Envoy to deal with First Nations concerns on pipelines

Vancouver lawyer Doug Eyford to submit preliminary report to Harper by June

CBC News/The Canadian Press, Mar 19, 2013

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has named an envoy to deal with aboriginal opposition to resource development in Alberta and British Columbia.

That’s where First Nations opposition to the Northern Gateway pipeline has thrown the future of the project into question.

Gateway showdown might dwarf Idle No More

By Will Braun, Winnipeg Free Press, March 4, 2013

Chief Theresa Spence is back home in Attawapiskat and Idle No More has faded from view after an impressive run in the headlines. Another aboriginal movement, however, continues to build toward the biggest First Nations stand-off in a generation — the fight against the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline.

Petro-state politics prompts CSIS to spy on citizens at alarming rate, FOIs reveal

Mike Chisholm and Jenny Uechi, Feb 25th, 2013

Police videotaping anti-Olympic protesters in Vancouver, 2008.

Environmental activist Rod Marining knows the feel of steel handcuffs on his wrists.

As co-founder of Greenpeace International, he sailed aboard Greenpeace ships campaigning against French atmospheric nuclear testing in French Polynesia, Japanese whaling in the Pacific and was thrown in jail for demonstrating against mahogany lumber imports to Europe.

“I am considered a national security risk,” he said, noting that the RCMP keeps a file on him, for his eco-warrior activities on the high seas.

But these days, activists can get on the security radar for a whole lot less: according to a Guardian report on documents released under freedom of information laws, the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) are increasingly blurring the line between real terrorists and average citizens who organize petitions, attend protests and express dissent. 

Coastal First Nations group pulls out of Enbridge hearings

Relaxation of regulations, lack of ‘straight answers’ harms legitimacy of process

By Gordon Hamilton, Vancouver Sun, February 5, 2013

Coastal First Nations has pulled out of a critical Northern Gateway hearing on Enbridge’s marine oil spill response plans, saying the hearings have drained the organization’s financial resources and are providing few answers.

“We might as well keep our powder dry and save it for court,” CFN executive director Art Sterritt said Monday, expressing dissatisfaction over the cost of attending the hearings and over what he called “a difficult time” getting answers from Northern Gateway applicant Enbridge.

Mass of protesters greets Northern Gateway pipeline hearings in Vancouver

Protesters march against Enbridge hearing in Vancouver, Jan 14, 2013.

By Mike Hager, Vancouver Sun, January 14, 2013

VANCOUVER — Making as much noise as they could to protest a process they say is undemocratic, several hundred activists from a broad spectrum of movements rallied Monday night against the first of Vancouver’s public hearings into Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline.

Unist’ot’en say NO! to PTP at Moricetown meeting

Unistotencamp.wordpress.com, Dec. 8, 2012

Freda Huson (right) with drummer on bridge near Unistoten camp in Wetusuwet’en territory.

Dini Ze’yu, Tsakiy Ze’yu, Skiy Ze’yu, and our countless supporters! I am glad to report that a real victory for our future has just happened!! Last night our strong community membership decidedly showed who makes the decisions on unceded Wet’suwet’en lands to the elected Moricetown Band Chief and Band Council. The Band Council had called an “Information Session” and invited representatives from PTP First Nations Limited Partnership (FNLP). The meeting was repeatedly interrupted by hereditary chiefs and clan members who bravely spoke their minds and made statements about protecting the lands. During the meeting one of the elected councillors decided to be arrogant and demand that the members be quiet to hear out the representatives. He said that we needed to be respectful of our guests. But the millions of dollars that was dangled in front of the membership in potential partnership agreements meant nothing to the community. Throughout the meeting the resounding message voiced in anger was, “WE WILL PROTECT OUR LANDS AND WATERS AGAINST ANY AND ALL THREATS! IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILTY!! WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE TO US IS DISPRESPECTFUL!”

Haisla First Nation retreat from Gateway opposition

Nathan VanderKlippe, The Globe and Mail, Dec. 05 2012

Haisla band council chief Ellis Ross (centre).

The Haisla First Nation has pulled out of an organization that has ardently fought the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline and called for greener practices in the export of natural gas.
The Haisla said they have withdrawn from Coastal First Nations, amid a debate among aboriginal groups about the environmental impact of West Coast industrial development that has now blown out into the open. The move comes as the Haisla shift their position on oil exports from their traditional territory, which some see as evidence that opposition to Gateway is beginning to wane.

Native Bands Oppose Natural Gas Industry in north BC

Fort Nelson band’s anti-fracking petition draws overwhelming response

MARK HUME, The Globe and Mail, Friday, Nov. 30 2012

When a small native band in British Columbia launched an online petition to oppose increased water use by the gas industry, it was hoping for 500 signatures.

A month later, the Fort Nelson First Nation has nearly 24,000 signatories on the petition and letter to government posted on Change.org under the heading “Don’t Give Away Our Fresh Water for Fracking.”

Tar Sands Pipelines as Bottle-necks against the Consolidation of Power in Canada

by Anonymous, Vancouver Media Coop, November 27, 2012

Tar Sands factories in northern Alberta.

Perhaps more than at any other time in its history, the Canadian state has invested its future in a single massive industrial project. The Tar Sands (1) is increasingly the driver of Canada’s economy, a symbol of its national identity, and central to how it seeks to position itself globally in the future. As pipeline projects advance across the continent, there is a pressing need for us to understand how, in opposing the transportation of Tar Sands oil, we have an unparalleled opportunity to disrupt the capitalist political system in this country. This is especially important in Ontario, where presently the movement against the pipelines is weakest.

Raising Resistance – Global Day of Action in Solidarity with Unis’tot’en

Report back from Unistotencamp.wordpress.org  November 27, 2012

Anarchists at Unis’tot’en solidarity rally in Vancouver, BC, outside of regional office of Apache Canada.

Letter to Industry and Government with Warning About Trespassing on Wet’suwet’en Territory

Today Unist’ot’en allies are rising up in cities across North America, and around the world, to deliver a message to industry and government warning them to cease their trespass against sovereign Wet’suwet’en territory. The Global Day of Action is in response to an incident last week where Wet’suwet’en Chief Toghestiy intercepted and issued an eagle feather to surveyors from the Can-Am Geomatics company who were working for Apache’s proposed Pacific Trails Pipeline (PTP).