About 120 people attended a Salt Spring rally in support of the Wet’suwet’en people’s protest against the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline being constructed through their unceded territory.
People gathered on the grounds of the Salt Spring RCMP station on Tuesday afternoon, with several people speaking, and drumming and chanting also part of the event.
Check back for a full story on this website, or see the Feb. 19th issue of the Driftwood newspaper. (The rally occurred after the Driftwood had gone to press on the morning of Feb. 11.)
The pipeline issues have been going on for three years. The democracy has made a decision. Proceed! You may not like it but to resist makes resistance undemocratic!
You may want to dig deeper into the meaning of democracy. The Hereditary Chiefs, who own this parcel of land, have voted not to have a pipeline through their territory. If this was a true democracy, the government would recognize their rights (as recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1997 and in the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which was affirmed by the B.C. government just months ago. Article 10 of the declaration clearly states that “Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories. No relocation shall take place without the free, prior and informed consent of the Indigenous peoples concerned…”) and find an alternative route instead of engaging in unlawful and undemocratic action.
If you want to gain more knowledge on this issue, please visit unistoten.camp and yintahaccess.com. As well, if you would like a real in-depth look at what is happening to democracy in North America (Canada is following much of the same footsteps here), please watch Noam Chomsky’s documentary “Requiem for the American Dream” (free on Youtube).
I hope this helps to open the dialogue in a more meaningful way.