On Sunday October 10, starting at 2 pm PT, Gatewaysucks and three local Council of Canadians chapters in British Columbia (Delta-Richmond, Vancouver-Burnaby, Surrey-Langley-Whiterock) will continue their opposition to the South Fraser Perimeter Road freeway.
The Vancouver Environmental News Reporter reported last April that, “’Historic homes are being demolished, and ancient indigenous sites are under threat from the South Fraser Perimeter Road project here on the Fraser River bank,’ according to a media statement from the Council of Canadians and the GatewaySucks organizations.” They add that the highway would “greatly increase greenhouse gas emissions in BC.”
The Gatewaysucks.org website highlights that, “If completed, the Gateway Program would worsen our addiction to dirty oil and greatly increase our global warming emissions. The estimated $10 billion dollar proposal includes building the new ‘South Fraser Perimeter Road’ freeway through BC’s best farmland and along the delicate banks of the Fraser River. Transportation is the largest source of climate changing emissions in BC, and accounts for most of the oil burned in Canada.”
OCTOBER 10 ACTION
The Gatewaysucks.org website notes, “Presently, the South Fraser Freeway is only a plan and piles of ‘preload’ sand on the boggy areas along the route. We will use this sand to start raising the flood control dikes around a diverse Surrey neighbourhood to protect it from flooding caused by global warming. …This action will emphasize the need to shift resources away from climate crimes to creating green jobs and climate justice. Every cent is needed for solutions like public transit and electric passenger trains, and to protect vulnerable communities from flooding and other effects of global warming.”
This action will be part of the 10/10 Global Work Party. As noted on the 350.org website, “Working with our friends at the 10:10 campaign, we’re going to make the tenth day of the tenth month of the millennium’s tenth year a real starting point for concrete action. We’re calling it the 10/10 Global Work Party, and in every corner of the world we hope communities will put up solar panels, insulate homes, erect windmills, plant trees, paint bikepaths, launch or harvest local gardens. We’ll make sure the world sees this huge day of effort–and we’ll use it to send a simple message to our leaders: ‘We’re working–what about you?'”
For more on the ‘dig in’, go to http://gatewaysucks.org/dig. For more on the Global Work Party, http://www.350.org/about/blogs/getting-work-2010-our-new-plans. For a past campaign blog on the South Fraser Perimeter Road, please go to http://canadians.org/campaignblog/?p=3433.
