Pine Needle Knit

Sal the Spirit Bear receives more support in bid to become next BC Premier

2011-02-11T09:13:00.000-08:00

Prince George, BC -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

5 trumpeter swans, an ermin, an albino grizzly bear, 2 cats, a Mexican jumping spider, a 5 million year old sturgeon and a northern flea throw their weight behind Sal the Spirit Bear's bid to become BC Liberal party leader and BC Premier

Sal the Spirit Bear who hails from the north coast of British Columbia is now receiving the support from some other northern BC residents.

5 trumpeter swans who spend most of their time on the Nechako River and nearby wetlands in the northern interior of BC are among the most recent supporters of Sal.

"They don't seem to realize," said the swans in unison, "there are plans to punch through an oil pipeline right by where we live. Do they even know where we live? I mean, good grief!"

The 5 million year old sturgeon could not immediately be reached for comment as he was swimming somewhere in the murky depths of the Nechako River.

"He's with us," said the swans.

The ermin declared she was going to keep on her winter coat until after the leadership race. I have to keep with the Spirit Bear and swans if you get my (snow) drift," she said.

The cats decided to join Sal's camp after being turfed from another candidate's camp.
"And that Prosperity Mine thing really cheesed me off!" said one of the cats.

The grizzly bear, rather grumpy from being woken up early, growled his support for Sal. "Trophy hunting. Nuf said."

The northern flea said this race signifies an important turning point for northern BC to get more attention. "Them big bozos down south get way too much attention," he said. "I mean, enough with the bed bug stories already. I mean, do they even know there are fleas up here? Sucks to be us!"

The Mexican jumping spider travels to northern BC from Mexico each winter to holiday and was interviewed between shots of tequila in a downtown Prince George bar.
"I am here for the P-arty with a capital "P" man, and the bear is the one for the job."

As of date of polling, a bald headed eagle and falcon remained undecided (the latter being no relation to a certain other race contender).

a message from Chief Arvol Looking Horse of the Lakota, Dakota, Nakota Nation of the Sioux

2010-05-13T21:51:00.000-07:00

A letter from Chief Arvol Looking Horse
A Great Urgency

To All World Religious and Spiritual Leaders

My Relatives,

Time has come to speak to the hearts of our Nations and their Leaders. I ask you this from the bottom of my heart, to come together from the Spirit of your Nations in prayer.

We, from the heart of Turtle Island, have a great message for the World; we are guided to speak from all the White Animals showing their sacred color, which have been signs for us to pray for the sacred life of all things. As I am sending this message to you, many Animal Nations are being threatened, those that swim, those that crawl, those that fly, and the plant Nations, eventually all will be affect from the oil disaster in the Gulf.

The dangers we are faced with at this time are not of spirit. The catastrophe that has happened with the oil spill which looks like the bleeding of Grandmother Earth, is made by human mistakes, mistakes that we cannot afford to continue to make.

I asked, as Spiritual Leaders, that we join together, united in prayer with the whole of our Global Communities. My concern is these serious issues will continue to worsen, as a domino effect that our Ancestors have warned us of in their Prophecies.

I know in my heart there are millions of people that feel our united prayers for the sake of our Grandmother Earth are long overdue. I believe we as Spiritual people must gather ourselves and focus our thoughts and prayers to allow the healing of the many wounds that have been inflicted on the Earth. As we honor the Cycle of Life, let us call for Prayer circles globally to assist in healing Grandmother Earth (our Unc'I Maka).

We ask for prayers that the oil spill, this bleeding, will stop. That the winds stay calm to assist in the work. Pray for the people to be guided in repairing this mistake, and that we may also seek to live in harmony, as we make the choice to change the destructive path we are on.

As we pray, we will fully understand that we are all connected. And that what we create can have lasting effects on all life.

So let us unite spiritually, All Nations, All Faiths, One Prayer. Along with this immediate effort, I also ask to please remember June 21st, World Peace and Prayer Day/Honoring Sacred Sites day. Whether it is a natural site, a temple, a church, a synagogue or just your own sacred space, let us make a prayer for all life, for good decision making by our Nations, for our children's future and well-being, and the generations to come.

Onipikte (that we shall live),

Chief Arvol Looking Horse
19th generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe

from northern BC to Ethiopia - women's silenced voices. Event for International Women's Day

2010-03-06T08:41:00.000-08:00

“Women’s Silenced Voices:
The Issue of Femicide from Ethiopia to the Highway of Tears”

Free Public Lecture

Tuesday March 9, 2010
7:00pm
Room 7 – 212

at the University of Northern British Columbia

Ms. Semhal Getachew will talk about the issue of femicide in Ethiopia and relate it to a discussion with Mavis Erickson about the the murder and disappearance of women on the Highway of Tears in Northern British Columbia.

Ms. Semhal Getachew is a board member for the Ethiopian Women’s Health Association and is a human rights lawyer and activist.

The event is held as part of the International Women’s day events planned for Prince George.

For more information please contact:

Sarah
empower@unbc.ca

some thoughts about the mega-mine trend in northern & central BC

2010-02-26T12:00:00.000-08:00

I am bothered by current BC & federal government policies aimed at attracting & supporting the establishment of various mega-mine projects throughout northern & central BC. Now first I want to say: I do not have a problem with small-scale prospecting & smaller (especially community-run) mining projects -- provided they do not contaminate local watersheds & are done respectfully (to local environment).

There are a number of mining projects that greatly concern me, but 2 that spring directly to mind are Mount Milligan northwest of Prince George (I have previously blogged about this mine & the process leading up to its "approval" by provincial & federal government). The other is the proposed Prosperity Mine west of Williams Lake that would see Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) drained to become a tailings impoundment area for a gold mine(pursuant to the federal Metal Mining Effluent Regulation). It is an astoundingly breath-taking lake held sacred by the local Tsilhqot'in people.

"It is not possible for us to agree to the destruction of the land that sustains us." ~ Chief Marilyn Baptiste, Xeni Gwet'in First Nation.

A video definitely worth watching about this proposed mine & the local First Nations people's perspective is found at http://vimeo.com/9679174 (a big thank you to Susan Smitten).

I find my values & perspective are increasingly becoming aligned with the First Nations elders who hold strong connection to the land & the traditional ways of the Aboriginal people. I feel as though I had blinders on during much of my childhood & young adulthood when I was oblivious to or accepted as 'normal' (just the way it was. . . ) many of the industrial/ resource extraction/ exploitation ways in northern BC. After all I lived in a sawmill town. My dad worked in a mine for part of my childhood. . . and at a sawmill. . . as I get older and watch the precious sacred northern BC landscape come under threat from various directions & sources, I find myself becoming more of an ally of First Nations people, those who are connected with their traditional ways of life.

as a child these industrial jobs my dad had put food on our table. . . but now I wonder, at what greater cost do some of these mega-industrial projects proceed?

Honestly these days, the First Nations elders (in contact with their people's traditional ways) are some of the few people who make any sense anymore. Some of the elders in the Teztan Biny video (referenced above) speak the most profound & simple wisdom. . .

They speak the truth about our earth & how we are all inter-connected and dependent on it.

Is there a way for northerners to make a living while still safeguarding the environment? I think it is becoming increasingly imperative as well-being of the natural environment (and our health) begins to unravel around us. . .

I believe we need to seriously look at whether the Metal Mining Effluent Regulation (enabled pursuant to section 35(2) of the federal Fisheries Act) should even exist. . . I believe that there is something morally flawed about this law -- to allow fishbearing lakes & streams to be redefined as tailings impoundment areas because a handful of humans decide it is the right thing to do seems absolutely WRONG WRONG WRONG.

Who are we to be able redefine natural systems that support the web of life!?

Here is an excerpt from the Red Chris Mine Supreme Court of Canada decision. One thing I really don't get about this case is why this mine is permitted to go ahead by the Court - I mean, it is akin to a case being sent back to trial -- if it was an illegal trial/ process, then it was illegal was it not? But this IS an important decision for the future of mining processes & decisions in BC.

Mining Watch Canada v. Canada (Fisheries and Oceans), 2010 SCC 2

Reasons for Judgment:

Rothstein J. (Binnie, LeBel, Fish, Abella, Charron and Cromwell JJ. concurring)

on appeal from the federal court of appeal

In order to develop a copper and gold open pit mining and milling operation in British Columbia, a mining company submitted a project description to the BC Environmental Assessment Office. Public comment was sought and the Office subsequently determined that the project was not likely to cause significant adverse, environmental, heritage, social, economic or health effects and issued a provincial environmental assessment certificate. The company also submitted to the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans applications for dams required to create a tailings impoundment area. Initially, the Department stated that a comprehensive study was required because the project fell within the provisions of the Comprehensive Study List Regulations (“CSL”) promulgated under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (“CEAA”). It subsequently scoped the project as to exclude the mine and mill and, given this, concluded that a comprehensive study was no longer necessary and that the assessment would proceed by way of screening. Additional public comment was not sought and the screening instead relied on information collected through the cooperative federal/provincial environmental assessment process. The federal screening report concluded that the project was not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects and the responsible authority made the decision to allow the project to proceed. MiningWatch filed an application for judicial review of the decision to conduct a screening rather than a comprehensive study. The Federal Court allowed the application, concluding that the responsible authority had breached its duty under the CEAA by scoping the environmental assessment so that it only required a screening. The court quashed the decision to issue permits and approvals and prohibited further action by the responsible authority until it had conducted public consultation and completed a comprehensive study pursuant to s. 21 of the CEAA. The Federal Court of Appeal set aside the decision.

Held: The appeal should be allowed.

The CEAA and regulations require that the environmental assessment track be determined according to the project as proposed; it is generally not open to a responsible authority to change that level. An interpretation which provides that the word “project” in s. 21 of the CEAA means “project as proposed” by the proponent, rather than “project as scoped” by the responsible authority, is consistent with the statutory definition of that word in s. 2 of the CEAA, the language of the relevant regulations, and with Parliament’s intent as found in the respective roles of the responsible authority and the Minister in conducting environmental assessments under the CEAA. Where, as here, a project as proposed is listed on the CSL, the requirements in s. 21 are mandatory.

Tracking and scoping are distinct steps in the CEAA process. While the responsible authority does not have the discretion to determine the assessment track, once the appropriate track is determined, it has the discretion to determine the scope of the project for the purposes of assessment under s. 15(1)(a) of the CEAA. In the event that the project is referred to a mediator or a review panel under s. 21.1(1)(b), the scope of the project is determined by the Minister after consulting with the responsible authority pursuant to s. 15(1)(b). The presumed scope of the project to be assessed is the project as proposed by the proponent but, as an exception to this general proposition, the responsible authority or Minister may enlarge the scope in the circumstances set out in s. 15(2) or (3). The responsible authority or Minister cannot reduce the scope of the project to less than what is proposed by the proponent. For a project subject to a comprehensive study, the responsible authority can, and should, minimize duplication by using the coordination mechanisms provided for in the CEAA. In particular, federal and provincial governments can adopt mutually agreeable terms for coordinating environmental assessments.

In the present case, the federal environmental assessment should have been conducted for the project as proposed by the proponent. Since the proposed project was described in the CSL, the requirements of s. 21 applied. The responsible authority was free to use any and all federal‑provincial coordination tools available, but it was still required to comply with the provisions of the CEAA pertaining to comprehensive studies. By conducting a screening, the responsible authority acted without statutory authority.

In exercising his discretion to grant the relief he did, the trial judge did not take account of a number of relevant and significant considerations and granted broader relief than was appropriate. MiningWatch has no proprietary or pecuniary interest in the outcome of the proceedings and did not participate in the environmental assessment conducted by the provincial authority. No evidence of dissatisfaction with the environmental assessments conducted by the BC Environmental Assessment Office or the responsible authority and no evidence of dissatisfaction with the assessment process from anyone else was brought forward. MiningWatch has brought this judicial review as a test case of the federal government’s obligations under s. 21. They made a strategic decision not to challenge the substantive scoping decision. When all the relevant considerations are taken into account, the appropriate relief is to allow the application for judicial review and declare that the responsible authority erred in failing to conduct a comprehensive study. No further relief is warranted. The focus of MiningWatch’s interest as a public interest litigant is the legal point to which the declaration will respond and there is no justification in requiring the proponent of the project to repeat the environmental assessment process when there was no challenge to the substantive decisions made by the responsible authority.

Crude Facts info session about Enbridge Northern Gateway project in Prince George BC

2010-02-25T13:46:00.000-08:00

Sea to Sands Conservation Alliance
E-mail: sea2sands.ca@gmail.com Blogsite: s2sca.blogspot.com

For Immediate Release: February 24, 2010

SEA TO SANDS CONSERVATION ALLIANCE PRESENTS THE CRUDE FACTS
Information session on the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project

On March 2nd and 3rd, the Sea to Sands Conservation Alliance will be hosting The Crude Facts, two information sessions on the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline and Tanker Project. Speakers from Friends of Wild Salmon, regional First Nations organizations, UNBC and the Sea to Sands Conservation Alliance will speak about the environmental and social risks of this proposed project. “Given the likelihood of oil spills associated with the transportation of bitumen from the tar sands to Asian and American markets, people need to become educated about the potential negative impacts of this project and decide if this type of development will truly benefit northerners” said the event organizer, Sonja Ostertag. The events will take place on March 2nd from 2:30 to 4:30 in Room 6-305 at UNBC and March 3rd from 7:00 to 9:00 at ArtSpace (1685 3rd Ave), Prince George.

Enbridge proposes to construct two parallel pipelines from northern Alberta's tar sands to the port of Kitimat; one pipe will carry crude bitumen, a heavy oil product, to the coast of BC for oil tankers destined to Asian and American oil markets. “I’m concerned about this project because it will accelerate the expansion of the Alberta Tar Sands; the proposed pipelines will cut through traditional territories and could lead to cultural destruction in the case of an oil spill” said local UNBC student and member of the Sea to Sands Conservation Alliance, Adam Thomas. The second pipe will carry condensate inland; condensate is an acutely toxic light hydrocarbon used to transform the thick tar-like substance extracted from the oil sands into a product suitable for pipeline transport. Both products present a distinct threat to fish, wildlife and humans in proximity to any spills.

‘The Crude Facts’ will highlight the potential negative impacts of this project for northerners and their environment. The alliance will continue to organize events in Prince George in the coming months to help inform the public about the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project. S2S formed a Facebook group (s2s.ca) in the fall of 2009 and the group has attracted more than 600 members to date. Citizens interested in learning more or who would like to join the group can email sea2sands.ca@gmail.com.

a flame stronger than the Olympic flame burns in the heart of the First Nations women of the North!

2010-02-10T13:46:00.000-08:00

Olympics Aren't the Only Games Being Played for Gold in BC
Investors not being given the facts about mining investment risks

VANCOUVER, Feb. 10 /CNW Telbec/ - As the media spotlight shines on the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, a government-industry promotion is hiding the risks of investing in BC's mining industry, First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining warned today.

"Crucial facts are being hidden and the global media attention generated by the Olympics is being used to send a false message that BC is a sure gold medal bet for mining investors," said FNWARM member Chief Marilyn Baptise of the Xeni Gwet'in First Nation.

"After a 13-year new-mine drought fuelled by major court rulings on First Nations rights in BC, there now appears to be a campaign to pretend the legal duty to consult and accommodate First Nations no longer exists," added Nak'azdli First Nation councillor Anne Sam.

The message is so one-sided that FNWARM members this week filed a BC Press Council complaint against the Vancouver Sun regarding recent articles that omitted known key facts to leave the impression that the provincial government's star mining projects no longer face serious obstacles and will create a huge revenue bonanza.

In fact they face a number of serious obstacles.

FNWARM is a group of First Nations women leaders from northern BC with a shared goal of promoting responsible mining that respects First Nations rights and cultures and the environment. Their goals include reform of the free-entry access system and environmental assessment review processes to reduce areas of conflict and uncertainty.

"We all face serious attempts to force mining projects on us," said former Lake Babine First Nations Chief Betty Patrick. "We want to work with government and companies to find responsible and respectful solutions to mining impasses in BC, but we are repeatedly faced with attempts to bulldozer us into submission."

Soda Creek Chief Bev Sellars said: "We are shocked by the extent of the steps now being taken to push ahead with mine projects on Xeni Gwet'in and Nak'azdli First Nation traditional lands."

The respective projects are Taseko Mines Ltd's Prosperity gold mine and Terrane Metals' proposed low grade gold/copper Mt. Milligan mine - which are being heavily promoted by the provincial government and media as the vanguard of a new BC mining boom.

Both are threatening to start land clearing and road building in a matter of weeks, even though their projects could be halted by reviews or legal challenges that will take months or longer to complete.

FNWARM hopes to balance the mining hype by providing investors with facts that they have a right to know in order to make informed decisions. For example:

- The future cannot be guaranteed for projects that proceed against
First Nations objections on their traditional lands, which cover the
entire province.
- The vast majority of BC First Nations have never signed treaties or
ceded any territory or resources;
- The courts have repeatedly established that - pending resolution of
their title and rights - these First Nations must be consulted and
accommodated;
- Taseko's proposed Prosperity mine - which would turn an important
pristine lake into a toxic tailing pond - still faces a federal
environment review. Its future is also entangled in two major court
cases involving First Nations rights;
- Terrane Metals' proposed Mt. Milligan Mine is still in the courts
defending against legal challenges to its provincial and federal
environmental assessment approvals. A provincial hearing is scheduled
for March. An application for a federal judicial review was filed in
early January - one day before mining giant Goldcorp declined to
partner on the mine;
- Any money spent on premature work on the mines will be at the
companies' own financial risk, and they will be accountable for
environmental destruction should the projects be stopped.

For further information: Media inquiries: Anne Marie Sam - (011) 250-649-8284, anne.sam@telus.net

my cynical poem about the Olympic torch coming through Prince George last Friday : )

2010-01-31T11:48:00.001-08:00

Canada is a coke bottle

Canada is a coke bottle,
running down this snowy road with the flame
to the next person waiting in white;
in Vancouver where bulldozers push the snow from
higher mountains wrapped in cloud,
brought down to the level of rain puddles,
meteorologist city-watching from an office window,
the Suzuki foundation warns of
global warming on the slopes of Cypress:
Canada is a coke bottle.

My young son waves the coke flags,
Canada, Coca-Cola,
concentrated in a bottle,
through the inky blackness:

what is it exactly?

Forgotten watersheds, schools,
cancer patients,
the pulp mill shut down for the afternoon
so as not to smell in the national media
when the torch came through,
brightening Ospika temporarily,
the drab street where I run
and nothing ever seems to happen,
but for tarring the potholes;

they are all here this afternoon,
the crowds,
what matters now,
jarring music that drowns everything out,

searching desperately for my friends
to hand out "No Tanker" decals
to paint the loony-loons black
with a slick of oil

the lick of black,
oozes now from us:

Canada is a coke bottle.

letter to Jim Prentice, Canada Environment Minister from Sea to Sands Conservation Alliance re: Joint Review Panel, Enbridge Northern Gateway

2010-01-27T13:16:00.000-08:00

January 26, 2010

The Honourable Jim Prentice
Minister of Environment
Government of Canada
By Email Correspondence to: Jim.Prentice@ec.gc.ca

Dear Sir:

Re: Enbridge Northern Gateway Project – Final Agreement on Joint Review Process

This letter is to state the opinions of the Sea to Sands Conservation Alliance with regards
to the terms of the Final Agreement on the Joint Review Panel process for the Enbridge
Northern Gateway crude oil/ condensate twin pipelines.
We are a group of concerned citizens based out of Prince George, British Columbia with
support from across western Canada. Prince George is a community that lies in close
proximity to the proposed Enbridge pipelines route, and is inhabited by people that are
closely tied to the surrounding land. We recently formed the Sea to Sands Conservation
Alliance to express our concern for this mega‐project. Interest in our group has been
considerable and our groups already have well over 600 supporters; opposition to this
pipeline project is increasing daily throughout British Columbia. We count ourselves as
part of a broader network of concerned citizens.
Our reasons for opposing the terms of the final agreement on the Joint Review Panel are
as follows:
1. We seriously question whether a three‐member panel comprised of two National
Energy Board members and one Environment Minister appointed member will be
adequate to evaluate this process. This is because of the magnitude of this project,
its broad‐sweeping implications and the number of communities and stakeholders
that will be affected by it.
2. The mandate of the National Energy Board seems to be too narrow to properly allow
panel members to address the variety of issues at stake. Of particular concern is the
panel’s decision to exclude the environmental impacts of the tar sands expansion in
its environmental assessment. This is very disconcerting because the proposed
Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline could result in up to 30 percent increase in oil
1
sands production. It seems short‐sighted and inappropriate to disregard direct
broader impacts of a project in an assessment.
3. Other pipelines in Canada of a similar magnitude have had more involved and
sophisticated review processes. For example, the Mackenzie gas pipeline joint
review panel terms of reference were drafted in conjunction with First Nations and
were much more comprehensive. The scope of this review included, among other
things, questions about whether the project would contribute to sustainability
within the region.
4. The concerns of the public, submitted during the public consultation process leading
up to finalizing the agreement, have not been adequately addressed in the terms of
this agreement. For instance, many members of the public noted the issue of the
moratorium on oil tanker traffic on this part of the coast. There has been a longstanding
moratorium on oil tanker traffic through the coastal inland waters of
northern British Columbia, initiated in 1972 and confirmed by Natural Resources
Canada in 2003. The terms of the Joint Review Panel do not provide for adequate
dialogue about whether British Columbians want this long‐standing moratorium
against oil tanker traffic lifted.
5. Aboriginal rights are not sufficiently addressed, particularly their right to
consultation confirmed by the Constitution and the common law. Several local First
Nations in our area (Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, Takla First Nation and Nadleh
Whut’en) have already issued media releases in response to the finalization of the
Joint Review Process. These groups state that their Aboriginal rights are being
violated. We fully support the position of First Nations groups from our area
concerning this issue.
6. We are concerned about the potential for lack of administrative fairness on the
panel. We do acknowledge that it is stated in the agreement that the members are
to be “unbiased and free from any conflict of interest in relation to the project”.
However, we remain concerned that in your capacity as Environment Minister, you
are selecting one of the three panel members. Our reason for concern is that you
have been quoted many times as being in support of oil sands production and
increasing markets for same, Mr. Prentice.
Some examples:
• “Prentice defends oilsands following National Geographic article,” retrieved
on January 15, 2010 from
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/02/25/oilsands‐articles.html.
• “Speaking Points of Jim Prentice” (as Minister of Industry)
retrieved on January 15, 2010 from
http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/icI.nsf/eng/01970.html.
• “Prentice won’t rule out oilsands emissions breaks”
retrieved on January 15, 2010 from
http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2009/12/15/prentice‐oil‐sands.html.
• “Alberta to US: Use the oil sands or lose them,”
retrieved on January 15, 2010, from
2
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/08/3
1/alberta‐to‐u‐s‐use‐the‐oilsands‐or‐lose‐them.aspx.
During your previous portfolio as Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
(May 23, 2006), you are quoted on a federal government website in an address to the
Canadian Energy Pipeline Association in Calgary, Alberta, as follows:
“I understand the enormous potential that oil and gas development will bring to
the country. . . Growing global demand for energy and upward pressure on
prices have made new projects feasible. The Gateway pipeline project is another
priority.”
In this same address, you emphasized a Conservative government “concerted and
coordinated federal response on major pipeline projects [that] will allow [your
government] to focus multi‐departmental resources on critical impediments that
threaten projects.”
Finally, you also spoke of your mandate at the time offering opportunities to “create
powerful synergies to realize the potential of pipeline development.”
The above quotes retrieved January 15, 2010, from http://www.aincinac.
gc.ca/ai/mr/spch/2006/cepaad‐eng.asp.
We question whether through your various statements referenced here and elsewhere,
you have expressed support for this pipeline project proceeding?
Our concerns about this review panel are not alleviated by the inclusion of two National
Energy Board members. The vast majority of energy projects reviewed by the National
Energy Board are approved (see for instance “environmentalists say scope of hearings is
too narrow,” Victoria Times Colonist, December 5, 2009, retrieved from
www.timescolonist.com on December 5, 2009).
While the National Energy Board certainly has a role to play, we are concerned that they
comprise two thirds of the panel, given the broad scope of the issues at stake relating to
this project.
In closing, the terms set in the Final Agreement on the Joint Review Panel process do
not reflect the concerns of the citizens and First Nations that would be directly impacted
by the Enbridge Northern Gateway project. An impartial review is necessary, which
includes an appropriate scope that allows for the relevant issues to be discussed and
addressed. There have been numerous calls from the public for a comprehensive public
inquiry into this project (several of which were articulated during the public input time
frame leading up to the formulation of this finalized agreement). We would like you to
consider those calls and establish a comprehensive review process that would have the
support of the First Nations and citizens of Canada that you represent.

