WHITE TRUCKERS TREATED DIFFERENTLY FROM LAND DEFENDERS
Saskatchewan and Alberta First Nations speak out against the "freedom" convoys and the police inaction

Tuesday

(ANNews) – First Nation leaders in Saskatchewan are adding their voices to the growing list of Indigenous Nations who are condemning the nation-wide protests, known as the ‘Freedom Convoy,’ and the Indigenous cultural appropriation within it.

The statement by the Federation of Sovereign Nations (FSIN) was made after videos of protesters playing Indigenous instruments began circulating on social media.

“The FSIN Executive strongly opposes the actions and tactics of the ‘Freedom Convoy’ protestors, some of whom have been openly sharing ignorant acts of cultural appropriation of First Nations culture and spirituality, publicly and online,” read the statement.

“The FSIN condemns such open acts of racism and ignorance, which are being committed across our traditional Treaty territories.”

The FSIN also retweeted a post from political advisor and treaty right advocate, Andre Bear, that depicted what appears to be two caucasian people at the helm of a pipe ceremony.

FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said of the protest, “Our First Nations communities have been some of the hardest hit since the beginning of the pandemic. We have been working tirelessly to distribute PPE and supplies to our First Nations because we are highly vulnerable to COVID-19.

“Our families and communities have suffered insurmountable losses because of this horrible virus and our First Nations Chiefs have implemented some of the strictest protocols in the country to keep their membership safe.”

Cameron continued, “This convoy is an insult to our Chiefs, our communities, and to the hundreds of loved ones we’ve lost through this pandemic. Not only are these protestors risking lives and spreading false information, but they’re also disrespecting our traditional drums, pipes, and medicines.

“It’s a disgrace to see our culturally sacred items being used improperly, without proper protocol, in support of anti-vaccine protests.”

The FSIN are adding their voices to others who are speaking out against the convoy including the Athabasca Chipewyan, the UBCIC, and the Algonquin Nation. The Mikisew Cree First Nation in Fort Chipewyan have also released a statement denouncing the protest and the government’s reaction.

The statement pointed towards an Indigenous protest in 2020 and 2021, in which the Alberta government was swift to target largely Indigenous protesters for showing solidarity with land defenders in BC and Ontario.

When a rail line was blocked in Edmonton, the province was quick to pass Bill 1, the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act, and police immediately moved to enforce it, arresting Indigenous individuals who were peacefully protesting. Calls for the rule of law were loud from the Alberta government.

“Yet, the rule of law doesn’t appear to apply to the occupiers,” said the statement. “There is little to no enforcement while critical infrastructure is blocked, hate speech, intimidation and defacing property is allowed to continue.”

Mikisew Nation Chief Peter Powder stated: “We are troubled by what is happening in southern Alberta and across the country. The occupations show the racism in the way that government and law enforcement deal with Indigenous and non-Indigenous people protesting.

“Our people are overrepresented across the criminal justice system, from victims of crime to over-incarceration. The law applies unequally to our people, who receive criminal records for minor offences, while we watch occupiers violate the law without any consequence.”

On February 8, 2022, at the time of writing, the convoy / occupation in Ottawa was on its 12th day and with no end in sight.

Jacob Cardinal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News

Comparing Coutts border protest to Indigenous land defenders inaccurate, 

says Alberta premier

Paula Tran - Yesterday 
Global News

Premier Jason Kenney said comparing police responses at Coutts, Alta., to police responses to Indigenous land defenders is "inaccurate," calling the situation at Coutts very fluid and complex.

In an interview on the Shaye Ganam show on Wednesday morning, Kenney said operational issues have prevented Alberta RCMP from enforcing the law at the border crossing, citing difficulties obtaining towing equipment as an example.

When asked how he feels about the allegations that the law doesn't apply equally to different groups, Kenney said he "doesn't like it one bit" and referenced the province's Critical Infrastructure Defense Act (CIDA). The bill allows law enforcement to fine and arrest individuals blocking critical infrastructure such as highways and railroads.

"It is never lawful to block a railway, and I've seen with much frustration those kinds of blockades go on, sometimes for weeks. I think that is wrong," he said.

The comment comes after questions arose about the fact that the bill has not been used as the Coutts border protest enters its 12th day, frustrating truckers and residents on both sides of the border.

