Job creation

I was on a recent kayaking trip to Nuchatlitz Provincial Park on the west coast of  Vancouver Island. We stocked up on groceries in Campbell River and I was wearing my "I've got this sinking feeling" T-shirt. (If anyone knows who designed this great shirt, please let me know because I'd like to credit them here.)

Two people in the grocery store came up to me (separately) and said they liked the T-shirt. One woman said she didn't like the project, but thought it was a done deal. Don't worry, I said. It's not going to happen. Keep speaking up. The other woman said she'd be going/coming up there/here (north) if she was needed. Later on, another couple told me the same thing.

Meanwhile the technical hearings are taking place right now - you can find summaries at the Northwest Institute website.

Now even though I've probably read too many John LeCarre novels where the lengths to which industry and government will go to protect economic interests is always nerve-wracking, I was more than a little creeped (to use a word my kids used to employ) to read an article in The Guardian Weekly: Shell spending $1 bn on security. It details the extent to which oil companies will go to maintain an unwelcome and environmentally destructive infrastructure. The article begins: "Shell is paying Nigerian security forces tens of millions of dollars a year to guard their installations and staff in the Niger delta....The oil giant also maintains a 1,200-strong internal police fore in Nigeria, plus a network of informants." Its budget for security in Africa, the article says, is number three after the total security budgets of the countries of South Africa and Nigeria.

I guess that's one way oil creates jobs.

Another perhaps unexpected job creation project that can likely be credited to the oil industry right here in Canada comes from the establishment of Alberta's counterterrorism unit. According to a June 6 Globe & Mail article, "After labelling certain environmental and first nations groups as extremists and radicals, Canada’s federal government, along with the country’s top law enforcement and spy agencies, have set up a counterterrorism unit in Alberta in order to protect the province’s natural resources and infrastructure."

The job spinoffs are amazing.

Just as it would be nice if some of Shell's security money went into addressing the environmental devastation its oil projects have caused in Nigeria, it would be nice if the Canadian government kept funding those scientists studying the effects of climate change and created jobs in alternative energy. The folks we stayed with in Nuchatliz rely almost entirely on solar - and that's on the wet coast. Go figure.

Think tankers and what comes along with them

I received notice of this August 24 presentation in Smithers from the Friends of Morice-Bulkley - as always, it's the stories people tell that really illustrate the impact of oil spills - and bravo to the folks who take the time to share their stories, as so many have done at the Joint Review Panel hearings.

A coalition of First Nation organizers and conservation organizations are sponsoring Dr. Riki Ott, a renowned marine toxicologist and oil spill expert on a speaking tour throughout British Columbia in August.  Friends of Morice-Bulkley are hosting Dr. Ott at the Old Church in Smithers on Friday, August 24 at 7 pm. Everyone is invited to this free event.

In her talk, "Think Tankers -- and what comes along with them", Ott shares stories of accidental activists from the Exxon Valdez spill, the BP Gulf of Mexico disaster, the Enbridge Michigan spill and more, showing the devastating costs of our fossil fuel dependency on communities across North America. Her stories show what ordinary people are doing to create more self-reliant, sustainable, and democratic communities. Ott engages the audience to imagine what it would take to transition off fossil fuels and confront the dangerous expansion of corporate power – and inspires people to take action.

Ott says, "I spent a year in Gulf of Mexico communities after the BP oil disaster, warning people what to expect based on my experience with the Exxon Valdez oil spill. In Cordova, Alaska, we learned that the oil industry does not know how to clean up oil – there would be a cover up, not a clean up. Sure enough, people in the Gulf are sick, wildlife is sick, tons of oil is still everywhere, and the government and oil industry are working together to minimize the appearance of damages and BP's response costs."

Ott found this same story of deception and harm is repeating in Michigan communities after the Enbridge pipeline tar sands spill in July 2010. Ott is working with community organizers in Michigan to launch a pilot community health survey in areas impacted by the tar sands spill. "In Michigan, we're dealing with incredibly toxic oil – pretty much the same stuff that the Canadian government wants to bring through BC. Tar sands oil is concentrated in the heavy particulates that harm the respiratory system, the reproductive system, immune function, the central nervous system, the stomach, bladder, liver, skin, and more. The diluents – the chemicals used to dilute the thick tar sands – also are linked with a host of human illnesses."  

