des deux côtés de la rivière.
Il faut risquer de perdre une rive à jamais,
pour un jour toucher l’autre.
~
Gilles Vigneault
«La civilisation industrielle est animée par une
pulsion de mort, une pulsion de destruction du vivant. Pour sauver la
civilisation, il faut sauver la vie
sur la planète.»
~ Derrick Jensen
Jeanne M. Mikita a envoyé à Justin Trudeau une
copie de la lettre qu’elle a reçue du secrétaire de son père lorsqu’il était
premier ministre, en réponse à ses inquiétudes au sujet de la pollution industrielle.
Dear Justin: I Wrote to Your Father
48 Years Ago, Please Read the Response
At age 11, I was inspired to learn
former prime minister Pierre Trudeau called protecting nature ‘an act of
sanity.’
By
Jeanne M. Mikita | 30 Apr 2018 | TheTyee.ca
Jeanne M. Mikita, a life-long
resident of Vancouver, teaches courses on environmental challenges and
solutions in Capilano University’s geography department.
Dear
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,
I
discovered a letter from the Office of the Prime Minister of 1970 in an old
cardboard “memory box” in our basement.
I remember the circumstances of the original
correspondence well. At 11 years old I was just starting to form indignant
opinions about polluters and a passion for environmental causes. [...] As I launched into a tirade against
industrial polluters, my dad squelched my commentary by chiding, “Why don’t you
write to the prime minister?” So I did.
Your father’s secretary, Henry Lawless (a
great name), wrote me back, and included several excerpts from speeches that
Prime Minister Trudeau had given on environmental issues and pollution.
Reading
Pierre Trudeau’s remarks today, I’m struck by his foresight on issues like
protection of fragile Arctic landscapes, and the capability of humans to push
our species and others into extinction. While speaking of the Arctic, he said,
“We do not doubt for a moment that the rest of the world would find us at
fault, and hold us liable, should we fail to ensure adequate protection of that
environment from pollution or artificial deterioration.” His words can apply to
any number of instances today where Canada faces derision for pursuing
destructive pathways for short term economic gain.
Your father also speaks of the danger of
appearing “to live by a double standard. We cannot at the same time that we are
urging other countries to adhere to regimes designed for the orderly conduct of
international activities, pursue policies inconsistent with that order simply
because to do so in a given instance appears to be to our brief advantage.” Did
he foresee the pipeline debate? [...]
[...] I’m fortunate that in my role as a
geography instructor at Capilano University in North Vancouver I can speak
daily about the crises that we need to quickly address, most notably climate
change.
But in addition to education, we need strong
leaders, who (in the words of the PM in 1969) “will not barter a clean and
wholesome environment for industrial or commercial growth and call it
progress.” My 11-year-old self would never have believed that 50 years later
our governments would be continuing to prop up the extraction and export of
fossil fuels, rather than leaping to embrace the green future that awaited us.
I wish you all the best on the road ahead.
It’s a daunting task to inspire people with long-term visions of what is
possible. But please be bold – we need to know that your vision for our country recognizes the
ecological consequences and dubious economic benefits of a bitumen pipeline,
and will ultimately stand for Canada’s commitments to combat climate change.
Justin Trudeau’s Two-Faced Climate
Game
By
Damien Gillis | New York Time | May 2, 2018
Mr. Gillis is a documentary
filmmaker and journalist in British Columbia.
[Excerpts]
Hanging
in the balance now is the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion from Edmonton,
Alberta, to the outskirts of this city. The project, led by a subsidiary of the
Texas-based energy company Kinder Morgan, and with investment from Canadian
banks, would triple the flow of bitumen to the coast to 890,000 barrels a day
and produce a sevenfold bump in tanker traffic. A heavy-oil spill could be
catastrophic for Canada’s largest wild salmon run, many whale species and
British Columbia’s multibillion-dollar tourism industry. The estimated carbon
dioxide emissions associated with the project would equate to adding about 3
million cars a year to the road. Environmental activists have “warriored up.”
While campaigning, Mr. Trudeau made
assurances about fixing the farcical environmental review process for
prospective energy projects that was cultivated by Mr. Harper’s Conservatives.
The Liberal government later announced it would adhere to the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which requires “free, prior
and informed consent” from First Nations where an industrial project threatens
their traditional lands and waters. Canadians had good reason to believe he
would take real steps toward change.
Yet the prime minister was engaging in
doublespeak all along. As early as 2014, Mr. Trudeau stated he was “very
interested” in Kinder Morgan’s pipeline. A year before, he had trumpeted the
Keystone XL pipeline in a speech to executives at the Calgary Petroleum Club.
Mr. Trudeau now has only limited options:
Forge ahead, preparing to use sustained police force against demonstrators and
designating public funds to minimize Kinder Morgan’s risk. Or let the project
expire and make good on the Paris commitments.
It has been long evident he would stay loyal
to a fossil fuel-based economy.
Whether
he likes it or not, Mr. Trudeau is left with but one viable option: discard the
pipeline and focus on greener pastures. To create jobs, he should ramp up the
environmentally sustainable infrastructure program he campaigned on and pivot
to the accelerating renewable energy sector.
Mr. Trudeau speaks persuasively about
Canada’s leadership on climate, but in reality he’s trying for the impossible:
to convince every side that he can please them. A pipeline will either go in
the ground, or it won’t. The prime minister must show he’s worthy of his job
before the 2019 election and act decisively. Rather than choosing between the
provinces, or the oil lobby and eco-conscious voters, he should think hard
about what best embodies his “sunny ways” principles — justice, science and
saving the planet.
Author Shaena Lambert arrested at
Kinder Morgan blockade
By
National Observer in News, Energy | May 5th 2018
CanLit
star Shaena Lambert tied herself to the gates of Kinder Morgan’s Burnaby
pipeline terminal in an act of civil disobedience on Saturday. Lambert was
arrested by the RCMP along with Cat Roivas, a Chippewayan woman who had already
been arrested twice for blocking access to the Texas-based company’s tank farm.
Both women described the pipeline protest as
a pivotal moment aimed at turning the world away from polluting industries. “We
are actually creating the transformation,” said Lambert before being led away
by RCMP officers. “So much of what I love in life and that inspires me as a
writer is this beautiful coast. And I will do anything to protect it.”
Constitutional expert debunks
“National Interest” argument for Kinder Morgan pipeline
Read
this April 13 Desmog Canada article on lawyer Jack Woodward’s view that the
“National Interest” – often cited as a basis for forcing through the Trans
Mountain Pipeline Expansion pipeline – doesn’t trump Aboriginal rights
enshrined in the Canadian Constitution.
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