Read more:
Trucks lining up again at Coutts border crossing, protesters plan to stay for the long haul

The CIDA was passed in May 2020 in response to protests and railway blockades that were organized in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs opposed to the construction of the Coastal Gas Link natural gas pipeline.

According to the legislation, each day a site is blocked or damaged is considered a new offence.

Last week, the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation chief and council said if the Coutts protest was organized by Indigenous people, authorities would have responded quickly to remove it.

"It is important to recognize the disparity between how Indigenous and non-Indigenous protests are approached by our government. It is shocking to see this blatant disparity as we watch the complete government inaction to address the blockade at Coutts," the First Nation said in a statement.

“If peaceful protests of critical infrastructure at Coutts is allowed, then we expect the same to be true in the future should Indigenous people engage in similar forms of protest."

Read more:
Alberta First Nation calls attention to ‘blatant disparity’ in response to Coutts protests

Jennifer Koshan, a professor at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law, told Global News last Thursday that the criticisms are valid.

“It certainly seems like the actions of the truckers and the other people engaged in the blockade in Coutts fall within the scope of the CIDA, so it is a fair question to ask why the act is not being used in these circumstances," she said.

But Kenney maintains the protests at Coutts are illegal and dangerous.

"We've made it clear to the RCMP and our provincial police force that the government and the public expect the laws to be maintained, but they are responsible for enforcement decisions," he said.

Northwest B.C. pipeline opposition group submits report on militarization of Indigenous land to UN panel

Gidimt’en Checkpoint, the group opposing the construction of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline (CGL) on Wet’suwet’en territory in northwest B.C., have submitted a report of their ongoing issues to an expert panel of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

The submission titled “Militarization of Wet’sewet’en Lands and Canada’s Ongoing Violations,” is part of an input for a study undertaken by the UNHRC’s Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which consists of a panel of seven independent members appointed by the Human Rights Council.

Each year these experts hold a five-day session where global case studies are presented to better understand treaties, agreements, and the relationship between Indigenous peoples and states, including peace accords and reconciliation initiatives, and their constitutional recognition.

This year the Expert Mechanism session is scheduled to take place in July to discuss submissions from all over the world. Following this, the expert panel will prepare a report on the militarization of Indigenous lands to be presented to the Human Rights Council at its September session this year.

The submission was put together by key leaders of the Wet’suwet’en opposition group including hereditary chief Woos (Frank Alec), and Gidimt’en Checkpoint spokesperson Sleydo’ (Molly Wickham), along with legal, academic and human rights experts from Canadian organizations and institutions.

The submission summarizes the ongoing dispute between CGL and the Wet’suwet’en group opposing the construction of a 670 kilometre pipeline in northwestern B.C., recently leading to nearly 30 people being arrested by the RCMP in November 2021.

Through a timeline of activities that dates back to 2o19, the submission highlights how “forced industrialization and police militarization” contradicts Canada’s obligations towards UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

“The governments of B.C. and Canada continue to violate Wet’suwet’en jurisdiction and the UNDRIP. Reconciliation will not come at the barrel of a gun,” the report reads.

The submission states that Canada and B.C. must withdraw the RCMP and associated policing and security services from Wet’suwet’en territory and immediately halt construction and suspend all permits for the construction of the pipeline.

Through the submission, the Gidimt’en Checkpoint group has also urged relevant UN bodies to conduct a field visit to their territory.

Binny Paul, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Terrace Standard

How police have become more tolerant of civil disobedience in Canada — for good or bad

Tom Blackwell - Yesterday 

NATIONAL POST

© Provided by National PostDemonstrators march down Jasper Avenue towards the Alberta Legislature, as they rally against the use of legal injunctions, police forces, and criminalizing state tactics against the Wet’suwet’en Nation in their fight against the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline, in Edmonton Monday Nov. 22, 2021.


When police heard unverified reports of gunfire inside an Ontario provincial park occupied by Indigenous protesters in 1995, their response was unequivocal.

A phalanx of rifle-toting officers advanced on demonstrators gathered just outside the lakeside Ipperwash Provincial Park and touched off a violent clash. By the time it was over, an unarmed protester lay dead, shot by an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) sergeant.