Nak'azdli going forward to assert their rights

2010-01-07T14:39:00.000-08:00

Press Release from Nak'azdli band re: Mount Milligan mine approval
For Immediate Release

January 7, 2010: Nak’azdli will be filing a Notice of Application today with the Federal Court of Canada requesting a judicial review of recent decisions made by the federal Minister of Environment and federal agencies regarding a proposed low grade gold and copper mine at Mt. Milligan/Shus Nadloh, which, is located 90 km north of Fort St. James.
This federal judicial review application follows the filing of a petition on June 24, 2009 in the BC Supreme Court, which is due to go to court in the spring. “The petition filed by Nak’azdli in the BC Supreme Court and this application filed in Federal Court sends a clear message to Terrane Metals that it does not have its “social licence” to operate in Nak’azdli Territory,” said Chief Fred Sam
“The proposed mine is within Nak’azdli territory and the proposed mine site and surrounding area is clearly utilized by Nak’azdli members, and has been since time immemorial. The manner in which Canada has dealt with Nak’azdli throughout the environmental assessment review process has not upheld the honour of the Crown. They completely ignored impacts of the project on aboriginal rights and title. That is against the law.” stated Chief Fred Sam.
Nak’azdli also refuses to accept the Minister of Environments’ decision that the Mt. Milligan Mine “is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.” Chief Fred Sam asks, “who gets to define what is a significant effect? Nak’azdli has not been asked by the federal government what is significant to us.” The proposed mine on Shus Nadloh (Mt. Milligan) will clearly have a major negative impact on the environment.
“Terrane Metals mine plan includes permanently destroying much of King Richard and Alpine Creeks and two open pits and the mine site with a foot print of 367 hectares and a tailings pond with a foot print of 813 hectares, which will eliminate an area of relatively untouched land and water that is three times the size of Stanley Park in Vancouver. It is ridiculous to conclude there will not be significant adverse environmental effects.” Chief Fred Sam said.
“This should be a wakeup call for investors in GoldCorp and all investors in Terrane Metals, the proposed Mt. Milligan project is NOT a done deal and Nak’azdli has been left with no option but to turn to the federal and provincial Courts to protect our territory. Nak’azdli has been ignored by the government of Canada and BC and we will not sit by quietly.” said Chief Sam

Media Contact: Anne Marie Sam - 250-649-8284 or 250-996-7171

A Child's Christmas in Canada

2009-12-23T21:32:00.000-08:00

this cold snowy night, seated here beside the Christmas tree my son and I decorated together, its lights cheery against the darkest coldest time of year. On the weekend, we went out to a nearby tree farm where they provided us with a saw and told us we could cut our own tree from the collection of snow-laden spruce and fir lined up there, seemingly waiting and watching. We had hot chocolate, warmed our stinging red hands through mitts by the bonfire and went on a horse-drawn sleighride through the trees.

The smell of the balsam fir tree now wafts through our living room. The temperature has plummeted to minus twenty degrees and colder; outside is crisp and clean with sharp slivers of crystal suspended in the air. A strong wind blows directly from the wild lands north of here telling us this old world of ours is still capable of powerful force which still stretches far beyond our reach and control.

Our Italian neighbour's crystal earrings sparkled by the Christmas tree as she sipped her wine in our living room last night.

Christmas around Prince George and BC's northen interior dwells in log cabins, woodstoves, forests, horse drawn sleigh rides under thick woolen blankets, sparkling snow, red-cheeked children skating on lake surface rinks and the sharp lines of cross country ski trails disappearing through the snow-laden forests spread out before us. The midday sun pauses low in the sky, brightening the landscape, not quite penetrating the chill. The magic of a northern Canadian Christmas. I want my son to experience these cozy magical Canadian phenomena for his whole life.

In recent months, Canadian politicians have traveled the globe trying to sell our country as an exporter of the black dirty fuels that are driving humans and much of the world to the brink of oblivion: coal and crude oil. We have the resources, you have the knowledge, they tell other parts of the world. Our black smudge soul reaching out to the world as we become something we never were, and the land is a place for resource exploitation rather than a precious home as it once was. Every branch and leaf is sacred, so too the passing breezes that blow through.

The federal government-appointed review panel has also been announced for the oil and condensate twin pipelines a major oil pipeline company wants to put through here, on its journey from the Alberta tar sands to the Kitimat coast. The Canadian government has plans to expand Canada's oil market to Asia and we stand right on the route of them being able to do so. The tar sands' ugliness begins to creep this way.

First Nations people have already decried the process, and the vice chief of the local tribal council traveled to the climate talks in Copenhagen to talk about the pipeline, the concerns about the tar sands and how his people's Aboriginal rights have been ignored. The pipeline would cross a thousand rivers and streams between Alberta and the coast, and one of them is the Stuart River, a major tributary of the Nechako River that flows into the Fraser here in Prince George.

I grew up on the banks of the Nechako River, and the cheery chatting but haunting call of the geese migrating through shadowed my childhood years. The calendar's months marked by the passing of the geese.

And I have traveled along the Nechako River's banks on the historic train route headed west. From the train I have watched the white trumpeter swans gracefully swimming there, at peace, completely oblivious of the dark oily stain of spills that would threaten them from upstream. Swans are of the ethereal realm of angel hymns sung by warm candle glow somewhere in the midst of this sparkling-moon snow-tucked hushed wild land that still despite what dark industrial threats may lurk, remains magical and mysterious. This land holds a gentle power that only the most patient observers fully come to understand.

The churches last Sunday rang their bells through the crisp sharp air 350 times for Copenhagen. 350 parts per million, the safe level of carbon into the atmosphere. Church bells rising into this same air, speaking to carbon of hope, of people's hope for a bright shiny new world.

The thermostat read minus 30 earlier today, minus 40 with the windchill. We are in northern Canada, in our down jackets and Canadian-made Baffin boots.

It is where we want to stay.

The other night we went downtown together to get library books. Outside the city had put up Christmas lights which cast a warm glow across the snow and ice of the downtown courtyard. My son is drawn to these cheery lights. We imagine these lights are the magical lights of Santa's home far north at the North Pole. Indeed the trees in the surrounding hills and stretching up to nearby Connaught Hill where the City has erected a Christmas lights display twinkle with ice crystals and a haunting white layer of hoar frost.

When it starts to snow, a perfectly formed snowflake lands on my black glove. I remember as a child letting the snowflakes land on my gloves, and studying many of them, one by one, as they landed, each in a beautifully formed unique pattern. I show the snowflake patterns to my son, and we look up, the falling snow tickling our faces as it falls from high above, from that mysterious place of air that has become so complicated and yet remains so simple.

I do not ever want to lose these northern snowflakes. I do not want them to be replaced by distorted ice blobs or driving sleet of global warming. I will fight for the perfectly formed snowflakes and fluffy northern snow.

In my Christmas dream, my young son is pretending to be a Christmas elf skiing through the snow, heading across the magic lands of the North Pole. He has entered this special land that only children can visit because they dwell where magic is still possible everywhere. He tells me about the other elves he spots, those figures darting into the Prince George Civic Centre for a meeting. Those figures entering Santa's home to create the toys for the children. Later he will sit on Santa's knee by the old trains at the Prince George Railway Museum and tell him he will leave chocolate chip cookies out for him. He will tell Santa about the toy he wants.

Toys that will not hurt the environment with their plastic and styrofoam wrap and mass production waste because they are made instead by elves in a magic land where there is no such thing as waste and pollution. They make the toys far beyond the place where the polar bears now slip through the sea ice into the vast waters of the Arctic Ocean.

Somewhere up there, high above the spruce trees and snow and polar bears' caves, the magical north pole still needs to exist. Santa lives in Canada with the postal code HO HO HO. This northern magic is a legacy we offer to the world, more valuable than any crude oil we could ever hope to export.

And a Merry Christmas still rings out from the mysterious vast snowy lands of northern Canada.

Happy Winter Solstice

2009-12-21T21:01:00.000-08:00

the shortest day of the year was greeted by buckets of snowflakes landing on our heads, mitts, cars and houses today. Went out for a magical cross country ski this evening through snow laden trees . . . skiing by ambient light reflected by the white surface of the snow is indeed a wondrous experience. I never want to lose our winters. Meanwhile there was a lantern walk downtown Prince George this evening to honour the solstice.

Winter Solstice, the time for inner reflection . . . so I probably should not blog about it . . .

but happy solstice to one, to all.
Coziest time of the year before the light begins to return.

letter to Enbridge (re: Northern Gateway proposed pipeline) from Sea to Sands Conservation Alliance (s2s.ca), Prince George BC

2009-12-14T19:26:00.001-08:00

Enbridge Inc.
3000 ‐ 425 1st Street S.W.
Calgary, Alberta
T2P 3L8

BY REGISTERED MAIL

December 14, 2009

To Whom it May Concern:

RE: NORTHERN GATEWAY PIPELINE PROJECT
COMMENTS SUBMITTED FOR INCLUSION IN ENBRIDGE COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD RECORD ‐ PRINCE GEORGE, BC

We are a newly formed citizens' group, based in Prince George, BC, opposed to the Northern Gateway oil pipeline project. To date, we have over 600 people opposed to the oil pipeline project and our support is growing daily.

In part we are responding to articles in the Prince George Citizen, November 27, 2009and Prince George Free Press, December 3, 2009 wherein Enbridge spokespeople are quoted as saying they hope this group (Sea 2 Sands Conservation Alliance) brings its concerns to Enbridge's Community Advisory Board.

We would like to be on record as saying that we do not view the Enbridge‐run Community Advisory Boards as an open public consultation.
The Enbridge website www.northerngateway.ca gives no details about the Community Advisory Board meetings. People must apply to attend and Enbridge screens the applicants. The meetings are not widely advertised. The media is excluded. In past sessions, Enbridge facilitators guide and control the discussions. The possibility of NO PIPELINE is not on the table at these meetings.

Reasons for our concerns and our opposition are as follows:

1. Broader Environmental Implications

a) Climate change ‐ governments are currently meeting in Copenhagen attempting to reach agreements to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the
potentially devastating impacts predicted by the scientific community. A majority of Canadians are in support of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Building an oil pipeline to sell Canada's water and energy‐intensive bitumen to countries such as China and India is incongruous with the goals of the Copenhagen meetings. It is also incongruous with all international climate talks being held around the world. In addition, the Canadian tar sands are known to be the highest growing source of carbon emissions in Canada and the primary impediment for Canada to bring about substantial reductions to carbon emissions. There is a complete disconnect between a reduction of carbon emissions and construction of a pipeline to export Canada's crude oil. Our generation has a significant moral responsibility to work toward reducing carbon emissions if there is even a remote chance that human‐generated emissions are causing the planet's weather systems to become destabilized.

b) Destructiveness of the tar sands ‐ The Canadian tar sands are receiving international criticism for the intense damage they impose on the local environment and those living in close proximity to them. In fact, Canada is losing its internationally respected reputation as a peaceful, responsible country because of this dirty source of oil; a reputation that took nearly 150 years to build. Critics of the tar sands include those from local indigenous people to heads of state around the world to global religious leaders. Some concerns related to the tar sands are:

i) detrimental impact on local First Nations traditional uses of the land
ii) elevated rates of cancer, birth defects, haemolytic anaemia and liver damage in people living in close proximity to (especially downstream) the tar sands
iii) immense amounts of water and natural gas utilized to extract bitumen
iv) destruction of boreal birds' breeding grounds
v) deaths and injury to local wildlife
vi) ineffective restoration of affected lands

The Enbridge Northern Gateway project is inextricably linked to the continued expansion of the tar sands. To support this pipeline is unacceptable.

Canada's economy evolves to the use of cleaner sources of energy. Sea 2 Sands feels that the sooner we move in that direction, the better.

2. Risk of oil spills along the Route ‐ both in terms of the pipelines and the oil tanker traffic that would result from construction of the port at Kitimat Enbridge states that there is a risk of oil spills. "Pipeline leaks are an inherent risk of operations" (Enbridge Annual Report 2008). This project would cross approximately
1000 streams and numerous major rivers including the Stuart River, a tributary of the Nechako River, which flows through the City of Prince George. Spills entering Prince George's watershed would have serious consequences for domestic and industrial water supplies. The citizens of British Columbia have already been subject to a substantial spill from a pipeline on the Pine River in August 2000. That spill impacted fish and wildlife habitat, and had significant negative effects on the drinking water in Chetwynd. The rivers crossed by this proposed pipeline are tributaries of the two major river systems of British Columbia, the Fraser and the Skeena. These watersheds represent some of the most valuable salmon habitat in the world. In recent years it has become apparent that salmon stocks on both rivers (Skeena and Fraser) are already compromised. The risk of even one oil spill could cause such damage as to destroy the few salmon we have left. A report has been produced outlining the potential negative effects of oil on salmon (http://bc.pembina.org/pub/1894). Enbridge cannot guarantee there would be no spills along this pipeline nor could they guarantee a timely response in the event of a spill in the remote and rugged territory the pipeline will cross, particularly during extreme weather conditions. Even the risk of one spill is too much in the context of these fragile inland ecosystems. The Carrier Sekani Tribal Council has conducted further research addressing some of these issues on the local level more specifically, and have been documented in their Aboriginal Interest and Use Study, which can be found at (http://www.cstc.bc.ca/cstc/67/enbridge).

The risk of oil tanker spills in the Douglas Channel and the northwest coast is also considerable and of serious concern. Wildlife values in this area are significant on a global scale. For example, 28 of British Columbia's 84 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) lie within 250 kilometres of the mouth of Douglas Channel (http://www.bsc‐eoc.org/iba/regional.jsp?region=BC). Many of these IBAs support significant breeding populations of colonial seabirds. In addition to seabirds, the entire North Pacific population of grey whales passes through these waters during their annual migration from their breeding grounds in Mexico to their summer feeding grounds near Alaska. These waters are also migratory pathways for west coast salmon populations. British Columbia's recent experience with the spill of diesel fuel when the ferry, Queen of the North, sank in 2006 saw a number of issues indicating what would happen should a spill of crude oil occur. First and foremost was how difficult it was to physically contain even a small spill of a light and relatively benign substance in and around the rugged coastline for northern BC. Any spill from tankers moving oil from Kitimat would have unfathomable impacts to this extensive coastal area.

3. Socio‐Economic Costs Associated with Constructing the Pipeline: To First Nations people: Resource extraction has created divisiveness between various First Nations communities and between First Nations and non First Nations communities. It is time for this divisiveness to end. Many of the First Nations communities along the route of this pipeline have strongly stated their opposition. The traditional uses of the land would be severely compromised. As various First Nations groups, including the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, have pointed out, the social costs/risks are simply too high in the face of long‐standing cultural traditions. As we strive to move toward more sustainable, low‐carbon, local‐based economies, the wisdom of Aboriginal elders and traditional uses of the land become increasingly vital. We cannot afford to further place at risk these valuable cultural resources. Please watch the following series of videos for more information about the profound insights of local First Nations people into the broader issues at stake: http://www.youtube.com/user/CIERworld#p/u/0/s7Uk2NjuLCA. To all communities along the route: Northern communities need long‐lasting, resilient economic bases. What we do not need is short‐term employment projects that come with significant long‐term environmental and social costs. For years northern British Columbians have endured a boom and bust, raw resource extraction economy, which has led families into cycles of despair during the hard times. Many social science studies point to the abject social consequences of relying heavily on raw resource extraction and short‐term industrial economic foundations. Recently there are various projects around the area focused on evolving beyond the boom and bust raw resource extraction mentality that has not served people well during times of recession in the past. We must build locally based sustainable economic opportunities; to do this requires healthy land and water resources. Any project — such as the oil pipeline and its associated spill risks — does not fit with this kind of vision for future northern economic development. Northerners must develop these visions. There are other economic activities in the north that depend on healthy, uncontaminated watersheds and even one oil spill risk would jeopardize the viability of these pursuits. One example is tourism: northern British Columbia's tourism base is founded on offering wilderness experiences, and a pristine environment is a cornerstone of these economic endeavours. Hunting and fishing are other examples.

One study conducted in the Skeena watershed reported that wild salmon fisheries generate close to $110 million in direct economic activity (http://northwestinstitute.ca/downloads/IBM_skeena_report_06.pdf). Many of our members have deep and longstanding roots in the northern interior of British Columbia. Most have lived in these communities for many years, have strong community ties and care deeply about this area. These are serious issues for us and many other residents along the proposed route. The opposition of Sea 2 Sands members was not formed without thought and we will continue to strongly oppose this project. The vision for Northern British Columbia that Enbridge is proposing by way of the Northern Gateway project is contradictory to the values of our members and the stewardship role that we share as residents of this region. We ask that you consider abandoning the Northern Gateway project and continue to pursue more viable and sustainable methods of energy production and distribution. Now, more than ever, we need leaders in the development of sustainable energy alternatives. You have an extraordinary opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to the health and prosperity of your company, your shareholders, and our nation. Please do not waste it.

Sincerely,
Sea to Sands Conservation Alliance
per:

Josh DeLeenheer
Mary MacDonald

Spokespeople

cc:
Hon. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
Hon. Jim Prentice, Canada Environment Minister
Hon. Gordon Campbell, Premier of British Columbia
Hereditary and Elected B.C. First Nations Chiefs
Dick Harris, MP, Cariboo‐Prince George
Jay Hill, MP, Prince George‐Peace River
Nathan Cullen, MP, Skeena‐Bulkley Valley
Sea to Sands Conservation Alliance Page 6 of 6
Hon. Shirley Bond, MLA, Prince George‐Valemount & British Columbia Minister of Transportation & Infrastructure
Hon. Pat Bell, MLA, Prince George North & British Columbia Minister of Forests and Range and Minister Responsible for Integrated Land Management Bureau
Hon. Blair Lekstrom, MLA, Peace River South & British Columbia Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources
John Rustad, MLA, Nechako Lakes
Hon. Dan Rogers, Mayor of City of Prince George
Prince George City Council
Tim McEwan, President & CEO, Initiatives Prince George
Prince George Media

International Human Rights day & a Canadian action item

2009-12-10T12:40:00.000-08:00

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY. . .

and tying in very much with the climate talks now happening in Copenhagen (and Canada's black oil smudge mark. . . ) here is an action item issued by Amnesty International.

Yes, human rights and environment go very much hand in hand. . .

*************************

CANADA (Alberta): Justice overdue for the Lubicon Cree
“All we’re asking is to be a viable community and not dependent on any government. We have that right to be able to say to our kids and our grandchildren, ‘Here’s a land base and here you’re going to be able to live somewhat like the rest of the people in Canada.’”

- Dwight Gladue, in the new Amnesty International film, Our Land, My People: The Struggle of the Lubicon Cree

Corporations have removed billions of dollars worth of oil and gas from the lands of the Lubicon Cree in northern Alberta. The Lubicon, however, live in poverty. Their economy and way of life have been nearly wiped out by the destruction of animal habitat. The government has never provided basic services, like clean water and sanitation.

The Lubicon were left out of a treaty that the federal government negotiated with other Indigenous peoples in the region in 1899. There is still no agreement between the Lubicon and the federal and provincial governments over the ownership and management of their lands and resources. The federal and provincial governments have acknowledged the need to negotiate a land settlement. However, there have been no negotiations since 2003.

In the meantime, the provincial government is allowing oil and gas development to proceed at an astonishing pace on all but a few corners of Lubicon land. The Lubicon have estimated that there are more than four oil and gas wells for every Lubicon person. Now the Lubicon territory is being targeted for tar sands development, which raises more concerns about impacts on the environment.

No other human rights case in Canada has been so often condemned by United Nations human rights bodies.

Amnesty International calls on the federal government to enter into meaningful negotiations with the Lubicon so that a settlement can be reached that will protect their rights under national and international law. Until such a settlement is reached, Amnesty International urges the Province of Alberta not to license any more oil or gas wells on Lubicon land unless the Lubicon people approve.

Please write to Alberta’s premier.
Describe who you are.
Note that United Nations human rights experts have expressed concern many times about the devastating effects that oil and gas development have on the rights of the Lubicon Cree, including their livelihoods, culture, and way of life.
Urge the Government of Alberta to ensure that, until the Lubicon land dispute has been settled, it will permit no new oil and gas development on Lubicon land unless the Lubicon Cree agree to it.
Write to:
The Honourable Ed Stelmach
Premier of Alberta
307 Legislature Building
10800 – 97th Avenue
Edmonton, AB T5K 2B6

Start your letter:
Dear Premier Stelmach
Postage: 54 cents
Fax: (780) 427-1349

Take action online at www.amnesty.ca/lubicon.

