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.
No comments:
Post a Comment