It was a political and law-enforcement scandal that reverberated for years at the Ontario legislature. And it may have marked a turning point in how police countrywide respond to civil disobedience.

Not only has the OPP itself officially adopted a more cautious handling of Indigenous “critical incidents” but police elsewhere have tended — with notable exceptions — to let protests that block roads, rail lines and construction sites play themselves out peacefully.

Officers in Ottawa seem to be following a similar non-confrontational approach to the trucker-led demonstration in their city, even as local residents seethe about the tractor trailers blocking major roads, the incessant horn honking and harassment.

It all raises the question: in the push to avoid policing wrongs of the past have protesters in Canada been given too much leeway to disrupt people and economies — or should civil disobedience be tolerated as an important part of the democratic system?

For Ken Coates, a University of Saskatchewan public-policy professor and Indigenous affairs expert, the trend is troubling.

“Over the last 15, 20 years we have been loosening those standards quite a bit,” said Coates, also a senior fellow at the Macdonald Laurier Institute. “The rule of law is the rule of law. It’s the main reason Canada has enjoyed peace for so long…. This is not good news for the country as a whole.”

But others say Canadians should accept that peaceful dissent can involve inconvenience or economic loss.

“In a democracy, we have to tolerate some level of disruption,” said Cara Zwibel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. “The idea is to draw more attention and to make it increasingly difficult and uncomfortable for people to ignore what’s going on.”

For politicians, the answer often seems to depend on whether their own ideology matches that of the demonstrators.

When hereditary chiefs of B.C.’s Wetʼsuwetʼen people blocked construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline in 2020, then-Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer blasted the government for “the weakest response to a national crisis in Canadian history.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said resolution should come through dialogue.

With the trucker protest, the tables have turned. Trudeau refused to engage with the demonstrators, calling them a “fringe minority” with “inappropriate” views. Scheer, meanwhile, posed proudly for a photograph with the truckers after they installed themselves in the capital.

“You can’t have it both ways,” says Coates. “Governments and parties don’t get to pick and choose.”

In the policing world, the tide may have started turning five years before that confrontation at Ipperwash, on Lake Huron. The 1990 Oka crisis just west of Montreal prompted Ottawa to deploy 4,000 troops against Mohawk protesters and led to multiple physical clashes. The police and government response was widely criticized.


© Postmedia, file

The OPP block roads near Ipperwash Provincial Park during the clash in 1995.

But while Oka led to greater awareness of First Nations issues generally, Ipperwash and the inquiry that came 10 years after the fact focused significantly on policing.

A key result was the OPP’s Indigenous critical-incident framework , a playbook for such disturbances that emphasized negotiation and understanding of native culture and history.

That approach, for better or worse, seemed to be put into action during the 2006 occupation by members of the Six Nations reserve of a new housing development near Caledonia, Ont ., on land granted to the community by the British crown in the 18 th century. Local residents complained that the OPP did little as the protesters harassed and threatened them.


© National Post, file

Violence breaks out between white residents of Caledonia, Indigenous protestors and the OPP officers at the Caledonia barricade in 2006.

Since then, Indigenous and environmentalist blockades of logging and pipeline construction sites in B.C., Ontario and elsewhere have been allowed to stretch on for days or weeks, while the Occupy movement filled a Toronto park with tents for more than a month before police evictions.

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police in 2019 released its own framework for handling demonstrations, the goal being partly to respect “unique cultural elements” and minimize the need to use force.

“You can trace the trajectory,” says Jeffrey Monaghan, a Carleton University criminology professor. “There’s definitely been a textbook that’s been developed in terms of policing operations that is conscious of the imagery — high-handed, tear-gas, riot-squad kind of imagery — and the damage that does to police legitimacy.”

But Monaghan still worries that continued police use of surveillance and intelligence-gathering against protest organizers puts a chill on activists from marginalized groups.


A protester shouts as he is arrested on charges of trespassing at the Occupy Toronto encampment at St. James Park in November 2011.

And there have been more-recent examples of controversial police handling of protest.

Toronto officers were lambasted for their response to demonstrations around the 2010 G20 meeting. The RCMP raid that ended a blockade of the Coastal GasLink pipeline was criticized for being unnecessarily heavy-handed.

