Bill adopting UN declaration stalled and in danger of dying Almost a year after the House of Commons passed a law committing Canada to accept the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the legislation is stalled in the Senate. And there is a growing risk that the legislation will die there. Once the […]
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Site C Is Shortchanging BC Workers and Apprentices, Say Unions
Megaproject a missed opportunity to address skills shortage, critics argue. The largest public works project in B.C.’s history — the Site C dam — is providing a much smaller share of the jobs to British Columbians than previous BC Hydro projects. And despite promises the $10.7-billion megaproject would provide a training ground for a new […]
Jody Wilson-Raybould: ‘She Has Always Just Gone for It’
She’s a fearless ‘uniter’ say watchers of her rise and the Liberals’ crisis. By Zoë Ducklow and Katie Hyslop She was called a rookie MP when she was appointed justice minister and attorney general of Canada in 2015. Yes, it was her first time as a Member of Parliament, but Jody Wilson-Raybould was no rookie […]
Judy Wilson’s Message for Canadians: ‘The Land Defenders Are Doing This for Everybody’
RCMP raids in Wet’suwet’en territory can’t bring justice, reconciliation or a better future, Neskonlith chief says. Chief Judy Wilson of the Neskonlith First Nation, east of Kamloops, is secretary treasurer of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, a community leader, strong opponent of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and an advocate for clean energy. The Tyee […]
Nine Things You Need to Know about the Unist’ot’en Blockade
The RCMP moved Monday to break up a First Nations protest. Here’s how we got to this point. Where is the Unist’ot’en blockade and what’s it about? The gated checkpoint is on a forest service road about 120 kilometres southwest of Smithers in Unist’ot’en territory at the Morice River Bridge. Two natural gas pipelines are […]
Site C Injunction Request Has Strong Argument but Poor Odds
Construction needs to stop so that rights ‘aren’t gone before the First Nations can have their day in court,’ lawyer says. The federal government made a splash in the Site C news cycle earlier this month when Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould announced it would not oppose an injunction application from two First Nations groups. It […]
There’s still time to stop Site C
An excerpt from a new book on the dam project that’s divided B.C. Damming the Peace: The Hidden Costs of the Site C Dam Wendy Holm James Lorimer & Company (2018) Site C is a behemoth of a project. Its every twitch initiates a chain reaction in no less than five spheres. I recently contributed, […]
Pain, Anger, Sorrow after Boushie Verdict
The Colten Boushie case should be a wake-up call for Canadians, says Jerilynn Webster, an activist from Nuxalk and Onondaga nations who did much of the planning for Vancouver rallies Saturday and Tuesday. Hundreds of people came to Saturday’s rally to show their dissatisfaction with an all-white jury’s decision to find farmer Gerald Stanley not guilty […]
Site C: What Happens Next?
From expropriation to First Nations lawsuit to political shifts, dam decision brings change. Premier John Horgan has announced his government will continue building the Site C dam, increasing the project budget to $10.7 billion from $8.8 billion. Work should never have started under the previous government, Horgan said, but stopping now would would mean writing […]
Surprised to be Heard: Presenters at Site C Inquiry Find Their Voice
‘I’ve been to many of these things and this was refreshingly good.’ On a Saturday afternoon in late September, the 12th-floor room in a downtown Vancouver office tower was buzzing. People looked around for familiar faces, quietly talking. The list of speakers read like signatures on a petition. Folks seemed nervous; they were full of […]