This new Amnesty International website features an online version of the film ‘Our Land, My People,’ background information on the situation of the Lubicon Cree, and lots of opportunities to take action. Visit the website to

send an email to the premier of Alberta
join our photo petition
get your friends and colleagues involved in the campaign.

Light a Candle for Hope in Prince George this weekend

2009-12-07T22:08:00.000-08:00

Lots of actions for hope, peace and an all-round healthier world here in Prince George this coming weekend:

Candlelight Vigil, Friday December 11, 2009, 6:00 - 7:00 pm Civic Centre

Global leaders are now gathering in Copenhagen for climate negotiations. Please join me at a candlelight vigil in Prince George this Friday to show your support for policies aimed at combating global climate change. This is one of thousands of events taking place worldwide this weekend through 350.org -- let's join the world in sending a message to our political leaders!

Please bring:

A candle and holder
A sign (fun contest -- best sign wins a free copy of Now or Never by Tim Flannery!)
A hot drink to help stay warm!

We will gather at the Civic Centre and then walk, with our candles lit, to the constituency office of Dick Harris and Jay Hill (206-575 Quebec St -- a five-minute walk). Our thoughts will be drawn to the negotiations in Copenhagen, and to the people that climate change will affect and has affected, through song, words, and a moment of silence.

On Sunday afternoon December 13, Knox United Church (downtown Prince George) will ring its bells 350 times for Copenhagen/ climate action.

Meanwhile, down the street at Books and Company, the Prince George chapter of Amnesty International is hosting a letter-writing campaign for international human rights.

"Please come down to Books and Company, 1685 3rd Avenue, Prince George on Sunday between 1 pm and 4 pmand reaffirm the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) ...by writing a letter about human rights abuses or signing a greeting card to human rights defenders around the world.

Learn more about the UDHR and Amnesty International's work.

We hope to see you there!

Seiko Watanabe, AI field worker for northern BC George Harding Prince George AI group contact"

Takla Lake First Nation opposes Enbridge Northern Gateway oil pipeline review process

2009-12-07T15:17:00.001-08:00

For Immediate Release
December 4, 2009

Takla Lake First Nation Opposes flawed Review of Enbridge Pipeline, Releases Public Report on Flawed EA Process

Takla lake first nation Traditional Territory/takla landing, BC – The Takla Lake First Nation is pleased to announce the release of its Report examining their long battle with the Joint Panel Review for the Kemess North Mine. Titled, Kemess North: Insights and Lessons, it examines the process that Takla Lake, Kwadacha and Tsay Keh Dene First Nations (collectively known as the Tse Keh Nay) had to endure to make sure that a fresh water lake in their territory (Amazay) was not destroyed by the waste rock of a proposed gold mine. It also examines how Tsay Key Nay participated, in protest, of the Joint Review Panel for the proposed Kemess North Copper-Gold Mine Project, which concluded that the project not be approved.

“It was a historic moment when the Joint Panel recommended to the government that the Kemess North mine not be allowed to kill a fresh water lake in our territory”, said Chief Dolly Abraham. “Even though our voices were heard by the Panel, it was not the appropriate place for dealing with our Aboriginal rights to decision-making about such projects. We want government-to-government processes, including those for high level strategic land planning.”

“First Nations in BC and across Canada can learn a lot from what we went through to protect our sacred waters and lands,” said Chief Dolly Abraham. “There is still uncertainty in our territories because the government does not want follow direction from the courts that meaningful consultation is required.”

Takla Lake First Nations has been working with Nadleh Whut’en and Nak’azdli First Nations in proposing a separate First Nations review process for large projects, which has been rejected by both BC and Canada. “Until the government comes to the table with the willingness to change how it meaningfully consults and includes us in joint decision-making, including the establishment of environmental review processes, we will continue to have uncertainty in Takla’s territory.”

This report comes at an opportune time, since the National Energy Board’s recent announcement to issue a Joint Panel Review of the proposed Enbridge Pipeline. “I encourage all First Nations affected by the Enbridge Pipeline Joint Panel Review process to read our report and work together,” said Chief Abraham. “Investors should be very nervous. First Nations are not adequately consulted through these flawed processes.”

In addition to the report, the Tse Keh Nay developed a documentary about their struggle call “Amazay: A Film About Water”.

Contact:

Chief Dolly Abraham: 250-564-9321

Resources:

Takla Lake First Nation - http://www.taklafn.ca/nation/31/home

Documentary available at Tse Keh Nay website - http://www.tsekehnay.net/

Report available - http://www.cstc.bc.ca/cstc/81/envtal+assmts

Carrier Sekani Tribal Council points out enbridge review process flaws

2009-12-04T20:29:00.000-08:00

AND I AM SO WITH THEM !!!

Carrier Sekani Tribal Council
News Release
December 4, 2009

Joint Review Panel too weak to address First Nations and Public Interests

Dakelh Traditional Territory/Prince George, BC – The Carrier Sekani Tribal Council (CSTC) is not surprised the National Energy Board (NEB) and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) has issued a Joint Panel Agreement for the review of the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline Project (Enbridge Pipeline). “It is unacceptable that the Government of Canada continues to break its own laws regarding meaningful consultation with First Nations by setting up a Joint Review Panel without First Nations involvement” stated Vice Tribal Chief Terry Teegee.

“CSTC communities were not consulted or involved in the establishment of this Joint Review Panel”, notes Vice Chief Teegee. “Here we go again! The Tsay Keh Nay (Takla Lake First Nation, Kwadacha First Nation and Tsay Keh Dene) who participated in the Kemess Joint Review in protest, fought for over 5 years to save Amazay (Duncan) Lake. CSTC and other First Nations will be prepared to fight the Enbridge Pipeline once again.” The Takla Lake First Nation have released a report that outlines their experience with the Joint Review Panel for the Kemess North decision, which stopped the dumping of 300 million tonnes of waste rock into Amazay Lake..

This proposed Enbridge pipeline will cross over 15 First Nations, 6 of which are members of the CSTC. It could be a 1,170 km long, 30 m wide, twin pipeline transporting the dirtiest, most toxic products from the oil sands in Alberta to the BC Coast and beyond. Huge super tanks are proposed to transport the oil from the North West coast to Asia and the rest of the world, further putting coastal ecosystems at risk.

“Just think. They are still cleaning up the mess from the Exxon Valdez accident. The proposed Enbridge pipeline will have twice as much oil going through it in one day, than what was spilled by Exxon Valdez in 1989.” stated Vice Chief Teegee. Teegee continued, “Canada is suggesting contributing to climate change by exporting this dirty oil, which is bound for Asian markets and the United States? No wonder Canada’s reputation is in tatters when it comes to setting targets for carbon emissions, Canada’s priorities are backwards in our fight against carbon emissions and climate change.” .”

Talks begin next week in Copenhagen, Denmark to develop a new international framework to combat climate change and replace the Kyoto Protocol. Vice Chief Teegee will be attending these meetings with a delegation of other First Nations Chiefs from across Canada and the world. “I’ll be talking a lot about this proposed Enbridge pipeline with international leaders in Copenhagen. Our lands are not for sale, we have said no to this project already in 2006. The potential detrimental impacts of a pipeline that would exist for over 200 years in our lands are not acceptable, especially for our grandchildren.”

In 2006, CSTC conducted an Aboriginal Interest and Use Study (AIUS) examining the impacts of the Enbridge Gateway pipeline. Extensive community consultations were had with CSTC members, and the risks of spills, accidents and sabotage were too high. The toxicity of the materials being transported is too high and even low amounts will have detrimental effects on the 785 watercourses and fragile fish habitats that are necessary for the survival of declining salmon stocks which are on the brink of extinction.

“These government reviews are too narrow in scope, and don’t account for impacts to Aboriginal rights and title. We have a right to free, prior and informed consent when it comes to development in our territories. Under their current Environmental Assessment framework a Joint Review Panel does not have legislation to address our rights and to make decisions on our behalf.” stated Vice Tribal Chief Terry Teegee.

-30-

For more information, contact Vice Tribal Chief Terry Teegee at 250-562-6279

Links to backgrounders:

Enbridge Gateway Pipeline Project –

Nadleh Whut'en on Enbridge northern gateway joint review panel

2009-12-04T16:18:00.001-08:00

The finalized Agreement for the Joint Review Panel of Enbridge's Northern Gateway Project was released today December 4, 2009 by the Canada Environmental Assessment Agency. . . (www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca)

Here is a response from the Nadleh Whut'en near my old stomping grounds west of Prince George. I am with you Nadleh Whut'en!! People need to pay attention to what these First Nations communities are saying. Their words have importance for ALL of us.

*********************

Dec 04, 2009 15:27 ET
Enbridge Review Panel Already An Infringement of Aboriginal Rights

Attention: Assignment Editor, Business/Financial Editor, Environment Editor, News Editor, Government/Political Affairs Editor

FORT FRASER, BC, PRESS RELEASE--(Marketwire - Dec. 4, 2009) - Today's announcement of the finalization of the Joint Review Panel Agreement for the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline is a step in the wrong direction and will not deliver the certainty sought by Enbridge and the federal government with respect to Aboriginal rights and title.

"People need to know that any project that enters this federal process has a more than 99% chance of getting approved," said Chief Larry Nooski. "To Nadleh Whut'en, this is not an open and transparent process, it is not real governance or decision-making, but it is a direct infringement of our constitutional right to Aboriginal governance."

Nadleh Whut'en has been proposing a parallel Aboriginal rights and title process for four years with both Enbridge and the federal government, both of whom have flat-out rejected the proposals. Recent court cases on Aboriginal rights have strongly indicated that there must be consultation on the review process itself, where large projects such as the Enbridge pipeline are concerned. The courts have also indicated that Aboriginal rights are not limited to hunting and fishing, but to governance over lands not ceded to the Crown.

"We want to send a clear message to potential investors in this project that the federal government cannot be trusted to properly address Aboriginal rights and title issues," said Nooski. "This blatant disregard for our traditional governance processes will continue to pose a major legal risk to the project's viability."

Nadleh Whut'en territory is located in the Northern interior of BC, between Fraser Lake and Babine Lake. The Enbridge pipelines propose to cross approximately 50km of Nadleh Whut'en territory, including a crossing of the Sutherland River, a significant habitat for numerous types of fish. Nadleh Whut'en environmental concerns are well documented in the 2006 Aboriginal Interests and Use Study (Carrier Sekani Tribal Council).

Chief Nooski concluded: "Our territory has never been surrendered to the Crown. We are seeking a true government-to-government process with the federal government for the review of the Enbridge project. We are prepared to defend our rights and title through all necessary means, including through the Canadian courts."
/For further information: Chief Larry Nooski, Nadleh Whut'en (250) 690-7211/

Nak'azdli issues statement on Mt. Milligan gold/copper mine

2009-12-04T09:22:00.000-08:00

NAK’AZDLI BAND COUNCIL
P.O. Box 1329, Fort St. James, B.C. V0J 1P0
Telephone (250) 996 – 7171
Fax (250) 996 – 8010

For Immediate Release
December 3, 2009: “The federal government has joined the BC government in riding roughshod over the law and disrespecting the Courts by granting environmental assessment approval to Terrane Metals plans to open a low grade copper and gold mine on Nak’azdli traditional lands,” Chief Fred Sam said today. “We are the people who live here therefore shouldn’t we decide if a mine is ‘not likely to have significant adverse environmental effects’ not a Federal Minister in Ottawa who has never been to Shus Nadloh?” asked Chief Sam.

As with BC’s earlier approval, the federal approval for the Mt. Milligan (Shus Nadloh) mine is a flagrant violation of the Court-ordered duty to consult with First Nations and must be overturned. It violates Canadian constitutional law that requires Canada to assess impacts of a proposed project on Aboriginal rights and title at every stage of federal approval, and the federal government has failed to respect our decision-making authority on Nak‘azdli lands.

“Given this information and the fact that Nak‘azdli have already filed its case against the Province’s approval and a court date is set for March 22, investors in this project still have nothing to celebrate”, said Chief Sam.

“The provincial government might be desperate to take the edge off its surprise record deficits and its planned HST tax grab by implying that major mining projects are about to make their return to BC, and the federal government might think there is political gain to be made in BC with a possible election looming next spring,” said Chief Sam

“Investors and the public need to be aware that the province and federal government ignored all of our concerns about the impacts of this proposed mine on our traditional lands and their vital headwaters and watersheds, and snubbed all our efforts to be involved in a meaningful environmental review process,” Chief Sam said.

“Their cavalier dismissal of Nak‘azdli was made clear when, despite the fact this mine will be built on our traditional lands, neither government saw fit to inform us of their approval,” said Chief Sam. “We had to find out from the media.”

Chief Sam said investors should ask themselves if they really believe the courts will accept political considerations and corporate needs as justification for the blatant violation of their rulings and the law. “And those in the local area who believe the promised jobs will make up for any destruction of the land and environment should ask themselves if they really understand the dangers,” he said. “And do they really believe that local unemployed people will get the good jobs, rather than experienced but unemployed miners from other parts of the province?”
.
Nak‘azdli have tried to avoid confrontation by seeking a way to be properly consulted and included in the review processes, but once again a First Nation in BC is forced to meet its duty to protect its aboriginal rights and title by asking the courts to yet again relate to its previous rulings. Given the government’s approach to date, the the Terrane Metals proposal (backstopped by Goldcorp.) risks turning into another Mackenzie Valley pipeline debacle that will still be just an idea after 35 years of discussions. “This project has already been shelved once and without Nak’azdli’s support the proposed Mt. Milligan project could be shelved again” added Chief Fred Sam.

alpaca socks, trees & trappers

2009-11-28T10:04:00.000-08:00

This weekend is the Kelly Road Secondary School craft fair where locals have opportunity to sell their crafts, preserves & other items. I remember going to that craft fair a couple of years ago and it went on and on and on. . . so many people participating!

Here is a notice from Russ Purvis at Kakwa Ecovillage about the alpaca socks he will be selling there!

(note: these socks are not always available in Prince George other than when Russ attends at summer's Farmers' Markets downtown)

Season's Greetings! 2009 is almost complete. Many traditions acknowledge the shortest day of the year (the Solstice) in the N. Hemisphere and the longest in the Southern. Christmas and Hanukkah arrive this time of year and gift giving is atradition. We have available a portion of our annual reward for being Alpaca shepherds: Several hundred pair of silky soft and snuggly Alpaca socks forthose still looking for special gifts. They are light brown or grey colors. Sizes are 4-6 small, 7-9 medium, 10-12 large, 13-15 extra large. To order visit our Store:http://www.kakwaecovillage.com/store.php .

Note: all natural fibres (forlongest wear) should be hand washed and air dried. There is still time to ship and have them arrive before the Holidays for most locations. But don’t delay or your gift may arrive late! Thank you for considering the support of our sustainable business!

Russ Purvis
General Manager
Kakwa Ecovillage Cooperative
www.kakwaecovillage.com

On another note, local author Jack Boudreau will be at Books and Co. 1-5 pm today with his new book Trappers & Trailblazers -- his books are awesome for anyone wanting to know about the wild & sometimes rather crazy history of tough trappers & homesteaders around this area. . . I will write more about him later. . .

Also the festival of trees continues at the Civic Centre - hosted by the Spirit of the North Foundation as a fundraiser. There is something quite magical about this community event. . .

snow is really starting to fall now.
Let's hope it is here to stay. Let's get on with winter!
I mean, we are Canadians eh!

boo for Canada : (

2009-11-27T22:35:00.001-08:00

Scientists target Canada over climate changeBuzz up!
Digg it
Damian Carrington
guardian.co.uk,
Thursday 26 November 2009 22.54 GMT

Prominent campaigners, politicians and scientists have called for Canada to be suspended from the Commonwealth over its climate change policies.

The coalition's demand came before this weekend's Commonwealth heads of government summit in Trinidad and Tobago, at which global warming will top the agenda, and next month's UN climate conference in Copenhagen. Despite criticism of Canada's environmental policies, the prime minister, Stephen Harper, is to attend the Copenhagen summit. His spokesman said today: "We will be attending the Copenhagen meeting … a critical mass of world leaders will be attending."

Canada's per capita greenhouse gas emissions are among the world's highest and it will not meet the cut required under the Kyoto protocol: by 2007 its emissions were 34% above its reduction target. It is exploiting its vast tar sands reserves to produce oil, a process said to cause at least three times the emissions of conventional oil extraction.

The coalition claims Canada is contributing to droughts, floods and sea level rises in Commonwealth countries such as Bangladesh, the Maldives and Mozambique. Clare Short, the former international development secretary, said: "Countries that fail to help [tackle global warming] should be suspended from membership, as are those that breach human rights."

The World Development Movement, the Polaris Institute in Canada and Greenpeace are among the organisations supporting the plan. Saleemul Huq, a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said: "If the Commonwealth is serious about holding its members to account, then threatening the lives of millions of people in developing countries should lead to the suspension of Canada's membership immediately."

Canada's environment department refused to comment on the call for it to be suspended.

The Commonwealth comprises 53 states representing 2 billion people. In the past it has suspended Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and South Africa for electoral or human rights reasons. Speaking earlier this week, its secretary general, Kamalesh Sharma, said: "I would like to think that our definition of serious violations could embrace much more than it does now."

singing about mining

2009-11-27T07:24:00.000-08:00

I attended the Rita MacNeil/ Men of the Deeps "A Mining the Soul" Christmas concert at the CN Centre in Prince George last evening. It was the first stop on their planned cross-country tour. They will be back in their homeland of Cape Breton in time for Christmas.

Rita MacNeil is a beautiful woman - I felt like I was sitting in her firelit living room having a cup of tea with her throughout the whole of the performance. 29 men on the stage with her and she outshone all of them! At 65 years old, her powerful voice is as strong as ever. She is truly a Canadian icon, of the kind we need more! I particularly appreciated her song about a pine-cone decorated Christmas party held in a one-room schoolhouse and leaving the party through the falling snow! It was so very cozy and evocative of a rural Canadian landscape we do not ever want to lose in this country because it is really our most precious asset.

As for the Men of the Deeps www.menofthedeeps.com, well I did not really know about them before this concert, but they have made a new fan out of me. What a presence they are on the stage! 24 of them came walking up onto the stage in line in their mining outfits, their mining lamps shining on their foreheads. Anyone with bluenoser roots I think could appreciate this group and their down to earth(literally) tunes about the tragedies, the challenges, kinship and incredible stories about going deep into the earth to mine the coal. The story about the deaths at Westray Mine and the little children the killed miners left behind brought tears to my eyes, so too did the story about tinfoil from lunchkits used to decorate the Christmas tree & pepsi cans used to make Christmas tree stars because the miners were too poor to do otherwise. The men sang very haunting music, a blending of industrial endeavour and the Maritimes' incredible & enduring musical and storytelling legacy.

I could not help but think how interesting it would be if here in northern BC an area where many people work closely with the earth in various professions (forestry, mining come immediately to mind) turned to artistic expression to let others know about their experiences. Very powerful.

I got some tea from Rita's teahouse in Cape Breton & left the concert with a perma-smile. I don't think anyone left without being really impressed.
It was great & most definitely soulful.
Thanks to Rita & the Men of the Deeps.

actions addressing poverty in Prince George

2009-11-25T22:03:00.000-08:00

St. Vincent de Paul has just recently produced a black and white calendar as a fundraiser for their services. It features beautiful people from around town. The calendar can be purchased at various venues around town. I got one at Ave Maria for $15.99.

On a similar note, the Northern Women’s Forum is Hosting the 7th Annual Chili Blanket Event coming up on December 5, 2009. Unfortunately, due to the poverty in the city, the need for this event in Prince George does not seem to diminish from year to year and has become a yearly event. The below information taken directly from a recent media release:

Everyone is invited to: Chili Blanket VII
Prince George Courthouse
Saturday, December 5, 2009: noon- 2:00 pm

Come Out and Rally Against the Increasing Poverty in BC

Join the NWF in speaking up for British Columbians who are losing their jobs, services, and rights to financial assistance in OLYMPIC numbers!

This Year the BC Government wins GOLD for:

*making the poor invisible: those you count you try to make invisible & those

you can’t count are already invisible

* beating out Alberta in the increase use of food banks: only 90,000 people used food

banks in a month in BC ; BC saw 75% of its food banks report increased use

*being the top dog in Child Poverty… once again

* HST – wow, BC is really a winner

* a homeless person dies every 12 days in BC

* a single employable person got a welfare increase in 2007 to $610/month- average

rent in BC is $672.

The Northern Women’s Forum will be serving hot chili, hot chocolate, cool music and sharp talk!

Once again this year the NWF is also collecting blankets and winter wear for those in need and agencies serving those in need in Prince George.

The Northern Women’s Forum would like to thank this year’s sponsors: Status of Women, FACNC, Confederation of Canadian Unions, PG & District Labour Council, and the BCGEU.

For information: please contact Jan Mastromatteo: 250-564-7880, or facnc_president@telus.net

Warhol in Prince George

2009-11-21T16:50:00.001-08:00

I love Los Angeles. I love Hollywood. They're beautiful. Everybody's plastic, but I love plastic. I want to be plastic. ~ Andy Warhol

can you believe that we currently have actual Andy Warhols in the Prince George (Two Rivers) Art Gallery?
Jackie II (1966), Lincoln Center (1967), Liz (1967) and Mao (1972) are here.

Don't you just want to pull on your go-go boots, stuff your hat over your eyes, your hands in your threadbare pockets and head down there through Prince George's slushy winter-slogging streets?

Mao is particularly impressive as is Liz, especially her bright blue eye shadow vibrant against a red backdrop. There is even a (real) Campbell soup display at the art gallery which will eventually transform into a food hamper donation. . . funny how everyone's food hamper donations these days tend to be Campbells anyway, no questions asked. That was easy.

The art display entitled "Pops Display" was prefaced by an opening held last Thursday evening complete with delicious hors d'oeuvres (even jelly beans but there were certainly more elegant fingerfoods on hand too), wine and bright fruit punches.
Meow Music provided music a la 1960s. Truly, a complete fusion of arts in its various sensory delights. The art gallery describes pop art a "a fun and kitschy movement" and so too was this fine opening event complete with all sorts of folks dressed in 1960s garb (note to self: some fine 1960s woolen mini-dresses may be found in the Prince George Vallu-Village).

The description of the art show explains, "An explosion of popular imagery and everyday signs and symbols into the world of fine art began to occur in the late 1950s and early 1960s." The art is further described as graphically tidy and accoustically simple.

I did not happen to be around in the late 1950s nor early 1960s so this movement seems really very historic to me, but what I am intrigued by is that these commercial things that nowadays we have come to accept as mundane routine reality surrounding us wherever we go, were during that era coming to be viewed as interesting sources of art. Advertising was then really starting to come into its own and take off. The western world was really starting to become the saturated materialistic place it has now come to be.

