Premier Clark says B.C.'s coast belongs to Alberta (and all of Canada), not just B.C.
BC Premier Christy Clark said the west coast "doesn't just belong to British Columbia", but some British Columbians disagree.
This article can now be found in Extract: The Pipeline Wars Vol. 1 Enbridge. Extract contains a year of the Vancouver Observer's powerful reporting on the proposed Enbridge pipeline. Get your copy here
Praise for Extract: The Pipeline Wars Vol. 1 Enbridge
"This is one of the greatest stories underway on the planet—the effort to wrest vast quantities of the dirtiest energy on earth from beneath Canada's boreal forests, and the even greater and far more beautiful effort to stop them. The stakes—the health of the planet's climate—simply couldn't be higher.
Read this book. Extract does a great job of giving voice to some of the people on the front lines and giving you the information you need to engage in the debate."
— Bill McKibben, climate activist and 350.org founder
Extract: The Pipeline Wars is a terrifying tour-de-force that opens a grim window on the future: this is not just about British Columbia, but about the world. As the fossil fuel industry taps dirtier and dirtier sources of energy to maintain their supremacy, as more regions of the world are despoiled in the process, the downhill run to ultimate destruction lies plainly before us...unless it can be stopped. Extract: The Pipeline Wars tells us why, and how, this must happen. Excellent, important work.
— William Pitt, Truthout editor and New York Times bestselling author.
We need information and hard facts to make thoughtful, forward-thinking decisions that reverberate long into the future. Here’s a book that cuts through the self-interested rhetoric of climate deniers and the fossil fuel industry.
-- David Suzuki, environmentalist and David Suzuki Foundation founder
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(17) Comments
And god knows there isn't a single thing on the face of this earth that's more important than allowing the flow of trade right? The soul-less economic ideology that these politicians have pledged their allegience to is done. Played out. History. Kaput. How much longer must we suffer these fools?
I happened to have just finished reading "The End of Growth." Seems entirely relevant to this discussion.
http://richardheinberg.com/the-end-of-growth
I don't think it's true to say that anyone really owns the coast. It would be like saying you own your mother. It just doesn't make sense. We all belong to the coast and it nourishes us. And in exchange we have to take care of her in her old age.
It sure as hell doesn't belong to a bunch of Europeans and their offspring who basically made up a country 144 years ago and wrote up a bunch of laws to benefit themselves. A little awareness and science please. Enbridge oil spills every time. EVERY time. Three more words: sovereign indigenous land.
Lets get it straight BC belongs to the world and the rest of Canada to come visit and enjoy its wilderness eat its offerings a gem to be treasured.The people who live on the coast will all tell you Native and Non Native alike its not about Jobs and money sure we need to survive but its a Moral issue any one with common sense will tell you its wrong.Oil is not our treasure our coastline and our wilderness is.This will make us money long after the oil is gone.
... in that we all have a right to fight for the Canada that we want to see from coast-to-coast-to-coast.
That's why many Canadians are - despite the economic boom it has meant for Alberta & the countries coffers - fundamentally opposed to the ecologically reckless non-stop growth in the oil & gas sector in Alberta, BC, & elsewhere in this country.
It's clear that the Premier deeply regrets the direction the Campbell gov't took with regards to climate policy, & is intensely jealous of the masterful way Harper has used climate change as his gov'ts wedge issue. Campbell has made that awfully difficult for her to acheive, but I think with these words we can clearly see the path her strategics have set out: frame the only "responsible" economic choice as "full steam ahead" when it comes to natural resource related development and the critical infrastructure it needs to flourish.
I wonder what's next? A BC-wide garage sale for Asian markets where Clark will be selling wild salmon, raw logs, aboriginal culture and grizzly bears to make a quick buck? Hey...wait a minute...
If, as claimed by Premier Clark, our coast belongs to Alberta, et al, then perhaps the oil sands in northern Alberta belong to British Columbians. If that's the case, perhaps we should decide to close them down.
It reinforces the need for politicians to genuinely be held accountable for their actions. My Premier does not speak for me - in fact she speaks for what I don't believe in.
She listens to her funders, who are the major corporations that are funding such projects as the pipelines. We need a refocus of our (government's) priorities, and it clearly seems like she's going full steam ahead with utter impunity from taxpayers.
Sadly, the way our laws and governance structure is established, as long as her consituents in Vancouver-Point Grey are content with her actions, there is no way we'll see Ms. Nascar thrown out of office before the next election.
This is a clear example of a neglect for the generations of British Columbians and Canadians that have yet to come, and that's my reason for being a firm supporter of Occupy.
The BC coast does not belong to alberta, It does not belong to the corporate sector...Just like you do not belong in the premier's chair...you were Not elected there. It belongs to humans who will respect and take stewardship of this area as well as the rest of the planet.
How is it possible that the premier of BC says that the coast belongs to everyone in Canada, when British columbians are the only ones taking the risk? Why do we not get revenue across Canada from the oil sands? Or cheaper gas at the pump like our Eastern Neighbors? I'd like to know what kind of money is being thrown around for someone in her position to make such comments...
It sure as hell doesn't belong to a bunch of Europeans and their offspring who basically made up a country 144 years ago and wrote up a bunch of laws to benefit themselves. A little awareness and science please. Enbridge oil spills every time. EVERY time. Three more words: sovereign indigenous land.
I'm proud to be a hugger of the BC Coast, one of the most beautiful in the world, still pristine, still offering hope, connection, profound enjoyment of nature and the enjoyment of ALL THE LIVING CREATURES IN NATURE WE SHARE THIS PLANET WITH!..We are going to sacrifice this to unthinking, souless, heartless oil corporatiions in the name of short term jobs and the degredation of our home environment.?????...are Albertans and other Canadians going to get hired... ( Jobs...WOW...! ) to help clean the oil off suffering wildlife that share this gorgeous country with us? The notion that we give such unthinkable rights to people who dont give a damn about the future of our home planet, is beyond comprehension.....Kaaren Soby, lover of trees, oceans, skies, lands and people....our children, grandchildren, indigenous nations ...otters, whales. birdlife, bears, fish,
As far as the Northern Gateway pipeline is concerned I hope the economic argument will prevail in the end. Everyone knows that the project will give our economy the boost it needs right now. And if we don't avail ourselves of the opportunity that is out there other countries will make a profit instead of us. Do you think that similar protests in China would persuade the Chinese government to refuse it? A recent study conducted by the University of Calgary reveals that if pipeline capacity existed to take full advantage of the oilsands, Canada's economy would see a $131 billion boost between 2016 and 2030. This is quite a promising prospect on the way to the economic recovery given the fact that <a href="http://calgaryrealestate.ca/news/2011/12/canada-natural-resources-energy/">the energy sector in Canada</a> has recently been on the rise.
I can't believe that our own Premier would be selling out on her own people, rather than standing up for them. So much for looking out for BC families.
Christy Clark is clearly a racist.
Everyone owns the BC coast except the First Nations that actually own it, have never ceded it, and oppose Northern Gateway and all Tar Sands filth export.
Read what the actual legal title-holders say, at http://savethefraser.ca
"legal authority over these lands and waters have never been relenquished through treaty or war."
Clark has declared war on these people and invited Canada to go to war with them, too. I for one will join in on natives' side.