But if some kind of civil disobedience should be allowed, at what point is the line crossed and more assertive police action justified?

Coates argues that acts like the Caledonia occupation and the blocking of CN Rail lines by First Nations supporting the Coastal GasLink pipeline protests unfairly hurt innocent people and tend to undermine support for their causes.


© Postmedia, file

Extinction Rebellion and Idle No More members gathered in Calgary in February 2020, blocking off the Reconciliation Bridge and Memorial Drive in support of B.C.’s Wet’suwet’en Nation’s pipeline protest.

On the other hand, he said, a “brilliant” example of a protest movement that largely eschewed such tactics was the Idle No More demonstrations of 2012. They engendered broad sympathy for First Nations and triggered real government action, said Coates.

But others argue that disruptive, non-violent protests by Indigenous people, at least, can often be justified by the fact they’re trying to resolve injustices that have long been ignored by government.

The Ipperwash protest revolved around the federal government’s wartime seizure of land from the Stony Point First Nation for an army base and Ottawa’s refusal to return it later as promised. Oka concerned a golf-course expansion on property that the Kanesatake reserve says was also wrongly taken from it.

Almost half of Canadians sympathetic to ‘concerns and frustrations’ of Ottawa trucker protest

Do the Ottawa protesters fall into the same category?

They argue their rights have been trampled on, too, by mandates that force them to get vaccinated or wear masks in order to keep their jobs or access certain public places.

Critics respond that untenable demands plus methods that have put a city “under siege” and evidence some of the organizers have white nationalist leanings set them apart.

But even if the truckers and their supporters have crossed the line, a hard-hitting show of force by police to dislodge them is also not on, policing observers say.

“Any kind of police brutality at this point will just make people who don’t agree with the protesters agree with them,” said Kelshall. “They have to get the timing right, they have to get the level of aggression right.”

André Pratte: Convoy protesters call for freedom, but there's no freedom without the rule of law

André Pratte - Yesterday 
National Post


The demonstrators blockading downtown Ottawa and the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor claim they are doing so in the name of freedom. They constantly refer to the Canadian Constitution’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Their logic and their understanding of Canadian law are deeply flawed, for there can be no freedom in a country where the rule of law is not paramount. If society tolerates a group of citizens who ignore laws promulgated for the greater good, we are on the road to anarchy or dictatorship; both are destructive of individual liberties.


© Provided by National PostA trucker carries a gas canister as truckers and supporters continue to protest vaccine mandates and other COVID measures in Ottawa on Feb. 9, 2022.

What the Freedom Convoy activists are currently doing in Ottawa is clearly illegal. One cannot close the centre of a city for two weeks with 400 trucks, at catastrophic costs to the City of Ottawa and its businesses and citizens, under the guise of “freedom.” Laws are not the opposite of freedom, they are its prerequisite.

“The end of law is not to abolish or restrain freedom, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings who are capable of laws, where there is no law, there is no freedom,” the great English philosopher John Locke wrote.

The preamble to the Constitution opens with: “Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law … .” The protesters cannot pick and choose only the parts of the Constitution that suit them.

What does the “rule of law” mean? The American Bar Association summarizes it well: the rule of law signifies that “no one is above the law, everyone is treated equally under the law, everyone is held accountable to the same laws, there are clear and fair processes for enforcing laws, there is an independent judiciary, and human rights are guaranteed for all.”

What happens when individual liberties collide with the rule of law, as is the case on Ottawa’s Wellington Street? The freedom of peaceful assembly is guaranteed by clause 2 c) of the Canadian Charter. Let us bear for now the doubtful proposition that this blockade constitutes “peaceful” assembly; it is clear from Canadian jurisprudence that the right of peaceful assembly is constrained by the rule of law.

For instance, Justice Douglas K. Gray, of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, wrote in 2009: “Whatever else might be encompassed within the freedoms of assembly and expression, they do not include the right to physically impede or blockade lawful activities.”

John Robson: In Ottawa, there's more than enough madness to go around
Carson Jerema: This isn't sedition just because Mark Carney thinks so — but the convoy still needs to be cleared

This argument may not impress the demonstrators, as some do not trust our court system. But you cannot invoke the Charter while ignoring what its principal interpreters have arbitrated; this would be the equivalent of taking the law in your own hands, which is the recipe for chaos.

