As noted in a call-out by local Council of Canadians chapters in the Greater Vancouver Regional District, GatewaySucks.org, the Critical Criminology Working Group, and others, “As chainsaws roar and bulldozers get set to roll on the controversial $2 billion South Fraser Perimeter Road freeway (SFPR), join local residents and community groups to stand up for climate justice! Last October, hundreds of people dug up the freeway construction site in Surrey with shovels and wheelbarrows, and in December we used sand from the SFPR to build a dike blocking the provincial cabinet offices. Now it’s time to step up the campaign of mass direct action against climate crime. We need to turn up the heat, in order to turn down the heat.”
“Now under legal challenge in federal court, the estimated $2 billion proposed SFPR freeway would greatly increase greenhouse gas emissions, pave invaluable farmland, scar the banks of the Fraser River, pollute elementary school playgrounds, and damage indigenous heritage sites. This freeway is an irresponsible waste of public money, and many similar projects have been stopped before. The SFPR has already been ‘downgraded’ due to lack of funds, and dubbed a ‘white elephant’ in the mainstream press. We will emphasize the need to shift resources from climate crimes like freeways to public transit, and to protect communities from flooding and other effects of global warming.”
There will be a, “Mass Direct Action against Climate Crime, beginning at 2 pm on Friday April 22 (Mother Earth Day). Actions may continue over multiple days on this long weekend and beyond. Like our previous actions, it will be non-disruptive to area residents, even as we disrupt continuation of the South Fraser Perimeter Road freeway. There will be a variety of ways people can get involved and demonstrate their support, including roles with little or no legal risk. All are welcome to participate.”
Teach-ins to support this mass direct action will take place in Delta (Saturday March 19, 1-4 pm, Ladner United Church, 4960 48 Ave), Vancouver (Saturday March 26, 1-4 pm, Grandview Calvary Baptist Church, 1803 E. 1st Ave), and Surrey (Saturday April 9, 1-4 pm, Kwantlen University, Room D-128, Fir Building, 12666 72 Ave).
For more information, www.StopThePave.org.