Here is another interesting Warhol quote which perhaps explains why he found it so interesting to focus on the artistic merits as such regular things as Campbell's soup tins & Coca Cola:

What's great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coca Cola, Liz Taylor drinks Coca Cola, and just think, you can drink Coca Cola, too. A coke is a coke and no amount of money can get you a better coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the cokes are the same and all the cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.

Warhol and other pop artists moved away from hand-drawn images, preferring instead a kind of print making/ silkscreening approach to depicting popular consumer products, ads and celebrities. Reflective of this basic pop art experience, the Two Rivers' Gallery show includes an interactive "make art make sense" activity. Visitors to the museum may have a quadruple image of themselves made on the computer then use the materials provided to colour and create a Pop-inspred self portrait.

All totalled, this Two Rivers display (on tour from the Vancouver Art Gallery under a provincial touring program) is tons of fun, and as Warhol put it,

"Once you 'got' Pop, you could never see a sign again the same way again. And once you thought Pop, you could never see America the same way again."

Whatever that means. . .

letters to oil companies to say no to Enbridge pipeline

2009-11-21T08:05:00.000-08:00

Dogwood Initiative based in Victoria BC is organizing a letter writing campaign for people to state their opposition to the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway oil pipeline project through northern BC ---

www.dogwoodinitiative.org/notankers/actions/letters-to-stop-gateway/

The letters will be sent to these potential backers of the pipeline:

Mr. Brian Livingston (VP and Counsel - Imperial Oil (Exxon) )
Mr. John Lau (CEO Husky Energy)
Mr. J. Kenneth Alley (Executive Vice Chairman - Suncor Energy)
Mr. Byeong-il Kim (Korea National Oil Corporation)
Mr. Rick George (CEO Suncor Energy)
Mr. John Watson (Chairman and CEO of Chevron Corporation)
Mr. Han Hua (Managing Director - CNPC Alberta Petroleum Center)
Ms. Lorraine Mitchelmore (President and CEO - Shell Canada Ltd. )
Mr. Hyunyong Kim (Korea National Oil Corporation)
Ms. Jean-Michel Gires (President and CEO - Total E&P Canada Ltd. )

Prince George's "Anti-Idling Fairy" & Ant-Sized Maps

2009-11-17T21:05:00.000-08:00

Although this post from Opinion 250 here in Prince George (www.opinion250.com) is kind of old (dating back to Nov 6/09) it is also kind of quirky & funny so I am posting it here. . .

First It Was The Air Fairy-Now It's The Idling Fairy
By Ben Meisner
Friday, November 06, 2009 03:46 AM
First we have the Air Care Fairy, now we have the, Idle Free Fairy (Ambassador as City Hall calls it), we are definitely moving up.
Let’s start with the new, ”Idle Free Fairy” whose motto should be, "You fink and we create a stink”. They have started off with a bang.
From the public comes reports that there have been people idling their vehicles at Tim’s (my God what a surprise), Canadian Tire Car wash, (double my God what a surprise), UNBC, Spruceland, The Super Store and Oh God, North Nechako Rd. (Oh God that could be me, I feel like a criminal already). Mess up by idling your rig and we will give you a sticky, and if you don’t shape up we will give you a sign, not the one I had in mind either.
Whoa we do have a lot of time on our hands in the City to come up with these hair brain ideas, trying to make a comparison where it is not uncommon to reach -30 below and marrying that to the 604 where minus -5 they lose control of their senses. I wonder aloud at what temperature the City Council loses control of its senses?
Now can the new Idle Free Fairy have the power to climb aboard one of those CN locomotives sitting in their yards idling for several hours? Of course not, unless she is able to change it into a Volkswagen, sorree she has no authority. It’s you bums that she wants , those people that do the serious polluting have their own Fairy, it’s called "Clout".
Well just to make your blood boil a bit more so that you won’t have to idle your vehicle to keep warm, you will soon be hit by the Air Care Fairy, who has the power to drop a brochure off at your house and suggest you should quit burning wood. The reply to that knock on the door is not fit to print.
Here we go again, after discovering that golly Gee Whiz it wasn’t grandma who was responsible for the smoke in the air, and more over through some very serious investigations we were able to ascertain that one in four homes in PG did not burn wood, we have found a new way to get you. Send in the Fairies, they wave a wand and you won't believe it, the air is clean and fit again.
Did one of those arresting officers who found all that BC bud this week leave it in front of City Hall for a few days because the question "what have they been smoking?" does enter one’s mind.
I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.

Thanks Ben.

So more on the Prince George air quality issues from my perspective. . .

PG AIR (Prince George Air Improvement Roundtable) the multi-stakeholder group (industry, government, concerned citizens, health organizations) vested with the responsibility of cleaning up this air shed has come up with this idea for an "idling hot spot map" on their website to pinpoint sources of idling in the city -just tried to input my concerns about the 7 Tim Hortons drive-thrus in town but realized, you basically need to be the size of an ant or a pinhead yourself to be able to utilize this map. Go ahead try it: www.pgairquality.com, and if you can figure it out, please let me know.

. . . . did it work !? What happened when I tried is that I clicked on the map to try to get it to zoom into the close proximity at least of where I know the annoying air polluting things to be (not just Timmy's to be fair - could throw in a refinery, about three pulpmills, some chemical plants and at least one pellet plant and some other stuff like Burger King's grease-emitting fry-maker, parking lots with idlers trying to keep their vehicles warm while they shop for an hour,

but when I went to click on the map a balloon came up right away asking me for my concern -- it did not afford me the opportunity to get too precise with my info! So this more-than-pin-sized fairy went away, not having made my air quality submission.

cranberries on stick branches

2009-11-14T11:09:00.000-08:00

I am trying to get up the energy to get myself up to Cranbrook Hill today to the cranberry bog I found there, where the wild cranberries still hang like frosted bright rubies from barren branches in the snow-chilled forest. It's a car-free weekend so option are: bus (very infrequent schedule or walk -- over an hour one way through the cold). Could bike but would rather use studded tires which I don't have. I have gotten as far as donning a woolen touque and layers of long underwear & woollen garments. . . winter is drawing near, the first of snows now covers the Prince George landscape -- not yet enough to go cross-country skiing (can't wait!)

Later, we are going to a lantern walk in honour of St. Martin's day - a friend from Germany is organizing it. I love the idea of a candlelit walk to add cheer to the early cold darkness of a mid-November day.

Tomorrow afternoon, I shall go to Prince George Symphony Orchestra's 'Go for Baroque' featuring Bach (Orchestral suite no. 2 in b minor & violin concerto no.2 in e major), Purcell (the fairy queen suite no. 1) & Handel (water music, suite no. 1).

As the quiet season descends on the north, such reflective music seems most appropriate.

more on Mount Milligan proposed mine near Prince George BC

2009-11-11T18:11:00.001-08:00

Further to my blog entry on October 30, 2009, about the proposed Mount Milligan gold/copper mine in north central British Columbia (northwest of Prince George),

members of the public have until tomorrow, November 12, 2009, to submit comments to Environment Canada about the possibility of amending the Metal Mining Effluent Regulation pursuant to the federal Fisheries Act to have King Richard Creek & Alpine Creek added to Schedule 2 of said regulation. . .

meaning in other words, if they are added to this schedule,

they will no longer be fish-bearing creeks.

They will be "tailings impoundment areas" for the mine.

Comments can be sent to:
Chris Doiron, Chief, Mining Section, Mining and Processing Division
Environment Canada
351 St. Joseph Boulevard, Gatineau, Quebec KIA 0H3
Email: Chris.Doiron@ec.gc.ca.

s2s.ca (sea to sands conservation alliance)

2009-11-11T12:39:00.000-08:00

Sea to Sands Conservation Alliance (s2s.ca) started here in Prince George for British Columbians who are concerned about/ oppose Enbridge's plan to construct Northern Gateway Pipeline (crude oil)from tar sands to north Pacific coast (Kitimat inlet).

s2s.ca group started on facebook.

see also http://s2sca.blogspot.com

"a cup of social justice" in Prince George

2009-11-06T19:59:00.000-08:00

Please forward this notice (below) put together by the Global Friday group UNBC for this Global “Thursday” event! UNBC Geography Department is a co-sponsor.

Thursday November 12, 2009:

UNBC Room 7-152 2:30 pm

Evening event: 7:00-9:00pm @ ArtSpace (above Books & Co)

"A cup of social justice - fair trade coffee and land reform in Guatemala"

Guest speaker is Lesbia Morales Sican, with the Campesino Committee of the Highlands - Lesbia is a member of CCDA (Guatemala) national executive, women's economic development coordinator & responsible for marketing their coffee product, Cafe Justicia.

Lesbia will speak and will show a short documentary movie “Madre Tierra” (Mother Earth).

Blurb for the CCDA documentary that Lesbia will screen: MADRE Tierra - a CCDA/Prowse production, approx 25 minutes:

"For centuries, the distribution of land has been at the centre of Guatemala's violent story. Guatemala has the most unequal land distribution in the Americas, and campesino farmers struggling to feed their families are facing ever greater obstacles to gaining access to a plot of land. "Madre Tierra" follows one campesino organization, the Campesino Committee of the Highlands, as they work to get land into the hands of the campesino families who have worked it for centuries."

Nigerian speakers at UNBC

2009-11-06T18:54:00.000-08:00

On "Global Friday" at the University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George BC (November 6, 2009), two Nigerians spoke to a full room about the work of the NGOs they work with & the incredible challenges facing Nigeria as they attempt to bring about sustainable development in that country - that is, development that will factor in the well being of the environment and future generations. I had previously done some reading on what is transpiring in the Niger Delta with oil extraction, and I was curious to hear directly from people who live in that country about their experiences

The two speakers were Juliet Olory, Project Coordinator, Development in Nigeria (DIN) and Godwin Ugah, Program Director, Council for Renewable Energy in Nigeria (CREN). They have been travelling around British Columbia for the last 2 months with joint sponsorship by two Canada-based organizations One Sky and BCCIC. . .

One Sky http://www.onesky.ca/ is an organization based a 2-4 day bike ride down the road (or train tracks) from Prince George in Smithers, British Columbia -- here is the description of what they are all about (looks like an incredibly cool northern BC-based organization!)

Although some might call us an environmental NGO we like to think of ourselves in broader terms that include human rights, human well-being and even human potential. Others might think of us as a development NGO because we work in developing nations but we like to think we are developing ourselves and searching for mutual solutions in a globalized world.

BCCIC is British Columbia Council for International Cooperation http://www.bccic.ca/ & here is their description:

BCCIC is a coalition of BC voluntary international development organizations and provincial branches of such organizations which are committed to achieving sustainable global development in a peaceful and healthy environment, with social justice, human dignity and participation for all.

Juliet spoke first - she discussed the work of Development in Nigeria in assisting to development sustainable livelihoods for people in rural Nigeria - they have a number of programs to build capacity, develop sustainable land use, empower locals & develop programs such as education. She also discussed how Nigeria is the 7th largest oil producer in the world producing 2.4 million barrels/ day (the oil being extracted by the big boy oil companies among them Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron) & despite this huge oil extraction, the average Nigerian lives on less than $1/ day in an increasingly polluted environment -- regular oil flaring, thick oil slicks on water. Most towns in the region of big oil development have no services - the people live extremely rudimentary, impovershed - and contaminated - lives.

Godwin Ugah then presented information about the work of the Council for Renewable Energy (CREN), another NGO in Nigeria. The goal of this organization is to look for, promote & help develop alternatives to fossil fuel based energy sources there - he spoke about how Nigeria is considered the 5th most polluted place in the world due to the constant gas flaring. Violence has become commonplace in the Niger Delta in response to the extreme exploitation and harsh poverty that the oil extraction in the area has imposed on the people. Godwin mentioned that the country is rapidly being deforested & turned to desert - despite Nigeria being such a prominent oil producer in the world, the people of Nigeria do not have access to the oil & burn the wood of the forests instead - compared to Canada's 2.32 million barrels / day of oil used (wow it all adds up doesn't it ?!), the country of Nigeria only uses a total of 275,000 barrels/ day.
The goal of CREN is to move wind & solar energy use ahead for the people of Nigeria. He cited government policies (and corruption) as major hurdles - the major oil companies enter into deals with the government but virtually no benefits flow to the people who live in poverty and pollution with no services. Godwin spoke about how the potential for good and evil dwells within each of us & expresses itself in the world in the choices we make & how we choose to conduct ourselves in relation to the rest of the world -- do we carry on with a status quo that may be destructive or take the steps to co-create a new (more sustainable) way of being?

One of the attendees of the talk (not me!) mentioned some of the parallels between what is happening in Nigeria and what is increasingly happening in Canada with the tar sands and big oil & gas here & plans to expand same. . . .

Kim Struthers from One Sky in Smithers also addressed Shell's plan to drill for oil in the Sacred Headwaters of northwest BC - she said if it went ahead, northern BC could become another Nigeria. On a related note, I was happy to hear Wade Davis' Massey Lecture (CBC) in which he addressed this very point. . .

he spoke of how the Sacred Headwaters of northern British Columbia could be a Sacred Headwaters for all of Canada.

Some things are simply sacred, despite how many big oil (or gas or mining for that matter) company dollars might be at stake.

How did money come to be treated with more reverance than all that is sacred in the world, like these special places? . . .

Like the Niger Delta for instance.
Like the Sacred Headwaters of BC.
Like the rivers & creeks that flow through the lands upon which we dwell.
Like the oceans.
Like the land.
Like the planet Earth.

here's for the sockeye!

2009-11-05T17:27:00.000-08:00

I never thought I would say these words but: thank you Mr. Harper. For what? For calling today for a judicial inquiry into the reasons for the collapse of the Fraser sockeye runs.
I received email notification via west coast biologist Alexandra Morton's distribution email list earlier today - she was ecstatic as she has been calling for this inquiry for some time -- the only question I have is about the timeline for the inquiry -- results by May 2011 - isn't that a bit late when we have numbers like 71 sockeye (!) being counted in the Nechako watershed this year according to a previous email I received.

Here is the Globe & Mail article:

Ottawa to probe B.C.'s declining salmon stocks
Prime Minister announces judicial inquiry, called 'our chance to save B.C. salmon from going the way of Atlantic cod'

Mark Hume and Bill Curry

Vancouver and Ottawa — From Friday's Globe and Mail Published on Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009 7:52PM EST Last updated on Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009 8:08PM EST

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to hold a judicial inquiry into the collapse of sockeye salmon stocks in British Columbia is being called a last, best hope to avert a fisheries disaster on the West Coast.
“This is our chance to save B.C. salmon from going the way of Atlantic cod,” Phil Eidsvik, a spokesman for the B.C. Fisheries Survival Coalition, said Thursday after Mr. Harper's surprise announcement in Ottawa.
“It's a slim chance, but it's great news because we know there are ways to protect and save the run,” he said. “We know the department has been unable, for whatever reason, to do it – and only an inquiry will get to those reasons.”
The announcement, which will be fleshed out Friday by Stockwell Day, the regional minister for B.C., could have immediate political impact because the salmon crisis is a key issue in Monday's federal by-election in New Westminster-Coquitlam.
NDP Leader Jack Layton is arriving Friday to campaign over the weekend with his candidate, Fin Donnelly, a strong environmental advocate who once swam the length of the Fraser River to underscore the plight of salmon and who has been calling for an inquiry.
Demands for an inquiry escalated this fall after the Fraser River sockeye run collapsed – with only about one million fish returning to spawn when between 10 million and 13 million had been expected.
Mr. Harper made the announcement in the House of Commons.
“We are very concerned about the low and falling returns of sockeye salmon in British Columbia,” he said, adding that Mr. Day would provide details today.
“[He] will be making an announcement outlining the terms of reference for a judicial inquiry, as well as the judge who will lead that inquiry,” Mr. Harper said.
The public inquiry will be mandated to report back to the government on or before May 1, 2011. It will have complete authority to hold hearings, summon witnesses and gather evidence as needed.
“An inquiry has access to all DFO documents and they can bring people in and they testify under oath, with the chance of going to jail if they lie,” Mr. Eidsvik said. “And a judicial inquiry is the only format for that to happen. It gives us the best chance to get at the truth as to what's happened to our salmon runs.”
Alexandra Morton, an independent scientist, said the inquiry needs to examine in detail the reasons why some 130 million salmon smolts, which migrated out of the Fraser, never returned from the ocean.
“The establishment of a judicial inquiry into the management of the Fraser River sockeye fishery gives new hope for the future of a great salmon river,” said Conservative MP John Cummins, who has long sought just such an investigation into DFO.
“We face a disaster of epic proportions on the Fraser. In six out of the last 11 years the fishery has been closed. Tens of thousands of B.C. families have suffered as a result,” he said.
The Conservatives had promised an inquiry into B.C.'s salmon fishery before – during the 2006 campaign – but Vancouver Island North Tory MP John Duncan said the initial resistance to the idea that surfaced then has since passed.
“We now have the circumstances where it's not about finger pointing any more. It's about getting to the bottom of what's actually going on,” he said, explaining that at the time of the original commitment there was some resistance from the fishing industry and first nations.
But he said that has changed .
Clarence Pennier, Grand Chief of the Stó:lô Tribal Council, welcomed the announcement, saying native communities along the Fraser are in “despair” over the failure of the sockeye run.
“We are in the dark as to why the sockeye runs didn't make it back to the river. We are still looking for the answers and this is why we support a judicial inquiry,” Chief Pennier said.
Rafe Mair, a public commentator and environmental advocate, said with pressure building for an inquiry, Mr. Harper had no choice but to act.
“I don't think they are really taking any political risks here,” he said. “I don't think people would blame Harper for the crash.… they would, however, pin it on him if he didn't have an inquiry. He had to do it.”
Alex Rose, author of Who Killed the Grand Banks: The Untold Story Behind the Decimation of One of the World's Greatest Natural Resources , said an inquiry could help reshape DFO and alter the fate of B.C. salmon.
“I applaud Mr. Harper on this decision,” he said. “It's long overdue and I hope we get the chance to look at the failed mechanisms in DFO, a department I consider intellectually bankrupt.”

This inquiry follows very shortly after a recent report commissioned by the Pembina Institute out of Alberta which addressed the potential devastating effects that Enbridge oil pipeline (any oil pipeline actually) would have on salmon stocks in British Columbia's major river systems as oil spills are bound to happen. . .

Here is the summary off their website www.pembina.org/pub/1894:

Pipelines and Salmon in Northern British ColumbiaPotential Impacts
Published: Oct 16, 2009
By: Pembina Institute et al.

Four major pipeline projects have been proposed for northern British Columbia over the next five years, including the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project. All of the proposed pipelines would cross and at times run parallel to important salmon habitats in the Upper Fraser, Skeena and Kitimat watersheds. This report provides an overview of salmon resources in the affected watersheds and examines how pipeline construction and operation would impact salmon; the likelihood of spills; and the impacts of a spill on salmon. The four page fact sheet, "Oil and Salmon Don't Mix," highlights the importance of salmon in northern British Columbia and gives an overview of the risks posed to salmon by the Enbridge oil sands pipelines.

Here is what the Province newspaper reported:
(where is the other media coverage of this report!?)

Proposed Enbridge pipeline threat to northern B.C. fish streams: Report
Institute warns ruptures could prove 'catastrophic'

By Business Reporter, The Province
October 20, 2009

Enbridge's proposed $4.5-billion pipeline across northern B.C. would pose serious risks to fish habitat, an Alberta-based group says.
The Enbridge Northern Gateway pipelines would threaten some of Canada's most productive salmon streams, the non-profit Pembina Institute said yesterday.
"Pipeline construction, ruptures and leaks all pose serious risks to salmon, making the Enbridge oilsands pipelines a toxic proposal for salmon and the communities that depend on them," the institute said in releasing a report on the proposed project.
"Given the likelihood of a pipeline failure and the difficulty of cleaning up spills in fast-moving river systems, even the best construction and operating practices could not eliminate the risks."
The dual-pipeline project would carry petroleum 1,170 kilometres from near Edmonton to Kitimat and condensate from Kitimat to Edmonton.
The pipelines would cross and, in certain places, run parallel to salmon streams in B.C.'s Upper Fraser, Skeena and Kitimat watersheds, the institute said. The watersheds are home to chinook, sockeye, chum, coho and pink salmon and steelhead trout, among other species.
"A significant leak or rupture near salmon habitat in the Skeena, Kitimat or Upper Fraser watersheds could be catastrophic ," Pembina said.
Enbridge says it invests heavily in leak-detection technology and is committed to operating the project to the highest environmental and safety standards.
There is an average of one rupture every 16 years for every 1,000 km of pipeline in Canada, according to a separate report cited by Pembina.
The proposed project will be subject to regulatory review by the National Energy Board and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.

So again I say: thanks Mr. Harper for the salmon judicial inquiry . . .
and now, what about the tar sands expansion & associated proposed crude oil pipelines to the west coast?
If these issues are addressed, then Canada will really be getting somewhere.

facing up to November in Prince George

2009-11-04T17:28:00.000-08:00

I have to admit I have been doing some cocooning as of late, and recently speaking to a town elder, I realize I am not alone. He observed: people tend to cocoon around here. I mentioned to him I thought the time had come that Prince George could do with a funky theatre downtown (you know, the kind of place that shows interesting thought-provoking movies, maybe even a pianist and the odd lecture would be good. . . ) - this particular elder responded,

it's been done here, it's all been done. Around and around we go, ideas repeating themselves in this town!

Yes I have been cocooning as of late, but truth be told: it is November in Prince George.

November. . . truly the bleakest month in this part of the world, OK, well February is not far behind, but at least we have the Iceman & Valentine's Day then. . . and spring just around the corner.

November though is simply cold & stark. Leaves are gone from the trees, evenings are dark (actually latter part of afternoons are dark), a strange kind of twilight masks half-frozen dog poo lurking on grassy spaces and sidewalk curbs, the weather is cold, the snow (and associated snow sports) have not yet arrived on the scene. . .

Redeeming qualities (if any) of November in Prince George --
- craft fairs (just about one every weekend) and man, we have some really talented crafts people & preserves-preparers around here
- chance to wear somewhat stylish woolen hats, coats and boots
- other. . . ummm. . . give me a moment.

