Canadian Think Tank: Aboriginal Uprising a Real Threat

by Rabb!t / Earth First! Newswire

canadian-uprising.org

The Macdonald-Laurier Institute, a public policy think tank based in Ottawa, released two reports Wednesday, both of which concluded that aboriginal groups in Canada have a tremendous amount of influence over the future direction of the country. One of the reports, written by Douglas Bland, concluded that the combination of poor social conditions in Canada’s aboriginal populations and the country’s incredibly weak industrial infrastructure point toward a successful “violent” uprising being “feasible” in the near future.

Bland concludes that attacks on Canada’s industrial infrastructure would have significant impact. The report states that Canada’s railways, electricity lines and transportation routes are poorly defended and vulnerable to sabotage, as is the country’s economy itself. John Ivison of the National Post reports that “[i]n the event of an insurgency, the Canadian economy could be shut down in weeks. The 2012 CP Rail strike cost an estimated $540-million a week, as it hit industries including coal, grain, potash, nickel, lumber and autos. Some First Nations leaders like Terry Nelson in Manitoba have already concluded that a covert operation involving burning cars on every railway line would be impossible to stop.” This is compounded by the fact that Canada’s security forces are very limited and that the government has shown a reluctance to confront aboriginal protesters.

Canada’s Aboveground Environmental Activists Seen as ‘Threat to National Security’

by Stephen Leahy, Cross posted from The Guardian

Monitoring of environmental activists in Canada by the country’s police and security agencies has become the “new normal”, according to a researcher who has analysed security documents released under freedom of information laws.

Security and police agencies have been increasingly conflating terrorism and extremism with peaceful citizens exercising their democratic rights to organise petitions, protest and question government policies, said Jeffrey Monaghan of the Surveillance Studies Centre at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

The RCMP, Canada’s national police force, and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) view activist activities such as blocking access to roads or buildings as “forms of attack” and depict those involved as national security threats, according to the documents.

Protests and opposition to Canada’s resource-based economy, especially oil and gas production, are now viewed as threats to national security, Monaghan said. In 2011 a Montreal, Quebec man who wrote letters opposing shale gas fracking was charged under Canada’s Anti-Terrorism Act. Documents released in January show the RCMP has been monitoring Quebec residents who oppose fracking.

CP oil spill in northern Ontario larger than first reported

Cross Posted from The Globe and Mail

A northern Ontario spill of oil from a derailed train is 100 times larger than Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. initially reported.

The company said Wednesday that only four barrels spilled. On Thursday, it said some oil had flowed beneath the snow and gone undetected. CP now estimates 400 barrels spilled, or 63,500 litres – a slightly greater amount than the company’s spill last week in Minnesota.

Idle No More International Day of Action – January 28, 2013

Thousands have attended round dances and rallies, like this one in Vancouver, B.C., in the month since Idle No More hit the political scene. (Photo by David P. Ball)

Indigenous Resurgence Explodes with Idle No More Day of Action

Idle No More grassroots founders and organizers from across Canada, in solidarity with common causes – a new initiative bringing together social justice, environmental, labour and other Activist Groups…

- UNITED we are planning IDLE NO MORE WORLD DAY OF ACTION on January 28th, 2013 #J28.

This day of action will peacefully protest attacks on Democracy, Indigenous Sovereignty, Human Rights and Environmental Protections when Canadian MPs return to the House of Commons on January 28th. As a grassroots movement, clearly no political organization speaks for Idle No More. This movement is of the people… For The People! #IDLENOMOREFTP

The Vision of IDLE NO MORE revolves around Indigenous Ways of Knowing rooted in Indigenous Sovereignty to protect water, air, land and all creation for future generations.

The Conservative government bills beginning with Bill C-45 threaten Treaties and this Indigenous Vision of Sovereignty.

The Goal of the movement is education and the revitalization of Indigenous peoples through Awareness and Empowerment.  IDLE NO MORE has successfully encouraged knowledge sharing of Indigenous Sovereignty and Environmental Protections. 

This message has been heard around the world and the world is watching how Canada responds to the message sent by many INM Supporters.

INM urges the government of Canada to repeal all legislation; which violates Treaties, Indigenous Sovereignty and subsequently Environmental Protections of land and water.

INM is grateful to many leaders who have supported this vision and the movement of the grassroots people.

“The Treaties are the last line of defense to protect water and lands from destruction,” stated Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper Turtle Clan, Onondaga Nation Council of Chiefs.

Please watch and share this video of the Idle No More action in Toronto, and organize events in solidarity with Idle No More within your local collectives:

G20 rioter sentenced to prison… Send her a letter!

Kelly Rose Pflug-Back

Kelly Pflug-Back, Food Not Bombs activist, author, poet and new member of the Fifth Estate editorial collective, has been sentenced to 11 months in jail for her role during the G20 summit’s protests in 2010. You can write her a letter at:

Kelly Pflug-Back 

Vanier Centre for Women

655 Martin Street

Milton, Ontario L9T-5E6

Canada

————————-

Kelly was convicted of wearing a disguise, intimidation, obstructing police and seven counts of mischief exceeding $5,000. She was also accused of  “instructing” black bloc rioters to torch three police cruisers and break the glass of five downtown stores.

