When I was in high school, I spent time working for my uncles at Mahood Logging Ltd. That experience took me deep into TFL 39, Block 1, to a camp known as […]
From whistle punk to witness
Forest gardens deliberately planted by Indigenous people
Andrew Currey wrote in SCIENCE about forest gardens that were not recognized as human-created because they did not fit the modern image of agriculture. The journal described work by Simon Fraser University’s ethnoecologist and archaeologist Chelsea Armstrong. Professor Armstrong, with other scientists from SFU, UBC, Stanford, and the New York Botanical Garden concluded that ancient Indigenous management practices were tied to ecosystem health and resilience.
Hollow words, and deep down we know it
When people gather, it is common to hear acknowledgements that the group is meeting on unceded traditional territories of Indigenous people who have populated western Canada for roughly 14,000 years. The announcements make me uncomfortable. They are hollow words and deep down we know it…
Neoliberalism, racism, assimilation
SFU Assistant Professor Kyle Willmott finds neoliberalism behind calls for assimilation and the rewriting of history to elevate racist abuses to “remarkable works” and “good deeds.” Dr. Willmott identifies the Canadian Taxpayer Federation (CTF) as a contributing organization amplified by unjournalistic media that uses cookie-cutter stories from groups with hidden agendas…
A valley will be destroyed
Valley of the Southern North is a love letter to The Peace Valley and the people and creatures that make it their home. The Site C dam, now under construction, will destroy ancestral territory of the Dane Zaa and Cree, violate treaties and displace residents, farmers and wildlife living along its shores.
Canada’s shame to be addressed?
Unfortunately, politicians and senior bureaucrats have grown used to paying massive sums to compensate for callous acts and derelictions of duty. Moral behaviour and financial prudence would have them doing the right things in the first place…
Self-interest or public interest?
People promoting continuation of “energy self-sufficiency” are really saying that British Columbia should continue giving a unique and costly advantage to one particular industry, a sector that has grown used to taking in close to a billion dollars a year in above-market payments…
We tolerate our own racism too easily
Vancouver witnessed a large but peaceful protest against the Floyd killing. It is easier though to be critical of racist behaviour elsewhere than in our homeland…
Canada's shame
Lost in the fuss as governments of British Columbia and Canada act to expropriate rights and lands of the Wet’suwet’en people is a sad situation that already gave proof to what should be Canada’s greatest shame…
Ruled by climate change deniers
Both the Horgan and Trudeau governments made symbolic commitments to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Neither was sincere. Horgan passed UNDRIP into BC law but now ignores the declaration. Trudeau said they would table a bill on UNDRIP but this week decided to put the promise aside. Indigenous people won’t be surprised by choices of either government. They’ve observed 150 years of oppressive acts and broken promises.
Delusion, deception, inertia
Faced with a choice between respecting Supreme Court confirmed indigenous governance and serving foreign financial interests (Shell, Petronas, and PetroChina), BC NDP joined with the land polluters, not the land protectors.
Forget what they say, watch what they do
Pal explained that I had wasted time reading platforms and promises. He said the only method of judging real intentions is to scrutinize a politician’s finances. Give me a list of contributors and full details of a candidate’s financial records. I’ll know exactly what to expect without reading platforms or listening to promises. Tell me who a politician is beholden to and I can figure out what they are going to do.
A Theatre Near You
We felt outrage over this and other indignities experienced by persons of colour in the USA. For some reason though, we paid no attention to segregation in our own community. Perhaps less conspicuous, but it was real…
Treaty 8
Report of Commissioners for Treaty No. 8 WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, 22nd September, 1899. The Honourable CLIFFORD SIFTON, Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, Ottawa. SIR, — We have the honour to transmit herewith the treaty […]
Questions
Does Justin Trudeau identify with the thousands of people who demonstrated in opposition to Kinder Morgan’s pipeline expansion or the handful of people who showed up to an industry sponsored counter protest?
Be opinionated, first be informed
We examine a reader’s comment and find the assertions made fail badly when tested for accuracy.
A promise made…
In the May 2017 election, only two of the main parties committed to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. BC Liberals were uncomfortable with clauses related to informed consent that would interfere with business of their corporate donors. John Horgan’s NDP Government and Andrew Weaver’s Green Party committed to a different approach. This was affirmed in today’s Throne Speech and we are left to hope the promises are not hollow, as were similar ones by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Linda Larson, Have You No Sense of Decency?
Liberal MLA Linda Larson’s comments were absolutely inappropriate, ill-informed and, quite frankly, incredibly ignorant. Just as the world still remembers other human-rights atrocities, like the Holocaust, to honour victims and learn from the past, the lasting effects of residential schools on First Nations people must also not be forgotten.
Canada’s indigenous suicide crisis
Inuit who lay claim to a third of Canada’s vast landmass, face shortened life expectancies, a high infant mortality rate, high rates of tuberculosis, widespread food insecurity, dangerously inadequate housing, and shockingly deficient local health care. But it was when Obed turned to the topic of suicide that the 750 people in the audience felt the full wintry force of his Arctic reproach…
Why the rush to spend billions?
BC Hydro’s own sales records demonstrate Site C is not needed. Domestic consumption of electricity has been flat for more than a decade and technological efficiencies indicate we will need less power, […]
in-sights.ca 
Trump declares USA is “stupid”. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/supreme-court-trump-birthright-citizenship-case-b2949973.html https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/trump-supreme-court-birthright-citizenship-debate-stupid-b2950293.html?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=related&utm_campaign=embed1 President Donald Trump has branded the U.S. “stupid” after attending Supreme Court arguments over his administration's efforts…