OK then, things to do in a Prince George November:

- go to cafes and drink coffee and read papers or magazines (my favourites hangouts include Books & Co, Zoes, Sassafras Savouries)
- rent a whole bunch of DVDs
- jog or walk clad in bright flourescent vest, touque, mitts and long johns
- swim (if you can tolerate great doses of chlorine)
- meditate by a candle (not all month, an hour or 2 a week or even a day will do!) - and while you are at it warm yourself up on the candle to save on fossil fuel emissions heating
- read (or write) poetry
- just learned about toonie Tuesdays at UNBC sports centre - but let's ration that one to avoid swine-flu promoting crowds (have I mentioned how fed up I am with H1N1?)
- go Christmas shopping (or window shopping) - I recommend Dandy Lines downtown for the most aesthetically pleasing environment and JJ Springer across the street for the coziest
- blog, email or play around on facebook
- go to aforementioned craft fairs to buy black currant jelly, woolen slippers & wooden toys
- check out UNBC poster boards for interesting academic speakers
- rake leftover leaves (OK, can be boring, but at least a workout!)
- go to Remembrance Day events and wear a red poppy

Hmmm, other ideas would be gladly appreciated - fortunately December (and hopefully snow!) are just around the corner!

in defense of potatoes

2009-11-02T19:52:00.000-08:00

Here is an article I found in the Tyee today which picks up on themes/ issues I wrote about in an article about John Ryser and his Nooksak (nooksack) potato in the Aug/Sept09 edition of Northword Magazine http://www.northword.ca/.

Glad to see Prince George potato grower John Ryser is getting some provincial profile!

The Potato Underground
How the 'outlaw' Cariboo spud, once blacklisted by agribiz advocates, was saved. Latest in our Eat Your History series.
By Joanne Will, 29 Oct 2009, TheTyee.ca

When Jerry LeBourdais learned that big agribusiness couldn't handle the Cariboo potato, he knew he'd found a variety that he wanted to support. The name didn't hurt either. If there was a potato out there named "Cariboo," it had a natural home on the back-to-the-land commune near Williams Lake that LeBourdais had founded.
All he needed was some seed. It sounded simple enough.
"Jerry wanted to get a hold of some, and asked me where," recalls John Ryser, a prize-winning seed potato farmer who lives south of Prince George. Ryser told him it wouldn't be easy, because the potato had been decertified for seed production in 1976. By the time LeBourdais came calling in 1983, the Cariboo spud had been banned for seven years and Ryser had given up growing the variety.
"I kept the Cariboo going for years," says Ryser. "The big cheeses de-listed it because it would hang on to the vines." Government officials may prohibit varieties for reasons ranging from disease susceptibility to a tendency to snarl farm equipment; industrial potato farmers want plants that harvest easily with machinery. "Once a variety is de-listed, if you grow it, they'll cancel your seed grower's licence."
But chance and luck launched a new chapter in the history of the Cariboo potato. During a spring meeting at the government experimental farm in Prince George in 1984, a visiting horticulturalist showed up with samples of all kinds of varieties, including Cariboo potatoes from the former Vancouver Research Station in Pemberton.
"Before it was all done, I got four or five of his six Cariboo potatoes and gave them to Jerry," says Ryser. "Then Jerry got in hot water because he was bragging about it, and they started calling it the 'Outlaw Potato.'"

The Cariboo potato rush
The Cariboo region is known today for beef and alfalfa, but a richer farming history stretches back to the gold rush of the early 1860s. Settlers began farming to feed the miners, who otherwise had to pay a premium for whatever fresh foods could survive being mule-hauled up the Cariboo wagon road.
The Cariboo gained a reputation for quality potatoes, explains Denis Kirkham, a retired seed potato specialist who worked in B.C. for the federal Ministry of Agriculture for four decades. In the "heyday" years after World War Two, he says, there were 35 seed potato growers in a belt spanning from McCleese Lake, just north of Williams Lake, to Hixon, just south of Price George.
Yet the Cariboo potato itself has roots about as far from gold-rush country as you can get without leaving Canada. The variety was first bred at the federal Potato Research Centre in Fredericton, New Brunswick, which each year sent seed potatoes out to be tested at a network of experimental farms nationwide. In 1963, one such variety did unusually well in central British Columbia's tough climate. Mike Van Adrichem, then a horticulturalist with the Prince George experimental farm, gave it the Cariboo name. It became popular just as small-scale farming in the region began to face its most challenging times.
"There are lots of reasons potato production in that area declined starting in the '70s," says Kirkham. The Cariboo had a labour shortage, he explains, made worse for farmers by the fact that there was more money to be made in logging and the mills. Freight was costly, too, and made it difficult for the region's family farms to compete with emerging industrial producers in places like Washington and Alberta, and later, global suppliers such as China.
Potato Leek Soup
Many potato leek soups taste thin and weak. The key to this rustic recipe is to use a strong homemade broth and organic heritage potatoes (such as Cariboo potatoes) which have more and better flavour than their supermarket counterparts.
3 c vegetable broth
3 potatoes, peeled
1 tbsp butter
3-4 leeks
1/2 c whole cream
4-5 leaves sage, minced
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/3 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt (less if preferred)
1 dash liquid smoke
Dice one potato and add to broth. Bring to a boil, then simmer until potato can be mashed into broth. Meanwhile, melt butter in a fry pan at medium-low heat. Add sliced leeks, including leek greens, and a pinch of salt, then cover and fry until leeks are soft and golden (about 20 minutes). Add leeks to broth. Add the remaining potatoes, cut into cubes. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring just to a boil at medium heat, then simmer until potatoes are tender to the fork. Serve immediately. Fried sauerkraut makes an excellent garnish.
"Small farmers couldn't compete -- but they certainly did in terms of quality for a bit. They had high disease freedom and quality and that gave them a premium for their extra work," says Kirkham.
John Ryser, who tracked down the Cariboo seed potatoes for Jerry LeBourdais, is one of the area's two remaining seed potato farmers. He remembers starting out in 1937 or '38, getting heck from his dad for not taking proper care of the potatoes on the family farm. At its largest, Ryser's seed potato operation spanned little more than a dozen acres -- tiny by industrial standards.
"Now I've got just a few acres, and have trouble selling what I've got," he says. "All south of Quesnel was growing at one time. Now it's all shipped in from Vancouver and Alberta. They're all buying them from Superstore and Overwaitea, which don't buy local."
An anti-capitalist potato?
It took a rebel to go up against the tide of history. Jerry LeBourdais, who died in 2004, came from a pioneer Cariboo family and was a lifelong social activist, leading a strike at the Burnaby refinery in his early years and later running several times for political office. Yet today, he might be most widely remembered as the Cariboo potato's greatest promoter.
"They grow really well for the northern region," says Jerry's daughter Lorraine LeBourdais. "They're a beautiful white potato, almost yellow, with pink eyes. They have smooth skin, and they grow tall -- you can pick them out in a patch because they're half a foot taller than other varieties. They pull out and then fall off the vine easily, which is exactly what you want for hand harvesting, but they're a nuisance for commercial harvesting -- they tangle in the harvester," says Lorraine. Cariboo potatoes are also known as excellent keepers, with a good size, shape and texture for baking.
Lorraine is a resident member of CEEDS (Community Enhancement and Economic Development Society), the commune that her father founded, in its original form, in 1971. Today, CEEDS operates three farms near Horse Lake, each on rented or leased land, as the commune does not support the notion of private property.
In 1982, while searching for Cariboo seed, Jerry LeBourdais wrote to the Ministry of Agriculture and was told, "the variety Cariboo can no longer be sold under any name and cannot be grown as seed." The letter continued: "I suggest that you select and grow varieties that can be legally grown in Canada."
CEEDS now grows about a half ton of Cariboo potatoes each year, walking a fine line along the official ban. In 1994, Harrowsmith magazine published an article on the Cariboo spud and CEEDS received letters from across the continent. Rather than sell the spud, they gave away free seed potatoes to everyone who wrote.
'Anything you can eat or smoke...'
The Cariboo isn't the only potato to have its own underground movement. Currently, momentum is building to save the Nooksak potato, another variety that has proved to be a regional standout in the Cariboo. To maintain a strong gene pool in their crops, seed potato growers must bring in new seed from another grower every seven years -- and John Ryser appears to be the last seed farmer growing the Nooksak. If so, this year's crop will be the last to be certified, and the Nooksak potato will live on only in the gardens of citizen seed-savers.
Backyard spud-saving is a Northwest tradition that goes back farther than almost anyone would expect. The Makah Nation of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington has been gardening the Ozette potato -- named for a Makah community -- since at least 1791, the date when it is believed the potato was brought from South America by Spanish explorers. The potato wasn't recognized outside the Makah community until the 1980s. Likewise, Haida Nation growers raise a fingerling variety, the Haida potato, which may have been acquired by trade or travel even before the Haida met their first Europeans. During the conflicted years that followed, gardeners alone saved the Haida potato from extinction. History is repeating itself with the Cariboo potato today.
"I'm not saying it's the greatest potato that ever lived, but it's got culture and associated history. It's very important and symbolic for what it represents more than anything -- biodiversity and independent local culture," says Bob Sarti, a retired reporter and longtime friend of Jerry LeBourdais. He notes that the legacy of the Cariboo potato is now inseparable from the commune that LeBourdais founded, and its philosophy.
"They're anti-capitalist. They never own land, and always had to move for this reason," says Sarti. "They've been doing continuous, uninterrupted agriculture, and are unique in the fact that very few can support themselves entirely this way.
"Jerry was a larger-than-life person," Sarti continues. "He had quite an impact in the Cariboo with the back-to-the-land movement. Jerry always said anything you can eat or smoke, you should be allowed to grow."
Vancouver-based journalist Joanne Will co-writes the Eat Your History series with Jeff Nield. The series, guest edited by 100-Mile Diet co-creator James MacKinnon, runs twice a month in The Tyee with support from FarmFolk/CityFolk.

expressed concerns about gold-copper mine near Prince George

2009-10-30T09:46:00.000-07:00

Here is an email I sent to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency this morning about the proposed Mount Milligan Gold-Copper Mine Project proposed for a site 155 km northwest of Prince George:

concerns about Mount Milligan proposed mine‏
From: mary mac
Sent: October 30, 2009 9:43:12 AM
To: mountmilligancsr@ceaa-acee.gc.ca

I attended the federal government hearing (Dept. Fisheries & Oceans & Environment Canada) last Thursday at the Prince George Civic Centre. I am very concerned about this project proceeding on the basis of the "comprehensive assessment report" conducted by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. In addition to (unanswered) concerns I have about the Metal Mining Effluent Regulation more generally (the cumulative increasing extent of damage to watersheds & fish bearing waterways in the country as mining projects increase in number -- and unanswered questions around the extent of & results of any subsequent "environmental effects monitoring" around the efffects on fish & other organisms), I have some concerns about this specific Mt. Milligan proposal which I will outline below.

First, I should note I am a resident of Prince George, British Columbia and have lived in this community for the last 10 years. I grew up in the northern interior of British Columbia in nearby Vanderhoof, a town also in relatively close proximity to the proposed mine.

My specific concerns/ comments with respect to the Dept. of Fisheries & Oceans Comprehensive Assessment Review of this particular project are as follows:

1. A recent feasibility study conducted by Terrane Metals reports the gold in the reserve is 31 per cent more, the copper is 33 per cent more (reported in Vancouver Sun October 14, 2009, Prince George Citizen October 14, 2009 & other news outlets) Representatives of Terrane Metals have admitted (CBC radio interview, other media outlets) that the increase in minerals at that site will require additional digging - a deeper & wider pit, more tailings.

I asked the question about this at the hearing last Thursday - the Terrane Metals representative stated that to accommodate the increased mining, they would be applying to the federal government for an amendment in response to which the Department of Fisheries & Oceans stated there would be no triggering event to require further environmental review or amendment pursuant to the Fisheries Act. This current Comprehensive Assessment Report is considering information submitted by the mining company some years ago and is not considering this more current updated feasibility study report by the mining company.

Therefore, it is my submission that the Department of Fisheries & Oceans' Comprehensive Assessment Report has not even studied the full implications of actual proposed mine nor is there any mechanism for them to do this at a further date unless this further information about a bigger mine is reviewed at this stage of the review process. It has not been done. This omission constitutes a serious inadequacy in the review conducted by Fisheries & Oceans to date.

2. An aspect of the Comprehensive Study Assessment was to look at human components, specifically, current use of land & resources for traditional purposes by Aboriginal persons.Ironically during the course of the hearing, the Nak'adzli people on whose traditional territory the mine would operate were staging a demonstration during the course of the hearing outside the Prince George Civic Centre.

I asked the Dept. of Fisheries & Oceans representative about the extent of their study in this regard and what they had done to address this issue, and the response I received led me to believe that discussions with First Nations are very much a work in progress and absolutely not finalized to the extent that they should be considered completed in a comprehensive assessment report. I do not believe this aspect of the Dept. of Fisheries & Oceans obligations under the comprehensive assessment report is adequate enough for this project to proceed. On the basis of the foregoing, it is my submission that this Comprehensive Study Report is inadequate and the full extent of the proposed mining project has not been sufficiently reviewed to be allowed to proceed.

Sincerely,

Mary Mac, Prince George, British Columbia

(the public have until tomorrow to submit comments about this proposed mine to MountMilliganCSR@ceaa-acee.gc.ca).

more on 350.org (climate change)

2009-10-28T18:23:00.000-07:00

here is what the poets have to say about climate change (thanks to Prince George poet Al Rempel for the link:

http://350poems.blogspot.com/

. , . and here is a video from 350.org relating to the most inspiring - for - environment day ever, this past Saturday October 24, 2009.

Many many people around the world really do care about the environment!

http://www.350.org/oct24-vid

Downstream (tar sands documentary)

2009-10-25T21:50:00.000-07:00

here is a link to a 30-minute documentary movie well worth a watch:

http://intercontinentalcry.org/tar-sands-documentary-downstream/

350.org, dark oil tales & Robson autumn harvest gathering

2009-10-25T06:59:00.001-07:00

I attended the 35o.org rally here in Prince George yesterday - we had over 120 people show up, would have had more if the word got out more. It felt great to be part of such an international effort - truly global. I have been going through the pictures on the 350.org of the rallies & events held all around the world for Climate Action Day - wow. . . scrolling through the list I checked out even the most obscure unlikely (in my opinion) countries to be participating and they were. . . !

I am also glad to see that Canada had the 2nd largest number of organized rallies, next to the United States. 1000s showed up at the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa. It felt really good (& important) to be part of this movement. . .

as for whether it will make a difference in time for Copenhagen. . . well, here is where our federal so-called "Environment" Minister Jim Prentice is at, as published in the Globe & Mail this week (article reproduced in italics - I have further comments further below):

Shawn McCarthy, Ottawa — From Friday's Globe and Mail Published on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009 11:31PM EDT Last updated on Friday, Oct. 23, 2009 7:37AM EDT
Hope is vanishing that a historic deal to address climate change can be concluded in Copenhagen, and Environment Minister Jim Prentice says the best chance is for a political agreement that would pave the way for a treaty to be signed later.
But Canada will continue to insist that it should have a less aggressive target for emission reductions than Europe or Japan because of its faster-growing population and energy-intensive industrial structure, Mr. Prentice said in an interview Thursday.
Canadians must also recognize that any national emissions cap has to reflect differing conditions across the country so as not to punish high-growth provinces, he added. The minister has been consulting with provinces on a plan that would impose a cap on industrial emissions, but allow Alberta's energy-intensive, emissions-heavy oil sands to continue expanding.
“The Canadian approach has to reflect the diversity of the country and the sheer size of the country, and the very different economic characteristics and industrial structure across the country,” he said in a telephone interview.
However, Ottawa will not release its detailed climate-change plan, including its proposed emissions caps on large emitters such as oil sands and power plants, until there is more clarity on how the United States intends to proceed in global climate-change talks in Copenhagen in December, and on what an international treaty would look like, the minister added.
“Copenhagen is a very significant factor in how matters will be approached continentally, and how matters will be approached domestically,” he said.
The Harper government has been criticized for undermining the global talks by insisting on smaller reductions for greenhouse gases than other developed countries, by demanding that emerging economies such as China and India agree to binding caps on their emissions, and by not tabling a plan for meeting Ottawa's own targets.
Mr. Prentice insisted Canada remains committed to reaching an agreement but was not hopeful it could be concluded by December.
“I have to take a realistic view that, given the amount of work that remains to be done, we're running out of time,” he said.
Top United Nations officials are expressing similar pessimism. Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, said Thursday it is “unrealistic” to expect a treaty to be negotiated in the weeks before Copenhagen.
In New Delhi, Indian and Chinese environment ministers agreed to a common stand, rejecting binding limits on emissions but pledging to reduce the rate of growth of emissions.
On Wednesday, John Podesta, a prominent Democratic adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama, told an Ottawa audience that it is doubtful a treaty will be signed in Copenhagen, but that there may be an overarching political accord that would pave the way for a treaty.
Mr. Obama is battling to get climate-change legislation through Congress before Copenhagen to strengthen his negotiating hand, but that too appears unlikely. The President plans to travel to China and host India's Prime Minister next month in hopes of finding common ground that would allow the two Asian giants to accept binding limits tied to their need for growth. Without some commitment from the emerging economies, Mr. Obama will have a much tougher job winning passage of the bill now before the Senate.
In Canada, environmentalists and federal opposition parties have slammed the Conservative government for adopting an emission target that falls well short of the country's commitment under the Kyoto Protocol, and far short of what many other developed countries are doing.
Ottawa proposes to reduce emissions by 20 per cent from 2006 levels by 2020. If achieved, Canadian emissions would be 3 per cent below 1990 levels; under Kyoto, Canada committed to cutting its greenhouse gases by 6 per cent from 1990 levels by 2012.
The European Union has said it would reduce emissions by 30 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020, if other developed countries would accept similar reductions. The U.S. climate legislation sets a target of a 17-per-cent reduction from 2005 levels by 2020, but is more aggressive than Canada's in subsequent years.
But Ottawa's chief climate negotiator, Michael Martin, said Canada's economic and population growth over the last 20 years was much stronger than EU growth, meaning Canadians would pay a higher cost to meet the same emissions targets.
The government's 2020 target represents a 26-per-cent reduction from 1990 emission levels on a per-capita basis, after adjusting for population growth.
Mr. Martin addressed a parliamentary committee which is studying a New Democratic Party bill that would commit Canada to reduce emissions by 25 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020, a target that is consistent with both Kyoto and the EU's approach for the next round.
However, the climate ambassador said Canada's targets are “comparable” to more aggressive ones because they will be just as costly to achieve.
Liberal environment critic David McGuinty said the Harper government is avoiding responsibility for addressing climate change, both globally and domestically.
“We're negotiating without a plan” to achieve the reductions Ottawa has already committed to, he said. “They're ragging the puck, killing time and hoping to avoid the issue until after the next election.”

Meanwhile, I am reading on the internet about this oil spill in the Timor Ocean SINCE AUGUST and still spilling! The spill is in a rich coral reef area. According to what I am reading, it is thought that thousands of sea creatures (dolphins, turtles etc etc) have already perished, and the oil is continuing to spill. Question I have: WHY IS THIS NOT A NEWS HEADLINE IN CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES? I happened to watch CNN last night (lasted about 10 minutes, was all I could tolerate) & there, the focus is swine flu etc. This whole swine flu thing in my opinion has been blown way out of proportion by the media - it is not like it is the only danger out there, and I am definitely not convinced that it is imperative to get a swine flu vaccination when one factors in all the other bugs out there (the bugs are winning. . . strengthening one's immune system is where it is at in my opinion!) Why does the media decide to fixate on only certain issues & virtually ignore others that relate to maintaining long term viability of human life (& other life) on this planet?

Our world is currently AN OIL DISASTER! I am becoming increasingly convinced of this, and if we don't turn things around, it can only get worse.

On a more positive note, I enjoyed a lovely harvest dinner at Kakwa Ecovillage in the nearby Robson Valley yesterday. We had delicious food, most of it locally produced, in a chilly post-rain afternoon under the trees. I really enjoyed meeting some of the local people from Dunster & surrounding area. They are thinking of forming a cooperative to share their food / develop a market for local farmers. . . I think this is an excellent & most-needed idea. I would like to see such a cooperative evolve in Prince George. Something to work toward. A couple of the farms take on WWOOFERS - we are thinking we will have a local WWOOFER holiday this coming summer.

coming out of retirement for letters to the PG Citizen editor

2009-10-23T15:37:00.000-07:00

OK,
after attending the Environment Canada review of the proposed Terrane Metals Mt. Milligan mine northwest of Prince George last night, I have to come out of retirement re: writing letters to the Prince George Citizen editor . . . .!

More on this later.

I will be at the 350 rally here in Prince George tomorrow (www.350.org) - so exciting to see such an international campaign coming together. . . I hope to get some signatures on a petition to ask Prince George Mayor Rogers to step down from the Northern Gateway Alliance www.northerngatewayalliance.ca in support of Enbridge. . . prejudicial to be supporting them at this early stage.

Then I will be heading out to Kakwa Ecovillage for a Harvest Celebration . . .

will post more soon.

Community Climate Rally this weekend

2009-10-21T22:05:00.000-07:00

Please come out and join with others who care about climate change and the Canadian government's inaction leading up to Copenhagen -- part of an international campaign of action movement this coming Saturday - RALLY TO BE HELD HERE IN DOWNTOWN PRINCE GEORGE!

10 am - March starts at 6th & Victoria Street (by Cimo's)11 am - Rally at PG Civic Centre
www.350.org Please, spread the word, thanks Mary

finding the peaceful energy & inspiration to cope with the challenges of being human these days

2009-10-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the challenges confronting the human world these days can be absolutely overwhelming to say the least, that is, unless you are simply choosing not to pay attention to what is going on (which maybe is the best way to be sometimes. . . I am still not really sure. . . )

Earlier today, I felt overwhelmed. Earlier this week I listened to an interview with Australian author and scientist Tim Flannery who was discussing his view that we have about 15 years at the most to turn the current human way of being/ operating on the world in order to possibly avoid catastrophic climate change. He stated that beyond that timeframe, what will happen with the climate & Earth's weather patterns will become absolutely unpredictable & out of our control if we do not act to significantly reduce carbon emissions before then. Meanwhile, I am driving around in my vehicle for work feeling like something of an environmental sabateur & hypocrite which puts quite a toll on my conscience -- is this the right way to be spending my time these days? Then, I get an email from biologist Alexandra Morton on the west coast (her blog listed as one of my favourites under my profile) that only 71 fish (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) were counted in the Nechako River System this year when the forecast was for 374,000. . . many creeks, zero were counted. I checked the Prince George Citizen blogsite and read the article about local conservation officers seizing seven illegally-harvested moose over the weekend, hunted by people without hunting licenses. . . what else? Oh yeah, Enbridge is wining and dining the Chamber of Commerce in Vanderhoof, selling them on this oil pipeline thing . . . throwing money around at northerners to buy us & our communities over. . . and the strange kind of surreal & disturbing disconnect with what this oil pipeline really is & what it means for the future direction of Canada & this area. . . I listened to the radio news, the same old status quo stuff day in and day out, dictating to us what is important and omittting into silence that which is not considered important. . .

but then there were the bright spots in the day too. . . having my health, spending time with family, enjoying basic rights and freedoms, receiving a link to a very inspiring movie trailer about northern BC swimmer Ali Howard who swam the full length of the Skeena River to try to protect it from harsh industrial developments that would threaten it http://doublehaulproductions.com/awakening.php. I went for a walk in the forest and sat quietly beside a marsh. When I arrived, my mood was frenetic and upset by too much bad news and too many fears - when I left, I was much calmer. On the walk out all of a sudden, the forest around me became vibrantly alive. A sudden wind rustled audibly through the forest, birds near and far sang, and a squirrel came down to a low branch nearby and chattered at me holding tightly to its pine cone it was taking to its shelter somewhere to store away for the winter. It may sound flaky but I felt the energy of the place - it is a powerful energy that we cannot fully understand amidst the general ratrace of human life these days.

