20 kilometres away in December.
"We wanted to show that even though the Unist'ot'en and Gidimt'en are from separate clans, all the chiefs have been opposed to pipelines in our territories for years and years and years," Wickham said.
"Unist'ot'en has been holding that responsibility all by themselves, so the (Gidimt'en) chief decided it was time for all of us to physically show our support."
Mon, 2019-01-07 09:22
#101
International Solidarity with Wet'suwet'en
Local, national & international actions in solidarity with Wet'suwet'en Access Point on Gidumt'en Territory. When an action is confirmed, DM the fb event admin to have it added to the list of actions.
Calgary Jan 8: https://www.facebook.com/events/2236341339957310/
Chilliwack on Jan 8: https://www.facebook.com/events/1033615793497598/
Cortes Island, T’oq qaymexʷ territory: Fundraiser film night. details coming
Edmonton (Amiskwaciwâskahikan) details coming
Flagstaff, Arizona on Jan 8th: https://www.facebook.com/events/220270942192535/
Hamilton on Jan 8 (1 of 2): at 2 pm https://www.facebook.com/events/1326417820833124/
Hamilton on Jan 8 (2 of 2): MAIN event at 4 pm https://www.facebook.com/events/305028770128691/ and
Kitchener Waterloo on Jan 8: https://www.facebook.com/events/359103131548421/
Montreal/Tio'tia:ke on Jan 8: https://www.facebook.com/events/526787321064482/
Nelson, Sinixt Tum Xulaw7x on Jan 8: Noon at Michelle Mungal's office (433 Josephine)
North Bay on Jan 8: https://www.facebook.com/events/278786932805388/
Ottawa on Jan 8: https://www.facebook.com/events/324002048453236/
Prince George/Lheidli on Jan 8:
https://www.facebook.com/events/285790185471685/
Regina details coming
Rexton, Sikniktuk Mi'kma'ki on Jan 8: https://www.facebook.com/events/309027419596067/
San Francisco, California on Jan 8: https://www.facebook.com/events/279989672642100/
Saskatoon on Jan 8: details coming
Seattle, Washington on Jan 8 (1 of 2): https://www.facebook.com/events/2489982587683263/
Seattle, Washington on Jan 11 (2 of 2): https://www.facebook.com/events/313078249328737/
St'át'imc on Jan 8: https://www.facebook.com/events/323354351605356/
Thunder Bay on Jan 8 at 12:30 pm at MP Patty Hajdu Constituency Office (705 Red River Rd. UNIT 3)
Toronto on Jan 8: MAIN EVENT: https://www.facebook.com/events/549865792181571/ and also see this link with similar details: https://www.facebook.com/events/2319491004999067/
Vancouver on Jan 8 (1 of 2) MAIN event at 11:30: https://www.facebook.com/events/310461009676375/?ti=cl
Vancouver on Jan 8 (2 of 2) Lunchtime picket at 12:30: https://www.facebook.com/events/279182032951137/
Victoria on Jan 8:
https://www.facebook.com/events/349138225682093/
Winnipeg on Jan 7: Beginning at noon, a 24 hour sacred fire. For location, contact Ninoondawah Richard.
Whitehorse on Jan 8: https://www.facebook.com/events/330513034459104/