 "I want to share these stories and experiences with people in British Columbia because you still have a chance to prevent the harms that have happened in Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico, and Michigan. It's far better to fight to stop the pipelines and tankers now than to loose your health, your traditional foods, and your families after a spill."

Welcoming the salmon home

It's a bit unnerving to see all the people gathered on that bridge, but here are the people of Moricetown and the surrounding communities gathering to welcome the salmon back into the river and express their concern about the possible impacts of the proposed pipeline.

The caption on the photo reads :"On July 27, 2012, once again, members of the Wet'suwet'en nation, hereditary chiefs, Moricetown elected chiefs,  representatives of local governments and other residents of the valley came to Moricetown to celebrate the return of the salmon in the river and to express their opposition to proposed Enbridge rarsands/bitument pipelines."

On Monday, July 30, Smithers welcomed the people from the Hazeltons who were forced to come to Smithers to make their oral presentations to the Joint Review Panel. Once again, the presentations were thoughtful, respectful and charged with emotion at the ways in which people's lives could be affected by this project. Each participant said a resounding, "No!"

Come out to support Hazelton

People who signed up to speak to the Joint Review Panel in Hazelton will have to come to Smithers to make their presentations because it's a "safe and secure" location - which, translated from JRP lingo, means there are fewer Indians around; the JRP forced the Heiltsuk of Bella Bella  to paddle across to Denny Island to present their testimony last week - a hearing that Enbridge didn't bother to attend. For the full Tyee story, click here:  The Tyee story.

The Hazelton people will be speaking in Smithers tomorrow (Monday, July 31) beginning at 9 pm at the Hudson Bay Lodge - if you can, come out to support them.

Kootenays to Kitimat Caravan

Bill Metcalfe sent me a link to a story he wrote for The Nelson Daily:  Keep an eye out for these folks - last I heard they were in Fort St. James for the JRP hearings there:

About 40 Nelson residents gathered outside Nelson City Hall at noon today to support the four-person Kootenays to Kitimat Caravan, which left immediately after the rally for stops in Castlegar, Grand Forks, and points north. The caravan is travelling in opposition to the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline.
“We are here to say three simple things,” Keith Wiley, one of the caravaners, said at the mic. “No pipeline. No tankers. No problem."


"The massive opposition to this project is a turning point for Canada and Canadians," Wiley said. He and the other caravaners, all men who are no longer young, were affectionately dubbed "The Geezer Brigade" at the rally.


The half-hour event moved along briskly, with a few short speeches and an upbeat but determined mood. Local politicians from federal, provincial, and municipal governments attended and spoke.

To read the rest of the story...

JRP Oral Presentation Summaries

If you haven't found the time to read through all the oral presentations to the Joint Review Panel, Friends of Wild Salmon has posted summaries and photos of the presenters from all the sessions to date (and will keep adding them as they take place). JRP Oral Presentation Summaries. In the over 800 presentations made to date, only one person has said the risks associated with the proposal are ones we should take.

Cowboys and Indians

What a fiasco. It seems like the Calgary cowboys of the Joint Review Panel or their minders are afraid of the Indians. They've just announced that they're moving the Hazelton hearings to Smithers ( See Opinion 250). The only other community where hearings were delayed because of security issues was in Bella Bella. You'd think the Ontario member, Hans Matthews, a member of the Wahnapitae First Nation, would be able to reassure them on these matters.

In the meantime, people of all shapes, sizes, and colours have continued to line up across the northwest to voice their opposition to the pipeline proposal. In Prince George today hundreds of people gathered to demonstrate their feelings and former Smithers resident Kelly Giesbrecht made a powerful presentation - I've copied it in below:

Good afternoon,

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

I have just a brief statement for the record.

I am a Canadian citizen and lifetime resident of Northern BC, originally from Smithers and living in Prince George since 1996.

I am here today as I cannot rely on either my current elected officials, or my current provincial or federal governments to represent, or even consider, my views and opinions on this matter.

I oppose the development of this pipeline.

I am deeply concerned about the irreversible, negative impacts it will have on Northern BC's economy, environment, lifestyles and cultures,  as well as on Canada's international reputation and credibility.

This pipeline is not in the public interest and does not contribute to national security - quite the opposite. This pipeline is an embarrassing proposition. It is unnecessary and unwanted.

There is a better way forward.

Thank you.

 Way to go, Kelly!