It is an energy that we need to connect with, become part of - the energy that tells us we cannot understand the reason for everything that happens. There is a bigger picture at play beyond one's comprehension. . . we have to believe in that bigger picture & the enduring power of goodness and hope, even in the darkest hours. It is an energy found in these silent reflective moments spent in a forest or other calming space.

And on a personal level, we can only do our best. When all is said and done at the end of the day, that is a legacy we will leave.

wondering about PetroChina in Canada. . .

2009-10-09T06:47:00.001-07:00

Am very concerned about Petro China's bid to take over $1.9 billion interest in the Alberta tar sands and I am going to outline some of the reasons below.

First, here is the email I wrote to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the response I today received back from his office - this email outlines my major concern.

Subject : PetroChina & oil sands

Email from Mary Mac to Prime Minister Stephen Harper: I have heard of PetroChina's intentions to purchase major interests in the Alberta oil sands. I also understand the federal government is in a position to review this pending deal. I am writing to urge you to look SERIOUSLY at this proposed purchase. As I understand it, PetroChina has a less-than-positive role (to say the least) in such nations as the Sudan.They have been implicated in serious human rights violations. I am concerned about the future legacy for Canada if such companies are allowed to come in and take such major interests over Canadian resources. Please, consider this issue very carefully & do what you can to safeguard Canada for future generations. Sincerely, Mary Mac in Prince George, British Columbia

Response Email received today from Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office: Dear Ms. Mac: On behalf of the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, I would like to thank you for your e-mail regarding foreign investment in the oil sands. You may be assured that your comments have been given careful consideration. As they will also be of interest to the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Natural Resources, and the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Industry, I have taken the liberty of forwarding copies of your message to them. I am certain that the Ministers will give your views every consideration. Thank you for taking the time to share your views with the Prime Minister on this important issue. P. MonteithExecutive Correspondence Officerfor the Prime Minister's OfficeAgent de correspondancede la haute directionpour le Cabinet du Premier ministre from

On this same issue of PetroChina's plans to hugely move into the tar sands, below is an article I took from http://www.tarsandswatch.org/ which outlines the issues of concern with the major PetroChina bid over the tar sands (aka oil sands). I am bold-fonting the issues that are directly relevant to Prince George & area and plans to punch Enbridge oil pipeline through here . . .

China's oil sands pushPosted: October 2, 2009 Section: Global Warming

Derek Brower, October 2009, Petroleum Economist--PetroChina has staked China's claim to Canada's oil sands, providing local developers with an export alternative to the US market, writes Derek Brower.
"THREAT to the new energy economy," reads the strapline on literature from the Dirty Oil Network, a coalition of environmental groups opposed to Canada's oil sands and the US' use of them.
China does not agree. At the end of August, one of its state-controlled companies, PetroChina, bought a 60% stake in two new oil-sands projects, paying Athabasca Oil Sands (AOSC) C$1.9bn ($1.7bn) for control of the MacKay River and Dover developments.
The two AOSC properties could eventually produce around 0.5m barrels a day (b/d), based on 5bn barrels of reserves. AOSC has not set a schedule for development of the oil. Previously, the company was planning to export its bitumen to refineries in the US Midwest, where demand for Canadian heavy crude is expected to reach 2m b/d by 2015. The company says it would consider other export routes, too.
Provided the Canadian and Alberta governments approve the deal, the destination of the crude will be PetroChina's decision. Crucially, the Chinese company has backed a new pipeline to the west coast of Canada, which would open up a route for exports to its home market. Enbridge, the company that hopes to develop that 0.525m b/d line, could start building it next year. PetroChina has an agreement with Enbridge to take up to 50% of the capacity.
The AOSC deal makes sense for China, whose oil-sands presence had been notable for its restraint, especially in the recent boom years while other companies were rushing to invest. PetroChina's stake in AOSC will dwarf the positions held in the oil sands by two other Chinese state-controlled firms. CNOOC has a minority holding in a smaller project and Sinopec bought 10% of Total's Northern Lights development earlier this year.
Li Ka-Shing, a Chinese businessman, also owns a majority stake in Husky Energy, another oil-sands player. But Husky, which also has a downstream presence in Canada, is still considered a local firm.
It could also herald another round of acquisitions from China's state-owned energy companies. Last month, China National Petroleum Corporation, PetroChina's parent company, received a five-year discounted loan from the China Development Bank to help it buy more upstream assets overseas.
That might include another offer for YPF, the Argentine unit of Spain's Repsol, or part of it. CNPC failed to buy control of the company after offering almost $15bn for it earlier in the summer. It could also lead to further acquisitions in Alberta.
Strategic rewards
Strategically, the PetroChina deal looks rewarding for China and Canada. The US has long enjoyed a monopoly on Canadian oil exports and its control over the oil sands has annoyed many developers. Opening up a new export route to Asia – assuming this results from the PetroChina deal – would be welcome to some in the sector. Tom Katinas, chief executive of Syncrude, one of the largest oil-sands developers, told a conference last month that he would "love" to see infrastructure to the west coast brought on stream, "to be able to export some of the Alberta oil".
Others in Alberta are less sure. An editorial in the Calgary Herald, a staunch supporter of the oil sands, called on the federal government to block the deal. Citing China's human-rights record, its totalitarian regime and its aggressive pursuit of assets elsewhere, the newspaper suggested that if Canada accepted the deal, it would be hard-pressed to justify blocking any bigger purchases later.
Yet, so far, the indications are that the federal government will not interfere. Prime minister Stephen Harper said the government would "apply the law that's in place". That includes a review of any foreign acquisition of Canadian assets worth more than C$312m. He added, however, that his government had been "very clear that in the middle of a global recession we will not be introducing further barriers to foreign investment".
The Alberta government, a long-standing adherent to the principles of laissez-faire economics, is also inclined to accept PetroChina's acquisition. Its premier, Ed Stelmach, claimed it "shows that we are going to be game-changers in oil resources around the world". If PetroChina's bid triggers more Chinese interest, this would also inject momentum into the oil sands. Since the collapse in crude prices last year, about $100bn worth of projects have been shelved or scrapped.
The US, meanwhile, has watched the deal's progress with a degree of alarm, to judge by some comments from Congress. Yet for Canada, PetroChina's interests could not have come at a better time. New proposals in Congress aimed at curbing greenhouse-gas emissions have worried Canadian oil producers. Last month, Harper met President Barack Obama and reiterated his opposition to some of the new legislation, saying a plan to erect tariffs against countries that did not reduce emissions would "become a front for protectionism quicker than you can say 'hello'".
Meanwhile, environmental groups such as the Dirty Oil Network (which lists Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth and various other pressure groups as members) are hoping to reverse a decision by the State Department to allow construction of a new pipeline to supply bitumen from the oil sands to the Midwest. Enbridge's C$1.2bn Clipper project would export 450,000 b/d to Wisconsin and be on stream by 2010. In August, the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, approved the project despite the vociferous campaign against it.
Alberta's executives resent the sway they believe such campaigners now hold in the US, and consider that the Obama administration is much less enthusiastic about the oil sands than was the Bush White House. Samuel Bodman, the Republican energy secretary under George Bush, was a frequent visitor to the oil sands, emphasising their strategic importance to the US. Since then, several US states have begun legislating against Canada's "dirty oil", despite a recent study showing that fuel produced from the oil sands is scarcely more carbon-intensive than fuel from other crudes.
In Alberta, the Enbridge decision was welcomed as a signal that the US has not forgotten its long-standing ally. But China's entry into the oil sands will remind the US that Canada has options. Even if PetroChina's investment remains financial – and none of AOSC's bitumen ever ends up in Asia – China will now control some of the Canadian crude refined in the Midwest's refineries.
That could be galling for the US, which resisted CNOOC's bid to buy Unocal in 2005 because it would be against the country's strategic interests. A controversial provision in the North American Free Trade Agreement guarantees the US a proportion of Canadian oil exports. But if PetroChina's arrival heralds sustained Chinese interest in the oil sands, the US might remember the value of Alberta's "dirty oil".

*******

On the international scene - particularly Africa - Petro China has a deplorable human rights record to date. . .

From http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com

Last month, PetroChina's parent China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) was awarded $260 million of engineering and construction contracts for an area known as Block 6, China’s largest oil and gas producer said on its website today.The contracts in Sudan include the expansion of a power plant and construction of two crude oil tanks with a capacity of 50,000 cubic meters each, CNPC said.Sudan had 5 billion barrels of proven oil reserves as of January, the fifth-biggest in Africa, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The majority of the reserves are located in the Muglad and Melut basins in the south. China is the country’s largest investor.China’s oil consumption doubled in the last decade to 8 million barrels a day in 2008, according to BP Plc’s Statistical Review. It imported about 3.6 million barrels of oil a day last year, meeting about 45 percent of its needs.Source: Report by Bloomberg News, Friday, October 9, 2009. Copy:PetroChina Parent Wins Engineering Contracts in Sudan (Update2)
China National Petroleum Corp. said it beat 13 bidders from countries including India to win seven engineering contracts in Sudan, holder of Africa’s fifth-largest crude oil reserves.A unit of China National Petroleum was awarded $260 million of engineering and construction contracts for an area known as Block 6 in September, China’s largest oil and gas producer said on its Web site today.China National Petroleum, the parent of Hong Kong-listed PetroChina Co., said last month it had received a $30 billion loan to fund overseas expansion as the world’s third-largest economy stepped up its hunt for energy resources overseas. China National Petroleum led the development of the first oilfield in Sudan where President Umar al-Bashir is accused by the International Criminal Court of committing war crimes in Darfur.“Given the good bilateral ties between China and Africa, Chinese companies have the advantage with infrastructure engineering contracts,” Wang Jing, chief oil analyst with Orient Securities Ltd., said by telephone in Shanghai.The contracts in Sudan include the expansion of a power plant and construction of two crude oil tanks with a capacity of 50,000 cubic meters each, China National Petroleum said.Sudan had 5 billion barrels of proven oil reserves as of January, the fifth-biggest in Africa, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The majority of the reserves are located in the Muglad and Melut basins in the south. China is the country’s largest investor in Darfur, In western region of Darfur, clashes between pro-government forces and rebels, along with tribal fighting, banditry and disease, have killed about 300,000 people, according to United Nations estimates. The rebels took up arms against the government in 2003 accusing it of neglecting the area. The government puts the death toll at about 10,000.China’s oil consumption doubled in the last decade to 8 million barrels a day in 2008, according to BP Plc’s Statistical Review. It imported about 3.6 million barrels of oil a day last year, meeting about 45 percent of its needs.To contact the reporter on this story: Ying Wang in Beijing at ywang30@bloomberg.net

And from http://stanford.wellsphere.com

Petrochina Blasted for Indirectly Supporting Human Rights Violations
Posted Jan 11 2009 3:38pm
Over 80 civil society organizations from 25 countries, along with government officials and activist actress Mia Farrow, have filed a complaint with the United Nations charging PetroChina, the publicly traded arm of China National Petroleum Company (CNPC), with indirectly supporting the Sudan regime that is responsible for the human rights crisis in Darfur. The complainants, who are coordinated by Investors Against Genocide (IAG) in collaboration with the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), are issuing a double-barreled challenge. They're calling out PetroChina for not using its power and influence to persuade the Khartoum government to abandon its oft-demonstrated indifference to human rights, and they're also tasking the United Nations with enforcing the language in its Global Compact, which PetroChina has signed. With over 500 signatories, the Global Compact is the world's largest and best-known voluntary corporate social responsibility initiative. Its first principle states that businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights, while its second principle requires that businesses ensure they are not complicit in human rights abuses. The complaint charges PetroChina with violating both these principles. If a Global Compact signatory behaves in ways that are inconsistent with its commitment, the UN has an affirmative duty to de-list the organization. This is what the IAG coalition is asking the organization to do. Says IAG Chairperson Eric Cohen, If a company seeks legitimacy by joining the Global Compact, it should be required to have a genuine commitment. If the Compact's principles aren't enforced, the UN risks making the Global Compact an international joke. These are two mighty big meals that the IAG consortium is trying to digest. For all practical purposes, PetroChina is an arm of the Chinese government, and we all know how receptive that regime has been to chastisement by the international community. As for the UN, since its earliest days it's been characterized by the gaping chasm between its aspirations and its actions. To date this pattern has applied to the Global Compact as well: the UN has never de-listed an organization for substantive (as distinguished from procedural) reasons. In one fell swoop, the IAG group is asking the Chinese government, as fronted by PetroChina, to change its evil ways, and the UN to grow some teeth. IAG's Eric Cohen is cautiously optimistic about the chances for success. We're not asking PetroChina to threaten to withdraw from Sudan if the oil companies' demands aren't met, he says. We're only asking them to step up to their responsibility to be an ethically good business partner. As for the likelihood of getting the UN to enforce its integrity measures, I believe we can get the people in charge of the Global Compact to help the program actually be the agent for change it aspires to be, Cohen says. The world is on the move. Maybe it's ready for the changes we want to see.

the legacy of big business mining, oil and gas

2009-10-08T16:42:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about the role of major oil, gas and mining companies not only in Canada but also in other countries around the world. Certainly here in northern BC, we see increasing focus on these areas of industrial endeavour particularly with the downturn in the forest industry.

I have concerns about this direction, especially the scale at which these developments are proceeding. What I believe is that there is far too much deference provided to these major industries. I believe there is not adequate accountability in the laws & regulations that could govern the development of these sectors.

Last year after I did a hike up on the gorgeous Cameron Ridge Trail hike between Likely & Wells (Cariboo Mountains), I witnessed large ATV track gouges in the landscape well up into the fragile alpine & right through creekbeds. I felt sad to think these tracks will likely be there for 100s of years, certainly long after this current generation is gone. There was a sign at the trailhead informing us this was an active mining road we were hiking up, and we did see surveyors on quads while up there (not sure if the alpine tracks were from the mining exploration but it certainly was a question I had). After seeing the appalling state of the environment in this most gorgeous surrounding, I made some enquiries about who exactly regulates mining at this early stage of exploration. I initially attended at the BC Ministry of Energy and Mines who sent me to the Integrated Land Management Bureau ilmbwww.gov.bc.ca, a government office vested with creating land use plans throughout BC in consultation with various stakeholders & in consideration of the local environmental issues at stake.

Ironically, what I learned is that when it comes to large mining companies' endeavours (and I suspect the same occurs with oil & gas), overarching land use plans are virtually ignored. The person at the land bureau looked perplexed about why the Ministry had sent me to her office for answers. It appeared to me that there is a significant disconnect between the integrated land management bureau & the BC Ministry of Energy & Mines. . . . not a lot of communication was happening.

Currently in the news, we are hearing a lot about the EnCana situation up in the Peace River area - whereas the EnCana bomber initially hit the news (and is being described as a type of "terrorist" by law enforcement officers who are allegedly acting very intrusively - and quite possibly illegally in certain situations when the Charter of Rights & Freedoms is considered) in undertaking their investigations, what has more recently come out is the extent of environmental damage perpetrated on the previously agricultural landscape by mega oil company EnCana. Regular flaring & black smoke emissions appear to be a significant issue for locals in the area of Tom's Lake & other small farming communities. The locals, although they are scared to speak out to much for fear of being framed as "terrorists" are nevertheless starting to discuss the rampant disregard for their health, safety & concerns they have endured by the oil and gas sector.

The current BC Minister of Energy, Mines & Petroleum Resources Blair Leckstrom (who also hails from the Peace River area) has announced voluntary measures on flaring. According to a recent article that ran in the Daily Herald Tribune, Grande Prairie, Alberta, he is quoted as saying, the voluntary measures are meant to ''improve industry and resident relations.''

Here is an excerpt from the Daily Herald Tribune article:

Leckstrom, who hails from Dawson Creek, was adamant that the changes were not made in response to what RCMP have labelled domestic terrorism near the hamlet of Tomslake, near the Alberta boundary.

''We've been working on this long before whoever is responsible for those bombings began their crazy actions, so this is not a reaction to any of that," he said.
"There was no intent to try and address whatever this crazy person is trying to accomplish. This has been in the works for some time.''

What I am wondering Mr. Leckstrom is this: why are these provisions VOLUNTARY on the part of industry? That is not my understanding of what government regulation is supposed to be. . . I mean voluntary means nothing. What is the point of wasting paper (and public money) on enacting these kind of supposed "regulation"?! Why the deference to these big businesses to police themselves?

On the international level, the themes relating to mining, oil and gas are similar although much more severe in consequence to the locals. I heard an interview today (Dispatches on CBC radio) with New York Times journalist Peter Maass who has just written a book, Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil. He has travelled to some of the most devastated corners of the world where major oil companies make shady & private deals with local corrupt governments at the ultimate expense of the locals who suffer grave environmental ruin, horrific poverty, severe health problems, violence and harsh human rights violations. Several African nations are extremely sad cases in point.

These oil companies & the dark trails of pollution & damage they leave behind are contributing to a wrecked world. That is my opinion. The author Peter Maass spoke of how we are all complicit in this trend when we use oil without thinking about where it comes from and the usually dire environmental and social consequences of its extraction for our world.

Also, worthy of mention is that international human rights organization Amnesty International has really been looking at the issue of corporate responsibility & human rights violations over the past several years. They are currently gathering Canadians' signatures on a petition to take forward to the Canadian government to enact Bill C-300 which would serve to hold Canadian mining, oil & gas companies accountable for their actions overseas. Here is the information:

Take action to prevent corporate human rights violations

Amnesty International is concerned about human rights violations committed directly or indirectly by some Canadian mining, oil and gas companies in developing countries.
To ensure that all Canadian companies respect human rights in developing countries, we need mandatory human rights standards and stronger regulations to hold transnational companies accountable.
This fall, the Canadian Government is considering adopting a bill on corporate accountability (Bill C-300).
Amnesty International supports Bill C-300. But to ensure that the bill passes into law, we need everyone who cares about human rights to express their support.
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD
Please send a message to the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development and express your support for Bill C-300 -

http://amnesty.ca/urgentappeal/2009/CorpAcct/index.php.

I was really happy to see how many Canadians have already signed onto this petition & the comments posted there at that link. . . wondering when the politicians are going to catch on that Canadians really do care about these issues.

On another more cheery note,

Happy Thanksgiving Day.
We do have much to be thankful for, and we don't want to lose those beautiful things that make our world so wonderful.

Dead Letters Rising

2009-10-07T17:31:00.003-07:00

Today I headed up to to Artspace, the space about Books and Co in downtown Prince George (in my opinion the cultural hub of the city rests within these walls. . . ) I was there to check out the visual art display of artists Graham Pearce & Magda Partyka entitled Dead Letters. First off let me say, the name of this show intrigued me very much when I first heard the show was to happen.

And let me tell you, I was not disappoimted. Clearly the work of 2 very creative people who are daring to look at the limits of our societal constraints, problems and buring-our-heads-in-the-sand kinds of attitudes.

In the semi-dark of Artspace, the powerful paintings, masks, sculpture and other works dominate the space. Collectively, they evoke image and form of subject matter not easily digested. It is not exactly a feel-good display, but most certainly, thought-provoking and eery. There is a desperate and bothered message here, calling out to the beholders to pay attention immediately, and it is a message not easily ignored. A number of animal figures were strung up on a mobile-type apparatus. The raven in particular stands out in my mind. Also, I carried away with me the haunting image of the oil-slicked mask on the wall.

I knew there was some important social commentary here so because I missed the opening & artists' talk (held last Friday evening) I asked Graham Pearce for further explanation of what Dead Letters has to say; what exactly is going on within those walls of Artspace? Here, in his own words, if what he told me about the display in responding to a couple of questions:

1. What prompted putting this display together?

In March 2009, Magna Partyka inquired about hosting an art show with me, and I thought it was a cool idea to bring together artistic impressions of our mutual discomfort with current political/ social/environmental affairs. We started work on the art for the show soon after. Although Magda included art from prior to our decision to host an art show, everything in my half of the exhibition is from the last 8 months

(wow Graham you must have been working like a madman - comment from Mary Mac).

We set up the show together with certain shared ideas: the opening would be vegetarian and as egalitarian as would be possible in respect to its invites.

2. Can you tell me more about the significance of the title of the display?

The title is taken loosely from Herman Melville's short story, "Bartelbythe Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street." Bartelby, the story's protagonist,worked in a dead letters' office -- this is a metaphor to explain why Bartelby drops out of capitalist society and eventually humanity. Dead Letters seemed to capture the sentiment of outsider art. Rather than give our audience an easy experience, we wanted a conceptually charged and passionate art that challenges systems and institutions that water-down or dismiss most art that risks. We knew that most people would either not understand our intentions nor care enough to work to think about them. Consequently, Dead Letters fit. On another level, Jacob Marley's warnings to Ebaneezor Scrooge are as popular now as ever -- but people seem to conveniently ignore that the message works through the layers of capitalism to how people destroy the environment for short term gains. Jake Marley Jr. seems to be sending dead letters.

The concept of the zombie animals is connected to the overall theme of Dead Letters: messages that are not received/ understood by the audience listed on the address. The masks on the wall represent the ghosts from A Christmas Carol reinvented to address some of the major troubles of our times. For example, Jake Marley Jr. is drenched in oil ("Let them eat gas"), and the Ghost of Corporate Future is caught-up in the physical blow-back of climatechange. The zombie animals are hunting down the human (a version of Bartelby the scrivener), who is awakened to the dystopia albeit in a nightmare.

OK man, on the theme of Dead Letters. . . umm, you had 250 people at your opening and people (like me) are still checking out your work. . . maybe they were dead man, but may now reincarnated or risen from the dead?

Oh and by the way. . . I just have to say . . . I love the combination of the creepy with the Christmas Carol - here we are in October heading to Hallowe'en and thereafter the Christmas season. . . how timely is that for such a display! (and we won't mention the most capitalist driven time of the year these days. . . ) Very intriguing stuff and it is good to see the arts are alive and well (with a little help from dead & ill) at looking seriously at the harsh negatives that come with unfettered capitalism and the associated environmental destruction. Inspiring indeed in a heart-stopping freaky sort of way.

