Noise Demo in Vancouver last night. Photo by Zack Embree.
The Canadian Press reports, “The nationwide Idle No More movement merged with ongoing protests against oil pipeline projects proposed for British Columbia, to bring more than a thousand protesters out (on Monday night) to greet the federal review panel conducting hearings in Vancouver. …First Nations from as far as the Haisla Nation on the North Coast, near the would-be tanker port of Kitimat, B.C., and from the Interior took part in a march to the downtown hotel where the hearings are being held.”
The event was organized by Rising Tide – Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories, and endorsed by goups including The Council of Canadians, Idlenomore Founders (Jess Gordon, Sylvia McAdam Saysewahum, Nina Wilson, and Sheelah McLean), Canadian Autoworkers Union British Columbia (CAW), Fractured Land (Documentary & Transmedia Project), Mining Justice Alliance, No One Is Illegal – Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories, PIPE UP Network, Stop the Pave, Unist’ot’en Camp, and numerous other groups.
Council of Canadians staff Harjap Grewal and Maryam Adrangi as well as numerous chapter activists were present at last night’s protest.
The news article continues, “At Victory Square, protesters gathered before marching to the site of the hearings in the city’s downtown and sending a message to the panel now touring B.C. …Protesters were met by Vancouver police, who kept them from entering the building. They remained outside the Sheraton Wall Centre for a short time, drumming and chanting ‘No Pipelines’ before moving on. …Access to the hearings remained closed off after the protesters dispersed. …Presenters met in one venue, while members of the public listened to submissions in another.”
“(At the hearing), Eric Doherty, a former Canadian Coast Guard marine engineer turned environmental planner (and Council of Canadians activist), chided the panel for failing to consider emissions from the Alberta oil sands in its assessment. ‘It’s no longer controversial that global warming is killing people,’ he said. ‘It’s no longer controversial that global warming is THE threat to our society.'”
“Protesters also took aim at a proposed expansion of the existing TransMountain pipeline operated by Kinder Morgan. The pipeline moves oil from the oil sands to port in Vancouver, and a proposed $4.3-billion expansion would more than double the capacity of the 1,100-kilometre line.”
The Canadian Press articles are at http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/thousands-of-protesters-greet-northern-gateway-hearings-in-vancouver-1.1114746 and http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/01/14/bc-protesters-vancouver-northern-gateway.html.
Council of Canadians energy campaigner Maryam Adrangi’s blog in advance of the protest can be read at http://canadians.org/blog/?p=18743.