Well.. That doesn’t look much like Kelly, but it might be one of the cops cars that “The Crown” is all worked up about

Actions were reported to have caused $160,000 to property and the loss of business that resulted from the damages.

Justice John McMahon said that Pflug-Back showed zero remorse for her victim [sic]. As a result,  The Crown had asked for a sentence of 18 months. “It is important to send a message with a stiff sentence,” according to Crown Elizabeth Nadeau. [source]

In a recent interview with Kelly, “Behind the Black Mask and Shattered Glass” she had this to say about the G20:

“These meetings exclude anyone from the exploited nations which the G20 derive much of their wealth and resources from. They also exclude any input from Indigenous groups that many G20 countries, like Canada, have robbed of their traditional lands in order to establish their nationhood…

Environmental Scientists Protest Firings, Spending Cuts in Canada

by Blake Deppe, for  The Indypendent

In June 2012, Canada’s government made excessive cuts in its environmental departments, resulting in the firing of many top scientists. On July 9, those scientists – and their supporters – had decided they’d had enough; they led a march through central Ottawa to Parliament Hill, in protesting what they said was a vicious attack on science and the environment.

The demonstration was led by a woman pointedly dressed as a Grim Reaper, leading the rest of the workers along with a coffin meant to represent “the death of evidence.” That symbolism served as commentary on conservative Prime Minister Harper’s apparent disinterest in funding or supporting all things scientific, which many feel is motivated by his administration’s bedfellowship with Big Oil

B.C. Economist Blocks Coal Trains In White Rock

Demonstrators gathered on the tracks where coal trains pass on a regular basis. About a dozen protesters, including one of Canada’s leading energy-environment economists, were arrested Saturday after setting up a blockade on train tracks in White Rock, B.C., aimed at stopping U.S. coal trains from reaching local ports.

About a dozen protesters, including one of Canada’s leading energy-environment economists, were arrested Saturday after setting up a blockade on train tracks in White Rock, B.C., aimed at stopping U.S. coal trains from reaching local ports.

Mark Jaccard, a professor of sustainable energy at Simon Fraser University and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, was arrested along with several others late Saturday evening following a day-long protest in the 15000 block of Marine Drive.

“Thirteen protesters were arrested without incident and were respectful of the police and the process that was … a result of their actions,” said RCMP Sgt. Peter Thiessen.

The protesters, 12 men and one woman, were each served with a $115-ticket for trespassing under the Railway Safety Act. All were subsequently released from police custody.

In a written statement released before the protest, Jaccard said he was prepared to be arrested.

“Putting myself in a situation where I may be accused of civil disobedience is not something I have ever done before,” he said.

“But the current willingness of especially our federal government to brazenly take actions that ensure we cannot meet scientifically and economically sound greenhouse gas reduction targets for Canada and the planet leaves me with no alternative.”

To read full article go to source as cross-posted from here

See related article here

Hundreds protest oil tankers at march and rally in Vancouver

Vancouver protester Hunter Johnson covered herself with molasses to highlight concern about oil spills.

Hundreds of people marched through downtown Vancouver streets today (March 26) in a boisterous display of opposition to oil tanker traffic along British Columbia’s coast.

Organized by first nation and environmental groups, the demonstration came just days after the 23rd anniversary of the infamous Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska.

A noon rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery drew an estimated 1,000 protesters who chanted and held signs that read: “No tankers on our coast” and “Oil and water don’t mix”.

Speakers criticized Kinder Morgan’s planned expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline to Burnaby and the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline to Kitimat.

For full article see source as cross-posted from here

Greenwashed Certifications of Longlines Kill Sea Turtles, Sharks

cross posted from global animal.

The Marine Stewardship Council allowed two eco-certifications for the use of longlines for swordfish fishing that will effect sea turtles and sharks drastically. For every swordfish caught, two sharks are killed.  Every year 1,200 endangered sea turtles are hooked by longlines, resulting in drowning. If swordfish are caught by longlines, consumers need to know what they’re buying and that the fishing method used resulted in preventable deaths. Read on for why many are arguing why longline-caught swordfish should be labeled in the market.

Two back-to-back eco-certifications of Atlantic longline fisheries for swordfish that capture and kill thousands of sharks and endangered sea turtles by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is a death knell for the credibility for the industry-funded sustainable seafood eco-labeling scheme

NEW VIDEO… Earth First! Dances on Governor’s Table in Tar Sands Protest

HELENA, Montana—Check out this new short film from the Earth First! occupation of the Montana capitol against the Tar Sands and other industrial energy infrastructure in the Northern Rockies, following the 2011 Round River Rendezvous.

Five people locked down, 20 danced on the governor’s table, 70 people occupied the office, business as usual was disrupted! If you can, please consider donating a bit of money to the arrestee’s legal fund HERE

Note from the filmmaker: “Please pass this along to your friends, groups you work with, and listserves you’re a part of. Let’s build the movement and help put some money in the legal fund for people who put their bodies and freedom on the line!”