The show continues at Artspace for another week and sculptures (plus a few more) will be in the College of New Caledonia Library for a month.

some thought about Evo Morales, Bolivian president

2009-10-05T22:08:00.001-07:00

I heard Prince George CBC reporter Betsy Trumpener's coverage this morning on Daybreak North of the Latino CBC radio announcer who recently spent a couple of days in Prince George, reporting from here. She interviewed this man who came from an Aymaran background and felt connected to the First Nations people in this area, because he said, he too is an indigenous person, from the Andes of South America. I too have observed these strong parallels between the cultures of First Nations peoples in this part of the world and the ancient cultures of the mountain people of the Andes Mountains.

Today, I am thinking back to my time spent in Bolivia. I am thinking about how there my reverance for Pacha Mama, the great Earth Mother, was founded. I first observed widespread respect for the Earth Mother in the Bolivians regular habit of sprinkling some of their drink onto the ground or floor in her honour. There is much to be said about Pacha Mama and what we can learn from cultures steeped in ancient traditions based on respect for this feminine divine presence. In thinking about Bolivia, I am thinking about Evo Morales, the current indigenous president of the country.

I just came across the following submission (excerpt) recently made by President Evo Morales to the UN General Assembly:

"I want to take this opportunity to propose a few themes that are very important to the inhabitants of Mother Earth. For the indigenous movement, not only harmony with human kind, but harmony with Mother Earth is sacred.

Mother Earth gives life, water, natural resources, oxygen and everything that supports the well being of our people. If we talk, work and fight for the well being of our people we first have to guarantee the well being of Mother Earth; otherwise it will be impossible to guarantee the well being of our citizens. Mother Earth, Planet Earth, will exist without human life, but human life cannot exist without Mother Earth.

After hearing many speeches, I’ve concluded that in this new twenty- first century, defending Mother Earth will be more important than defending human rights. If we do not defend the rights of Mother Earth, there is no use in defending human rights. I am willing to debate this concept, but now or later it will be proven that the rights of Mother Earth supersede the rights of human beings. We must protect what gives us life. Coincidently, as we are in the climate change debate, we want to propose, dear presidents, delegates from distinct countries, to the brothers of the world that are listening, a very simple proposal which can be summarized in 3 points.

First: Developed countries must honor and pay the climate debt they owe to mankind and planet earth.

Second: We currently do not have a structured manner in which we can quantify the damages committed by nations. My dear presidents, it is of utmost importance to create a Court for Climatic Justice, in which countries will be tried and punished assuming they do not follow international laws and continue to destroy the earth.

Third: A proposal derived mainly from Indigenous farmers: nations must declare and expand the rights of Mother Earth’s natural regeneration. Nations must also declare rights on behalf of the right to life, a clean life and the right to harmony and equilibrium for all and everything.
Hopefully these proposals will be taken into account and debated in Copenhagen, Denmark. We hope the discussions in Copenhagen will provide us with short and long term solutions over the enormous problems that our distinguished countries endure.

There is much of interest to me in the words of Evo Morales. He is consistent with his reverance for Pacha Mama, Mother Earth. I am so intrigued with what is happening in Latin America these days - how some of these countries are really coming into their own, creating a new way of being with the world and with each other. I am intrigued with Evo Morales' arguments for rights on behalf of the right to harmony & equilibrium for all living things. I agree - whereas rights are important, the time has come to broaden them into the environmental / natural world protection realm at the universal level.

Bolivia will soon be heading to another presidential election (December 6) - Evo Morales came into power in 2005. I was in the country for the previous election, and he narrowly lost that time but was rapidly gaining power in the country as evidenced by the number of marches through La Paz and the Che Guevara flags hung in many windows -- the country then had the feel of a country on the verge of a revolution. And, looking back, I see that it was.

Since coming into power, Morales has introduced a new constitution for the country. It includes a bill of rights with significant provisions dedicated to Bolivia’s 36 indigenous nations. It also put the economy in the hands of the state, limited landholdings and redistributed revenues from gas fields in the eastern lowlands to the country’s poorer areas.

On a related note, Oliver Stone has just released a new movie about the current Latin American leaders. It is called South of the Border. Probably worth a watch.

An Inspiration

2009-10-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

Last night I attended the Gala Evening for the Aboriginal Writers & Storytellers Festival at the PG Playhouse. Performing were young Dakelh drummers, singers & dancers from nearby First Nations communities, Award-winning Haisla author Eden Robinson (who seems to be a joyful, friendly & vivacious person) and Juno-winner Yellowknife-based Dene singer Leela Gilday (note to self: purchase her album).

I was so encouraged to see the Dakelh youth taking up their traditional cultural songs and presenting them so powerfully & proudly. . . it brought back memories of gatherings with the elders & dancers when I was a child in Vanderhoof, the smoky smell of moose hide from the dancers' costumes wafting through the air and the dreamy rhythm of the elders' voices telling the tales of the wilderness passed down by their ancestors. We have an incredible cultural legacy in our midst.

I was very inspired by Leela Gilday's music - her song "One Drum" is very riveting & rousing. She had the whole audience clapping & swaying together, and it was pretty powerful.

What was the coolest moment of the evening was when she spoke about how inspired she is by Eden Robinson's writing (especially her book Monkey Beach) & has actually written a song based on the book for her forthcoming album because it inspired her so much. Wow! It may seem odd but I did not realize that singers find writers such sources of inspiration - it has always been the other way around for me - I find much inspiration in the notes of powerful song.

I purchased Eden Robinson's Blood Sports which is set in the east end of Vancouver. Inside the front cover, she wrote to me in her big scrawl handwriting, "may good spirits guide you." This woman exudes an incredible kind of warm & engaging energy. She really impressed me.

We discussed the situation of the ship running aground in the Kitimat inlet in the past several days. The Haisla people were the ones who questioned in the media what had happened when they observed the damaged ship crippling into port. The ship had run ashore. The Haisla people then sounded the alarm about Enbridge plans to put in the oil pipeline/ have oil tankers come into the Kitimat inlet for the first time ever. For some time they have been expressing grave concerns about oil spills in this pristine area, now this ship incident really lends weight to their argument.

Eden currently lives in Kitimaat Village. She tells me they now have a chief by the name of Delores Pollard who is a powerful leader. The Haisla people are a strong voice of opposition to the proposed oil pipeline project & associated oil tankers.

I came away from last evening feeling really inspired by these amazing & talented people and how awesome that we can all be inspirations for each other, and together, strive to create a more beautiful world.

We are not in this alone.

write letters for PG air

2009-10-02T10:14:00.001-07:00

Email from PACHA president Dave Fuller:

Subject: Please Take 5 Minutes to Clear the air in Prince George
Please Write a Letter to Canfor – Asking them to reduce their pollution!

PACHA (Peoples Action Committee for healthy Air) and MACC the Miller Addition Citizens Coalition is asking the people of Prince George to write a letter to Canfor executive Brett Robinson to ask him to reduce the pollution that the pulpmills are dumping on the city of Prince George.

Canfor is the biggest polluter in the airshed. Some of the emission sources at the pulpmills have not been upgraded despite the fact that the technology is available so that they could make a significant reduction and improvement to odor and particulate emissions.
Currently they are about to receive over $100 million Dollars in taxpayers money for a black liquor subsidy- They have indicated that they are not going to use this money to reduce odor in Prince George. 40+ years of pollution by these mills is enough! Please write Mr Robinson and demand a change in policy! Tell them how the pollution is affecting you and your family / friends. Even a few lines will make a differece!

Mr Brett Robinson, VP Operations, Canfor Mills,
5162 Northwood Pulpmill Rd
Prince George.
V2L 4W2
Please send a CC to Dr Charles Jago - Canfor Board Chair (same address)

If you drop your letter off to Ave Maria on 20th ave or Mother Marias Market we will send your letter out for you to ensure a steady stream of letters reach Mr Robinson! We will even provide the stamp for you!

Some babbling about rights. . .

2009-10-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about rights lately and about how fragile they are. Recently a friend telephoned me and told me I had better be careful having a blog. He heard a story on the news about a person who was stopped at the American border because the border guards had some kind of alert on their system because of the type of stuff he blogged. . .

it is called freedom of expression, a right enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms & the International Declaration of Human Rights. To be scared about saying what is on one's mind for fear of repercussions constitutes an incursion into this right, and by being too scared to state our opinions empowers those who would stifle our rights. In my opinion, we cannot be scared to stand up for what we know with certainty to be right - and I am going to keep speaking out probably until my dying day when I believe it is important to say something. I may not be right, I may be easily contested, but at least the speaking out generates discussion & thought & permits me to feel a certain amount of integrity to myself & what I believe is right.

On the fragility of rights, I think back to the Enbridge Northern Gateway baseball tournament held this past summer. Interestingly, the coordinators of this event just won an award for "making a difference" by local MLAs Pat Bell and Shirley Bond. What was missing in the bright advertisement about the award is the piece about the security guards assaulting the protestors who attended the game for the sake of raising people's awareness of the risk of oil spills should Enbridge's pipeline project proceed. One of the protestors told me she felt very violated when one of the burly security guards grabbed her - another protestor had someone kneel on his chest. Although they had all bought tickets and were only distributing information about Enbridge, they were all arrested by the police, removed from the premises & told by the police that they were not going to be pressing charges against the security people for assault. This violation of their rights was missed completely from the community award now being presented by our local politicians.

Lately the issue of rights has also shown up in the pages of the Prince George Citizen, and discussion around Prince George about the "homeless'' people who congregate downtown (I have many more thoughts about the people downtown Prince George. . . . more later). The below letter appeared in the Citizen in the past several days about the BC government's new law aimed at getting homeless people off the streets:

Dead Rights
Written by mick kearns
Monday, 28 September 2009

Renowned Canadian author W.O. Mitchell (Who has Seen the Wind) had a wonderful phrase that he used to describe his method of weaving various things that had happened in his life into a single narrative. It all happened, just not all at once as he described it. W.O. used to say “Everything’s the truth, the whole thing’s a lie.” A homeless woman burns to death in her makeshift shelter after refusing police requests (three times) to take her to a shelter. The B.C. government introduces legislation to force homeless people into shelters during extreme cold, or police will lock them up for the night for their own protection. “Absurd,” says B.C. Human Rights president David Eby.“Staying out in the streets is a homeless person’s right. People shouldn’t be forced to do things they don’t want to do,” says Central Interior Native Health director Murry Krause. Both statements may have an element of truth in a country where everyone has rights, but only the honest and hardworking have responsibilities. But the whole thing is a lie. The homeless do not have the right to die on our streets. Throwing more money at this problem is not the solution, just as we found with the billion dollars spent on the Lower East Side with little effect. Tuesday night the city held a public meeting on councillor Krause’s idea to build a Downtown Health and Wellness Centre. Not only will this save money, according to Krause and Dan Milburn, city manager of long range planning (although at this point they don’t know how much), but it will allow Krause to “provide better service to his clients, while minimizing the disruption to the retailers and people working and shopping downtown.”The plan calls for the consolidation of the needle depot (exchange), the Native Health Society, and The Firepit. Because Murry’s plan calls for supportive housing in the same building, it is unlikely, according to Milburn, that the facility could be located across Queensway and away from the downtown due to noise and air quality concerns. This may all be the truth, but the whole thing’s a lie. This facility will still have a negative impact on the surrounding businesses or public facilities wherever it were to end up. At the same meeting a 65-year-old woman spoke about her fear of going downtown with her friend to shop during the daytime. She then went on to show the pair of scissors she carried in her pocket for protection.“I’ve lived here my whole life and downtown has become sad,” she said wistfully. At the same meeting, one of this city’s landmark downtown business owners, Ted Moffat of Northern Hardware, talks about having caught five shoplifters just that day, and how theft is costing him $100,000 a year. “I’m tired,” he said. “Maybe it’s time we moved out of the downtown.”“Let’s not focus on the negative
and lose sight of why we are here,” responded mayor Dan Rogers, who was in attendance.” Meanwhile, on the same day, employees of another destination shop downtown, The Pastry Chef, had their vehicle windows smashed yet again for the few pieces of loose change contained inside. “The panhandlers are so aggressive, they follow the customers from their cars, right into the store,” said owner Petra Haus. The Wellness Centre concept was part of yet another study called “Smart Growth on the Ground” (cost between $400,000 and $600,000), which, along with the mayor’s Task Force, was the latest exercise in social engineering on how to save our downtown. Everything’s the truth, the whole thing’s a lie. While the civil servants at City Hall and the consultants do their studies, and the mayor, fellow councillors and the members of his Taskless Force talk, the people who pay the bills, and who elected them, suffer. We need action on the downtown now. We have become the refugee centre for northern B.C. for the poor, dispossessed and drug-addicted, and all the social ills that go with it. As Ted Moffat remarked, “We’ve had them long enough, it’s someone else’s turn.” We couldn’t agree more.

This letter outlines the bones of debate that's been going on for many years in Prince George - at least for the 10 years + that I have been hanging around this city . . . on the one hand the supposed "bleeding hearts" that would advocate for these people & try to bring about improvements to their lives, on the other hand the "rednecks" who would like them all rounded up and taken somewhere, anywhere, to be out of sight. . . more on this later (guess it is pretty easy to see which side of the debate I fall on. . . ok, I guess "social worker" kind of gives me away), but I do have some thoughts about these people.

I do not get the point of this new law the BC government is planning to implement to get people off the streets - in my view it would easily be challenged pursuant to the Charter so I am not sure where the BC Attorney General's advice is in all of this. . . reactive politics trumping reason. Already we have the Mental Health Act and Adult Guardianship Act which permit removal of persons who are constituting a risk to themselves or others & are cognitively vulnerable. The problem is though sometime the supporting infrastructure, resources and police knowledge of the laws - especially the Adult Guardianship Act - are really lacking. . . Now we are going to have yet another law (which will likely violate people's Charter rights) layered on top of these laws that are not even being used as effectively as they could be? What a waste. . .

So what am I saying?
There is a lot to be said about rights. They are something to be appreciated.
They are fragile indeed. We have to believe in rights as a starting point, that they are something worth believing in & expecting.

green Vancouver vs. black-as-coal Prince George

2009-09-30T18:32:00.000-07:00

was very happy today to see the excellent write-ups about the Peace Summit in Vancouver attended by the Dalai Lama and some other very high profile people - a real focus on youth and the young generation being "Generation Fix." I must admit, I do know some cool kids. . . there definitely seems to be a special kind of energy about this growing up now generation -- and they sure need it to delve into the challenges facing them!

I could not help but note the contrast today in the newspapers - on the cover of the Vancouver Sun was the coverage about the Peace Summit & how the mayor of Vancouver is making great strides in trying to develop/ promote a green economy for Vancouver. . .

lying beside the Vancouver Sun was the Prince George Citizen, and on the front cover a story about how Western Coal is planning to expand their operations north of Prince George and a copper/gold mining company wants to put in a mine west of the city. Oh great - we get the expanded coal extraction & mining. . . Vancouver gets the Dalai Lama and a green economy. . .

perhaps this focus on the mad rush toward resource extraction & exploitation of the natural world of northern BC explains why our MLAs hold the following portfolios in the BC government - Pat Bell (Prince George) - Minister of Forests
- Shirley Bond (Prince George) - Minister of Transportation & Highways
- Blair Leckstrom (Peace River) - Minister of Energy and Mines

Does anything other than resource extraction & building mega-industrial infrastructure to support same matter up here?
I say it does, but it sure is not easy! Sometimes in fact, living in northern BC, retaining one's heart and soul can be challenging . . . I mentioned last entry the sustenance that is to be found in nature (and thank goodness we still do have miles and miles of it all around to enjoy) but the focus of the politics (and much media) in the place seems to be all about continued large scale industrialization.

Whereas a mine or a sawmill of yesteryear may have been a small community-based business, not so these days with the mega-corporations moving in. I wonder about the price of gold (hovering around $1000 per oz. last time I checked) and what it could mean for northern BC's environment should the major gold companies (Gold Corp for one) decide to cash in on their significant holdings. Already gold mining is starting to kick back into gear in the historic area of Wells/ Barkerville (built on 1800s gold mining legacies), and the mines produce quite an eye sore and strange looking tailings ponds.

I am uncomfortable with mining & the legacy that large scale mining can leave after my work down in Bolivia - while there, I travelled to Llallagua, a former (silver) mining town in the mountains. In fact at the time Canadian mining companies were responsible for much of the large scale mining that was undertaken. When the silver (or profits) were gone, the companies pulled out, leaving massive environmental devastation (huge tailings piles the size of mountains) and social decay behind them. People's houses are literally falling down, and they are desperately trying to scratch out a living for themselves on the tattered dregs they have been left with. I constantly see such risks facing northern BC which is both vulnerable and stunningly beautiful. It is vulnerable because few people live up here.

I want Prince George and area to be developing a green economy too. I want us to be putting in bike trails and modelling this place after the magical & healthy Scandinavian winter cities (Copenhagen, Stockholm) I have been reading about. . .

am I living in a fantasy world? Probably, but nothing a bit of broken glass, cigarette butts and screeching trucks won't fix. I am going for a run amidst the potholes, visions of the Dalai Lama and Eckhart Tolle dancing in my head.

some inspiring events this week in Prince George

2009-09-28T21:33:00.001-07:00

Green Drinks Tuesday Sept. 29th at 421 George St (Raven's Haven), 7-9 pm
("Green Drinks" is a monthly event & provides an opportunity for people concerned about environmental issues to meet & discuss).
This week, Steve Helle from UNBC will be the speaker on Bioenergy. Green tea and cookies available. This event organized by all-round environmental & social advocate Hilary Crowley.

The same evening, at UNBC Canfor Theatre, (Tuesday Sept29, 7-9 pm) the Prince George based Northern Uganda Development Foundation (http://www.nudf.org/) presents a report on the recent trip of 7 people from Prince George to Northern Uganda. Sustainable development is possible in Africa. Come and listen to the results of 2 years of development in Uganda and see how you can and have made a difference. Free public lecture.

4th Annual Aboriginal Writers & Storytellers Festival, runs Sept. 30- Oct1, at UNBC. Details are posted by Rob Budde on http://theculturemill.blogspot.com/.

The 2nd Sisters in Spirit Vigil this coming Sunday October 4 at 1:00 pm at the PG Courthouse Plaza. This vigil (there are vigils being held across the country) is sponsored by Amnesty International, Native Women Association of Canada and KAIROS ..a nondemoninational faith group) will feature aboriginal women speaking about women relatives/friends they have lost....that is the point..to remember missing/murdered aboriginal women from across the country. Aboriginal dancers/drummers will be in attendance. Prince George RCMP Superintendent Brenda Butterworth-Carr (the first female aboriginal person to be promoted to RCMP Superintendent) will speak. Amnesty International Prince George is supporting aboriginal and non-aboriginal women by helping organize this event. Information provided by Prince George Amnesty International organizer George Harding.

walk at harvest time

2009-09-27T19:59:00.000-07:00

we did go for a walk in nature yesterday - a much called for reprieve from life in Prince George. That is the greatest thing about this town . . . in any of the 4 directions out of town, it is possible to be in some very lovely places in natural settings in very short order.

What a cozy walk. The chill of autumn we know so well is certainly in the air and walked with us through the forest near Nechako River just west of town. I wore a knitted purple sweater under my windproof jacket and huddled into its warmth. The trails were lined with bright red rose hips and high bush cranberries. The high bush cranberry bushes turn a crimson red with the first light frost, and the berries become sweeter. Just before Thanksgiving then is when the cranberries in the forest are at their best, and so it makes absolute sense to have cranberry as a side dish at the banquet dinner in thanksgiving for the harvest time of year. Sometimes thoughts of huddling together in warmth with friends, having delicious pies and warm drinks is a cozier thing than the very gathering itself. Out here, walking amidst the cranberry bushes and rose hips, thoughts of banquet dinners with loved ones become delicious and are uncomplicated still. The interpersonal nuances that will inevitably complicate the mashed potatoes and turnips do not walk here through these trees with us.

And speaking of dinners, I did have opportunity to attend a harvest (100 mile) dinner this past weekend. Much shepherd's pie was on hand some with bison meat, other with locally grown beef, but there was a lovely assortment of locally grown vegetables too. It is an exciting time of year, bustling around, bringing things in and squirreling them away into cold storage for the coming winter. Food harvesting brings one in closer touch with the earth and cycles of life and celebrating the harvest together brings us closer to community & each other.

Definitely optimal highbush cranberry picking season right now. I ate many handfuls along the trail. Mushrooms abounded on our walk yesterday. I would not dare pick any - I would leave that to my good friend Sarah deLeeuw who is actually quite the mushroom expert & quirky mushroom harvester (although she moonlights as a university prof and award-winning Canadian writer).

The walk was just what I needed. I always feel so refreshed by a walk through nature. To be in the forest puts everything back into perspective for me, makes everything ok. . . Mother Earth's healing pouch contains some beautifully simple remedies.

So here's to the harvest and the golden harvest time of year.
Please, pass the turnips.

happy rivers day

2009-09-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

Happy (BC) Rivers Day, a provincial day in recognition of our rivers.
There is a Rivers' Day Event being organized here in Prince George.

9th Annual BC Rivers Day Music FestivalSunday, September 27, 2009, 12:00-5:00Kiwanis Bandshell, Fort George Park, Prince George, BC. This year's theme will feature 'Our Local Fish' and we've assembled a line-up of all local talent to help celebrate.

Performers are:
Marcel Gagnon with a traditional Carrier welcoming
Out of Alba: http://www.outofalba.com/
The Pucks: http://www.thepucks.ca/
Rick Stavely: http://rickstavely.com/
Mamaguroove: http://www.myspace.com/mamaguroove

Here in Prince George, we are fortunate to be located at the confluence of Nechako & Fraser Rivers, 2 major rivers for the province. There is a brilliant chilly nip in the air & the leaves are turning golden with the coming autumn. It is a perfect day to join with others in honour of our rivers. These gatherings are important. They become a type of ritual bringing community together around issues that are significant to us.

I have attended the rivers' day festivities the last several years - some years I have known of locals who have organized canoe fleet trips down the Nechako on this day in honour of these rivers, the true lifeblood of this land.

While I want to acknowledge the hard work & dedication of the organizers of this event, I cannot help but wonder at a couple of things. . . .

respect for & protection of the rivers will not proceed so long as major potentially destructive industrial projects such as the Enbridge crude oil pipelines are in the works. It is very easy indeed for politicians on the one hand to pay homage to the rivers and all they provide to us and on the other hand, acquiesce to or develop public policy that would see these waterways be severely compromised. BC Hydro's destructive (supposed 'green') Run of the River IPP projects are another public policy case in point. . . . It can happen that these special days - these events - become mere token gestures, places where we go, hang out for a bit and listen to a couple of songs then tell ourselves we have done something for the rivers merely by attending.

