Picture this: Douglas Channel, just outside Kitimat, B.C. A cruise ship chartered by a conglomerate of 15 oil companies tours the area with 250 mayors, councillors and media on board - "surely they'll see that the proposed oil tanker route is the way to go." But in the opening of the channel, a blockade of 42 vessels awaits - the Greenpeace-organized flotilla of fishermen, union workers, whites and Aboriginals has a very different idea as to what should be happening here.
You'd be forgiven for thinking this is a battle taking place today. It happened in 1977, but the situation may soon repeat itself. That's the gist of what I learned this month, when my friend Jade and I took Moving Planets on the road. Our first stop was Prince George. Then, we turned west, and before we got to Kitimat, we stopped along the way to learn about the Northern Gateway pipeline's potential impacts, visited the communities on the proposed route and gathered their feedback.
Until we met with members of the Sea-to-Sands Alliance in Prince George, I thought the smug look on my face was second to none - driving past gas stations in a waste-veggie-oil-powered car felt like the newly discovered teenage pride of walking past your favourite childhood toy store; there's nothing in there for you anymore. But the sexy swagger in the Alliance folks' gait stems from the rapid expansion of their membership base - since they started fighting the pipeline just three years ago, they have grown to be 1,200 strong. No small feat in a town like PG, where pulp mill boom town attitudes can become barriers to action. In PG, you don't complain about the quality or the odour of the air; "shut up, it's the smell of money," they'll yell. But the Sea-to-Sands people want to have their say, and they're adamant that the pipeline project will never see the light of day; "there's too much resistance, the native communities will take it to court, and the legal process will be long."
Further west in Fort St. James, the Nak'azdli Band, led by Chief Fred Sam, are clear that Enbridge is not welcome in their land. The white community is backing them up - the FSJ Sustainability Group and District officials consider the benefits of the pipeline to be minimal. They wish to diversify their economy; concentrating on resource extraction hinders the community's efforts to showcase itself as a tourism destination. I applaud the Fort's eagerness to think outside the box - a diverse economic base equals a diversified marketplace, just what Prime Minister Harper is after.
More and more municipalities, including Smithers, Terrace, Prince Rupert, even Whistler, are publicly stating their thumbs-down position, proving that you don't have to be a radical to be in opposition. Northwest Institute's Pat Moss is certain the bulldozer approach won't work; "Enbridge doesn't have a sense of the determination they'll face." In Kitimaat, the Haisla Band couldn't agree more with that; "if they try to push it, they have a fight in their hands!" Here too, the Aboriginal population finds support among the white population - the Douglas Channel Watch group is busy organizing events, road shows, workshops... There's one thing we have to thank Harper for; the sense of togetherness and solidarity that's spreading in the north (I hope it entangles us all!)
Back in 1977, the blockade of the oil barons' chartered cruise ship was a success; the "Ambush at Douglas Channel" saved the day. Canadian Fisheries Minister Jack Davis had been actively promoting the treacherous route: "If I was an oil company, I'd prefer Kitimat. The damages in Puget Sound have dollar signs on them; in Kitimat..., there's practically nobody there." Well, that was obviously an oversight on his part; today, Harper may be inches away from falling in the same self-set trap.
In Davis' days, the government deemed importing Alaskan oil essential for Canadians. Now, we're told it's just as essential to export all our oil to Asia. Perhaps it's time to reconsider who tells who about our Canadian interests. But for that, we'll need to take our responsibilities back and put some good thought into our vote. "The punishment of wise men who refuse to take part in the affairs of government is to live under the government of unwise men." I didn't come up with that myself; it's a very old warning from Plato, the Greek philosopher.
