B.C. human rights commissioner asks Canadian government to halt pipeline project
British Columbiaâs human rights commissioner is calling on Canada to stop building a contentious natural gas pipeline until the affected Indigenous groups consent to the construction. Kasari Govender said in a series of tweets she believes Canada is shirking its obligations as a signatory to the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. âCanada cannot simultaneously vie for a seat at the security council while ignoring their obligations to other parts of the UN,â she wrote. âItâs critical to the future of human rights that Canada and B.C. cement the credibility of our institutions by meeting our obligations.â
This Is Where Canada Dumps Tons Of Its Toxic Waste, Tailings Ponds—And Racism
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The memorandum marks an apparent shift in provincial policy. It is the first instance in which the province has signalled its willingness to proactively recognize Aboriginal title and negotiate shared jurisdiction over the land. It reflects the government’s commitment to engage Indigenous governance traditions not simply as a historic residue to be removed but as part of the future of resource management in the province.
Now, a year after the protests began, it’s not yet clear how shared jurisdiction between the provincial government and hereditary chiefs would work. How can legal paradigms that treat natural resources as commodities be married to Wet’suwet’en responsibilities to the spirit of the land? If history is any indication, the province still has much to learn.
This live event features the salmon defender in conversation with coastal Indigenous leaders about our wild fish.
As the legislature reconvenes Monday, MLAs should pause and listen to the stories that these Indigenous lands are trying to tell us about our past.
And they should see Black History Month, which ends Sunday, as a time to reflect, reconsider and write new stories that align more closely with the moment we are living in. A moment of anti-racism. A moment of decolonization. A moment of accountability, when governments, institutions and people might draw together around a vision of the past and present what offers hope for a better future.
by the big story
Posted Feb 18, 2021 5:24 am ADT
In today’s Big Story podcast, in February 2020, RCMP officers raided Wet’suwet’en camps along the route of the $6.6 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline in northern B.C that plans to transport natural gas through Indigenous territory. Police arrested dozens of Indigenous people, including seven matriarchs gathered to pray for missing and murdered Indigenous women, who refused to cede their land for development. The events led to protests of solidarity across the country but little has changed in the time since. So how do the people of Wet’suwet’en carry on? And what happens next in the clash between the oil and gas industry and Indigenous communities?
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