Canfor is one of the sponsors of the rivers' day event -- for the last several years they have had a booth with information about themselves at rivers' day (shall we call this propaganda?)

What I cannot help but wonder about is the effluent that comes out of the local pulp mills. Their effluent ponds are in very close proximity to the Fraser River - what leaches out? Not only that but they are actually allowed to dump effluent into the river, the largest salmon-bearing river of all of BC. A zoom-in search on "google Earth" shows the visual of what is happening with the river in close proximity to the mills (zoom into Fraser River by Prince George). What exactly are those black smudges going into the lighter coloured river right beside the pulp mills? (by the way there are 3 here in town. . . all owned by Canfor). I have never quite understood what exactly Canfor Pulp and Paper has to do with protecting BC rivers?

This question became even more pressing the year PACHA (people's action committee for healthy air) requested to have a booth at the PG rivers' day and was turned down because it is an air group, not a river group. . . did not know the environment was cut up into these little pieces (or shall we say, siloes?)

It was years ago, I do not fully understand the rationale of the organizing people at that time, and I still believe the rivers' day and the corresponding celebration is a very worthy cause indeed,

and I am glad to see the focus on the fish this year.

****

just back from Rivers' Day. . . I lasted about 15 minutes. Not only does Canfor has a booth but Enbridge (pipelines) does too. It felt corporate. I don't know about this rivers' day thing. . . don't they have any screening criteria in determing who the corporate sponsors will be?. . . I don't get it.

No, better to be home this sunny afternoon & dig some of my scrawny potatoes out of the gravel soil. Later maybe we will go for a walk at Wilkins Park beside the Nechako River. . .

Happy rivers' day.

Mr. Blue Man PG

2009-09-24T19:48:00.001-07:00

I today happened by Mr. PG at the corner of Highways 16 & 97 by the Treasure Cove Casino in Prince George. He is our town mascot and has welcomed many a weary traveler en route to Alaska or Prince Rupert on the northwest coast.

Right now, his face is definitely bright blue, looking some big blue balloon or maybe a blueberry-flavoured version of PacMan out of those old computer games (so simplistic compared to what kids have nowadays!) My first questions to myself were -- is his face blue because:
a) he is planning to be an alien for Halloweén?
b) he is suffering from lack of oxygen?

c) in honour of the Blue Man Group who will be coming to the CN Centre in Prince George on October 7? ('c' is indeed the correct answer).

Guess this is a pretty big deal for the likes of PG. . . even bigger I suppose for Mr. PG than when Canada Post (this past year) decided to give him his very own stamp. But I mean, this guy is the consumate lumber jack or at least, lumber jack's dream - used to be made out of wood and still looks like he is (that is when his head's not a big blue balloon). And how's he gonna get his regular Pinocchio-esque face back? Someone need to cut this blue head off with a chainsaw & return the other. Not that there is anywhere near a shortage of chainsaws in PG but really, we would need the world's largest chainsaw (hey not a bad idea. . . it could stand right by Mr. PG, sort of a twin to world's largest tree crusher up in Mackenzie).

but. . . .these 3 dudes with blue faces who Mr. PG is copying. . . who the hell are they!?

Well truthfully, the first I heard of them was in my Common Ground magazine, believe it or not which featured an article about an international peace summit in Vancouver September 27-29, 2009 http://www.dalailamcenter.org/ to be attended by the Dalai Lama and other internationally renowned luminaries, among them Bishop Desmond Tutu, Rigoberta Menchu of Guatemala . . . and there sure enough, amidst the peaceful luminaries, the Blue Man Group there with their blue heads standing boldly and baldly beside the Dalai Lama.

Truthfully, my first impression of them is that they look like 3 blue inkblots. And my 2nd thought: man, if the concept of world peace rests in the hands of 3 blue inkblots, we are truly in trouble. Then I decide to do a bit more internet research about them. Actually truth be told, their website does not inspire all that much more confidence initially, "an organization dedicated to creating excitement-generating experiences for themselves and the audience." Still doesn't make a lot of sense. . . wikopedia describes blue men as individuals who communicate with intense eye contact and simple gestures in a group of 3.

OK, here it is, their saving grace - a youtube video entitled "Earth to America" prompting the US to take action about global warming. . . almost 3 million hits.
OK Mr. PG, I get it. I'm with ya man, I'm with ya (although I am not entirely sure I am gonna spring for a ticket for this concert. . . )

oil pipelines

2009-09-23T20:20:00.001-07:00

Great address by President Obama to the United Nations this morning. I am not going to read the media reports (haven't all day), simply form my own opinion. I like this guy.

In today's Prince George Citizen newspaper a response by Enbridge to my so-called "spewing about spills" article last week about their proposed crude oil twin pipelines through this area of BC. Here's their response:

Enbridge committed to safety

Written by Steven GreenawayVice President, Public & Government AffairsEnbridge Northern Gateway
Tuesday, 22 September 2009

Re: “Spewing about spills,” Sept. 17, 2009

As a company, Enbridge’s very success depends on our ability to operate in an environmentally safe manner. In 2008, we shipped close to 800 million barrels of oil through a network of pipelines stretching over 13,000 kilometres. We spilled 2,668 barrels of those 800 million barrels or 0.003 per cent. The majority of the spills occurred without our own facilities. Of the product spilled, most was recovered and re-injected into the pipeline system. We feel that our commitment to safety is what has allowed us to operate our pipelines responsibly for over 60 years, and it is why we are constantly investing in new leak-prevention technology.We share the concerns expressed over the environmental impact of our project, including shipping safety in the Douglas Channel.This is why we will ensure a comprehensive marine strategy is in place, including having tankers carrying product tethered to powerful escort tugs throughout the Channel, installing radar, and vetting the tankers before they are permitted to enter our terminal. We will build upon the best practices that have allowed over 1,500 deep sea tankers (including some carrying condensate and other petroleum-based products) to safely enter the port of Kitimat over the past 25 years.Your readers should also know that there is an extensive regulatory process in place to review the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project. It will be led by the National Energy Board (NEB) and Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA). This independent, quasi-judicial process will include public hearings at locations along the route with witnesses providing sworn testimony that will be tested by cross-examination.This is a tried and tested process that will result in a concrete decision - either the project will be approved or denied. A public inquiry does not offer the same guarantees.We are also committed to ensuring that people have the opportunity to have their say. That is why we held 18 community open houses in 2008 that were attended by almost 1,000 people. We recently held five Community Advisory Board meetings where nearly 200 people participated in full-day sessions. We believe this level of interest and participation speaks to the importance that residents across the North place on the future of their environment, economy and quality of life.Our goal is to bring employment and economic development opportunities to the communities in which we operate.Northern Gateway will create over 4,000 construction jobs and 200 long-term operational jobs. These are real jobs that will support local families. Northerners have watched as a lot of major projects have been built in the southern part of the province in recent years.But now it could be the North’s turn to host one of Canada’s largest projects on the books today.

To this letter I say: only 200 long term jobs !? And at what long term cost !? The thought of crude oil from the tar sands coming through this area where never before have there been oil tankers on the west coast truthfully makes me want to spew! Aah, but Enbridge is good with the rhetoric, they really are.

One of the rivers that would be crossed by these twin oil pipelines is the Stuart River which is a major tributary of the Nechako River which in turn is a major tributary of the Fraser (the biggest salmon bearing river of all of BC). The Stuart River is only one of many along its proposed route that would go through all sorts of pristine wilderness areas. I know the Stuart because it runs down from Fort St. James, the historic fur trade capital of New Caledonia. As I grew up in nearby Vanderhoof, Stuart River has always been an intrinsic part of the local landscape. Once upon a time it was a thriving trade centre for fur trading. Long before that, the Stuart has always been very important for the First Nations people of the area as they and their culture have always been very dependent on fish, particularly the annual salmon runs coming up from the Fraser watershed.

In this letter and on the Enbridge websites I researched before writing my letter, this company admits to having oil spills as an "inherent risk of doing business." Is this some kind of lunacy we are allowing to happen with some kind of blinders on? Why would this project even be on the table as a possibility?

There is an anti-Enbridge group now starting to take shape in Prince George - that seems to be the way it is around here - get angry about issues, find some like-minded people and start a group. More lobbying power that way. . . also generates much more energy to be connecting and sharing ideas with others.

Have discovered http://www.northerngatewayalliance.ca/ -- it is something paid for and organized by Enbridge to look like some kind of community-based grassroots movement in support of them. The PR machine running around these pipelines is absolutely unbelievable. . . with opening up a trade route for tar sands oil to the waiting huge Chinese markets (and with PetroChina now in a couple of billion in investments in the tar sands), much money is at stake for these big companies.

We are living in very strange times indeed, and many people simply say "who cares" or more often than not, they are simply overwhelmed with the demands of their daily lives and don't have time to research a pipeline to the extent that would enable them to be able to counter the likes of mega-multinational pipeline company Enbridge.

I am having difficulty reconciling Obama talking about the world needing to seriously address climate change with the very incongruent plans over here to punch twin oil pipelines across the northern BC landscape to promote further tar sands expansion & oil trade with economic super power China. I fear Canada is really starting to slide, and it is too bad, because we have so very much to lose if we don't stand up for it, "stand on guard for thee."

a tale of 2 cities - and Guatemala

2009-09-22T21:18:00.000-07:00

Before commenting on life in Prince George, an interesting excerpt from Action News Detroit (ABC) today. . . sound familiar?. . .

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Neighbors in southwest Detroit are calling for an investigation claiming the air they are breathing is toxic.The area smells like heavy industry, but people in the community knew they needed more than a smell to prove the presence of toxic chemicals.So the worried neighbors decided to test their own area quality using buckets and plastic bags as part of the independent yet scientific "Bucket Test."The test showed high levels of chemicals."It's a little scary, how long has it been going on? Are there other chemicals in the air that we don't know about?" asks one concerned neighbor.Some people living in the area believe the emissions from the industrial companies are making them sick.“The toxic air is affecting the health of our community,” said Jayne Mounce, the southwest Detroit resident who collected the first air sample. “On the day I collected the sample, the chemical smell was so strong it gave me a headache. Sadly, no one wants to be held accountable for the poor air quality, but now that we’re testing our own air, we’ll be able to connect the dots and begin to take action and fight back.” They are now armed with a report from the Bucket Test company and plan to ask the Department of Environmental Quality to duplicate the test. Neighbors hope maybe then the DEQ will crack down on the problem.

Back in Prince George, we had a smelly morning this morning and the first bucket of foul air was collected in the Millar Addition & shipped off to California for testing. PACHA will be accepting donations http://www.pachapg.ca/ as the tests are rather costly. For the first time ever since starting PACHA (people's action committee for healthy air) it really feels like we are getting somewhere. All the difference rests in empowering ourselves - not waiting for industry or government to act and to tell us the way it is and what's what.

It is all in the construction of the narrative isn't it? What story will we choose to accept, to believe? And even more than that, what story we choose to create. . . From where do we gather and construct our understanding of reality? What is our frame of reference? Thinking about the construction of narrative is one of the things that led me to thinking about creating this blog. . . last letter to the editor of the Citizen I wrote last week was given the title "spewing about spills" which set a rather negative context for my words about the perils of oil spills should the construction of twin oil pipelines (Enbridge) be authorized to proceed through the Prince George area. . . more on Enbridge later!

At that point, I made a decision to turn away from sharing my thoughts in letters to the editor of the Prince George Citizen, and decided instead to create a blog so here it is (much funner & freer so far!) We need to be able to define for ourselves our own titles to our thoughts. . .

And speaking of different stories, here is something from UNBC geography professor and steadfast advocate for the rights of people in Guatemala, Dr. Catherine Nolin

Emilie Smith
Title: "Gold Lust: Canada and Mining on Sacred Land in Guatemala"
Date/Time: Friday, September 25th, 12:00 – 1:30
Location: UNBC’s Senate Chambers, Rm. 1079 in the Administrative Building at the Prince George campus

Details:
At present, a mostly unacknowledged yet world-wide conceptual struggle for the understanding of what Earth *is*, or what Earth is *for*. This struggle is essentially a theological issue, based on a conflict of deeply differing world-views. Emilie will explore this struggle though the story of one community, San Bartolomeo Sipakapa, in the department of San Marcos, Guatemala, as they faced historical forces of domination and how Canada has taken the role of the most recent dominant oppressive power in the community. How does this geographical site manifest varying constructions of what *Earth* is, and what human relationship to *Earth* should be?

Emilie Smith is an ordained priest in the Anglican Church of Canada (2004) and recently completed Master’s in Theology at the Vancouver School of Theology based on her research and solidarity connections with the sacred theology of land in Guatemala.

Emilie is a founding member of the Guatemalan-Canadian women's group Nuestra Voz based in Vancouver. Emilie's published work includes "The Granddaughters of Ixmucané: Guatemalan Women Speak" (1991) and three children's books. "Viva Zapata" was published this summer by Tradewinds.

Here's to creating a new story for our earth.

memories & shadow dancers

2009-09-21T14:56:00.000-07:00

rainy afternoon in Prince George BC, only 13 degrees, on this the day of falling into autumn. Before I turn to thoughts about alzheimer's disease and the Prince George symphony orchestra, I am in the mood for a poem by Prince George poet Ken Belford so here it is:

physical moments

Whenever an onstage dancer is rehearsing,
a shadow dancer is somewhere behind -
learning the dance, just in case.
It seems there's a turning point
when the director calls the women in.

Shadow dancers get the call after the injury
or if the lead isn't good enough.
Or if she's tired and can't finish the rehearsal
or falls and can't do the number.

She's had enough, the pail's full,
and she's happiest onstage
where she comes to life.
Backstage isn't interesting;
loves that don't mean much
other than the fatuous sense of feeling safe
for a few minutes in another's arms.
Whose arms doesn't matter.

There, she doesn't dance very well at all.
Her body seems heavy, it's too big
and her loves are addicts or drunks
like she is and now that she's old,
she's angry at the world, the way
things just don't seem fair

from ecologue (2005)

Sometimes, a Ken Belford poem is one of very few things that make sense to me in this old world, and this poem - today on this chilly rainy afternoon in Prince George - is one thing that makes sense. Thanks Ken for these words and for the stirring & haunting image of the shadow dancer waiting backstage.

A World Alzheimer Report released today tells us that 35.6 million people already suffer from alzheimer's disease, a condition that has no cure, and by 2050, these numbers are projected to reach 115 million worldwide. It will be an interesting world by then, and I may be one of those numbers, if I am still around. I suspect the numbers are very underreported - I know someone near and dear to me (my mother) who is having major memory problem and whose doctor is taking an extremely hands off approach to care. . . we have not received a diagnosis. In the small towns of northern BC, there is not a lot of emphasis on specialized geriatric health care. We can only surmise what may be happening. In a certain sense, I feel I am watching as my mother becomes a kind of shadow dancer of who I once knew her to be. The Report speaks to the significant depression & burnout that caregivers experience - I have been asked to speak about caregiver burnout (and self-care) at the Prince George Council of Seniors Wednesday, September 30, at noon.

I hear today too that the Prince George Symphony Orchestra faces risk of shutting down due to government funding cutbacks, and they desperately need people to fill the seats at their concerts so they can keep going. We are so fortunate to have an orchestra of this calibre in this town. The season starts this coming Saturday with the Classics September 26, Vanier Hall at 7:30 pm, featuring Beethoven's mighty 5th, Mozart's overture to the magic flute & Saint-Seans cello concerto.

I will be there, with my mother. She loves the orchestra. These days she may not always remember what I told her 5 minutes ago, but she certainly remembers her youth in a European city, attending the orchestras in the grand and elaborate concert halls, and the beautiful emotions that these songs evoked for her. Let's hope for my mother's sake and for all of us, that this city's orchestra will be able to remain onstage where they are happiest and the players' music together comes to life like the dancer in the poem. . . where all of us who listen can be whisked away to those magical places of the imagination where we feel we can dance.

Let the show go on! . . . while memories and reason may fade with time and age, feelings never die.

tis the season of the mousketeers

2009-09-20T14:31:00.000-07:00

question of the day: why does Mr PG now have a blue face, and do we like it ?
(more on this guy later. . . )

tis the season of the mousketeers . . . not the cute little types who hang around Disneyland and the like, but rather the rough-shod lot careening down Highways 16, 97 and the multitudes of logging roads that cut up the landscape for miles & miles around Prince George at average speed of 200 km/ hour in Chevy, Dodge, GMC or Ford F400 trucks or whatever truck they can get their hands on really. These are the hunters of the north, moose and deer racks roped to either side of the truck cab roof like 2 mouse ears silhouetted against the northern horizon. OK seriously, I have nothing against hunters. In fact I have heard it said (and don't disagree) that hunting is a cornerstone of the 100 mile diet (or 200 mile diet as the need may be) of this part of the world & certainly the meat is probably much more "organic" than any of the antibiotic hormone filled stuff at the average supermarket these days.

I think a freezer full of moose steaks is probably a very comforting thing indeed for the protein-diet dependent ones among us. . . and I too have been known to partake in a piece of moose on the odd occasion

BUT what I do have a problem with is hunting that would include taking, taking, taking from the forests in a disrespectful, entitled and wasteful way. What I do have a problem with is the kind of hunting that involves sitting in one of the large aforementioned pick up trucks on the side of a road and guzzling copious amounts of beer and chucking the cans out onto the ground while waiting for a poor old innocent moose or deer to be unlucky (or foolish? or suicidal?) enough to come walking out across the logging road from one side of the bush to the other. Not to go on too much of a rant about this but I have heard mention of dudes driving their 4x4 pick-ups through such gorgeous local rivers as the (still somewhat) salmon-bearing Torpy and taking pot shots at the passing salmon (Dunster documentary Journey Home of the Chinook Salmon by Leon Lorenz contains more information about this issue). Hello!

And I am not even talking about the bear hunt. . . yet.

Back in town, a good line-up of some cultural events this week - think I will start the week with Vancouver poet Marguerite Pigeon's reading from her book of poetry Inventory tomorrow evening at CNC (7pm, Room 1-306) - thanks to Graham & Rob for the info about the event. Her poems are studies of the subjective significance of the objects that surround us. . . "the unique way that objects appear in an individual consciousness. Each object in this Inventory exists on its own and also reflects the author’s experience, from the mundane stapler and tea bag, to the mysterious, extinct dodo bird, to entities that blur the line between person and thing. In this way, the collection highlights the often hidden dimensions of the objects we encounter, including their temporal, political, locational and psychic aspects."

I am definitely in the mood for some reflections on the cultural & philosophical significance of the paperclip. . . OK, a stapler will do.

********

The above post is not about the hunters who are ethical & respectful of the environment & who hunt to feed their families. . . I know there are many in northern BC, and I am not talking about these folks. . . but I believe it is important to speak out about this other more exploitative form of hunting which I have witnessed directly during my years of living in northern BC. . .

Sauerkraut & democracy

2009-09-18T15:56:00.000-07:00

a week that involved Stephen Harper making a big "green" announcement in the form of power to highway 37 so the mega-mines can go in up north. hmmm. . . interesting distortions of language.

Spent some time today pondering whether or not to purchase Alice Wolczuk's Discovering Sauerkraut (she was one of the great farmers around here, even had a column in the Citizen) but there are only so many sauerkraut recipes I can take. Better I think to wait for local farmers & owners of P&R Organic Farm Robert and Prisca to have their sauerkraut-making workshop this fall. Good time of year for local produce. . . Old Town Farm Market has Prince George beets, carrots, turnips & cabbage right now. Also lots of good locally grown food at the PG Farmers Market where local artists (in the arts various forms) Rob Budde, Hardy Friedrich and Denielle Wiebe are gathering community photos for their Democratas show which is not only a powerful piece but also an exercise in democracy. Get your photo taken and hold up your favourite word. Mine was kind of geeky with my outdated bike helmet perched atop my head - love the pic with "mother" word.

Am debating whether I should part with the $32.99 for Margaret Atwood's hardcover Year of the Flood - heard her on the Q today -- she figures books will be around for quite some time yet despite all this electronic stuff. . . I tend to agree with her -- wouldn't be able to take a laptop into the mountains or bush around here. . . and who would want to !? Something to be said for old fashioned books and sauerkraut (just not too much of the latter!)

2009-09-17T21:26:00.000-07:00

just got back from an evening PACHA meeting with this guy Denny who's up in Prince George from California for a couple of days. He is gonna help us do a community-led "bucket brigade" to sort just what the hell is in that weird-smelling air that hits our lungs here sometimes. Denny works with Global Community Monitor out of California http://www.gcmonitor.org/, a human rights & environmental organization that has worked with grassroots organizations all around the world to assist them to clean up their industry-caused toxic environments. Tonight he was showing us how to build the special bucket - he is providing the bags that the smelly air from the worst parts of PG will go into (you know on those mornings that virtually kill you they are so obnoxious with stench) -- these bags we''ll have to ship across the US border so I guess we will have to tell the custom officers "PG smelly air" (geez I hope they don't think we are terrorists or something!). Denny will be interviewed on CBC Daybreak North tomorrow morning & will be present at an ODOUR PUBLIC MEETING, 7 PM, COAST INN OF THE NORTH tomorrow night to talk to the public.

Interesting how there seems to be a trend of citizens having to pursue studies on their own & take action. Where exactly is government in this equation? - their role appears to be morphing into something pretty weird these days. Just this week I heard about fish biologist Alexandra Morton taking legal action on her own about a fish farm on the west coast when Dept Fisheries & Oceans failed to act. I heard about the Dogwood Initiative taking legal action to save an orca whale. Down in the states, an environmental organization is leading a legal action to get an Enbridge pipeline (Alberta clipper line) stopped. . . wow! Things are happening! I am optimistic that at a certain level, grassroots are really starting to unite. . . sure as hell need it!

TckTckTck International Event September 21/09

2009-09-17T16:38:00.001-07:00

check out www.tcktcktck.org to sign on to an incredible global climate wake up call campaign - well over a million people have already signed on from around the world. . .

the event being organized in anticipation of the UN Climate Change Conference December 7-18 2009

featuring the premiere showing of the movie The Age of Stupid www.ageofstupid.net.

Welcome to Pine Needle Knit

2009-09-17T15:21:00.000-07:00

I am starting to think I am one of those annoying spammers who sends emails about absolutely everything that interests me. . .

well starting today, I have decided NO MORE EMAILS.

Instead I am going to use this blog space to share ideas, poems, photos, quotes, whatever strikes my fancy really, about this and that. . .

When I am in Prince George, I will regularly add stuff of interest.
Themes will likely be: environment, social justice, writing, northern BC so here goes. . .

once again, welcome to my rambling thoughts (or maybe I am talking to myself in which case: welcome to myself . . . at least it is an outlet!)