There are those who say that civil disobedience is sometimes justified. In his decision in Hamilton (City) v. Loucks (2003), Justice Joseph R. Henderson of the Ontario Superior Court addressed this issue squarely: “I accept that historically many good causes have been promoted through the use of civil disobedience, but those who have engaged in such conduct have always been subject to the sanctions of the courts as a consequence. Individuals in our society cannot be allowed to engage in unsanctioned unlawful conduct. If that were allowed there would be little need for any of the laws of this country. All of the citizens of our country must be compelled to obey the law.”

By now it should be clear that by any standard, whatever the motivations and arguments of the occupiers, their open defiance of the law (including municipal bylaws) is unacceptable.

In the short video tweeted last Saturday to announce that he would seek the leadership of the Conservative party, MP Pierre Poilievre promised to make “Canadians the freest people on earth.” Considering that Poilievre has expressed his strong support for the Ottawa demonstrators, does this mean that as prime minister, he would side with those screaming “freedom,” as opposed to ensuring that the existing laws are complied with?

In view of his stand in favour of this illegal occupation, it is not without astonishment that we find in Hansard statements made by Poilievre regarding the blockade of railways held in protest of the Coastal GasLink project two years ago:

“The reality is that this illegal blockade of our economy represents a war on working people. When will the government stand up and fight back?” (Feb. 25, 2020). Doesn’t Poilievre care about the working people of Ottawa, too? And the thousands of working people, including truckers, impacted by the Windsor roadblock?

“How are we ever going to restore lawfulness and development in the country if the government makes concessions to reward those who have broken the law?” (Feb. 21, 2020). How indeed?

If Canada is to remain a liberal democracy, politicians of all stripes ought to stand up for the rule of law, not only when it suits them but at all times; not because the rule of law constrains individual freedoms, but because it allows them.

National Post

Auto plants start halting production following border protests

© Carlos Osorio

NBC News
Paul A. Eisenstein - Yesterday 

The anti-vaccination trucker protest that has paralyzed the Canadian capital, Ottawa, has spread to Michigan’s border and threatens to create chaos in an auto industry already struggling to cope with what industry experts have described as a “fragile supply chain.”

Demonstrators have been setting up blockades at the two bridges linking Ontario and Michigan since Monday. The Blue Water and Ambassador bridges together serve thousands of trucks every day, many of them carrying automotive parts and finished vehicles.

Traffic over the Ambassador Bridge has come to a virtual halt. Only a small number of trucks moved from Canada to Michigan on Wednesday. The situation at the Blue Water Bridge connecting Sarnia, Ontario, to Port Huron, Michigan, isn’t much better, with reported delays of at least 4½ hours.

Canadian trucker protests shuts down major trading bridge to U.S.

On Wednesday, the Chrysler Pacifica minivan plant became the first direct casualty. Officials with the leading global automaker Stellantis temporarily halted production at the factory because it doesn’t have enough parts. Ford on Wednesday became the second manufacturer to take steps to deal with parts shortages.

“While we continue to ship our current engine inventory to support our U.S. plants, we are running our plants at a reduced schedule today in Oakville [Ontario] and our Windsor engine plant is down,” Ford said in a statement.

General Motors, Detroit's largest automaker, confirmed late on Wednesday that it had temporarily cut the second shift at a plant in Lansing, Michigan producing SUVS for the Buick, Chevrolet and GMC brands.

It could be a matter of hours before other automakers, domestic and foreign, have to take steps at assembly and parts plants within hours of the two bridge crossings.

“Blockades at Canada’s borders are threatening fragile supply chains already under pressure due to pandemic related shortages and backlogs,” Brian Kingston, the CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, said in a statement.

“We are calling on cooperation from all levels of government to resolve this situation and bring an immediate end to these blockades.”

Truckers have been tying up traffic in Ottawa since last month, protesting mask and vaccination mandates. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decried the demonstrations this week, insisting the protesters are “trying to blockade our economy, our democracy and our fellow citizens’ daily lives.”

“It has to stop,” Trudeau said. But, if anything, the protest has spread, and on Monday, a vanguard group began blockading access to the Ambassador Bridge, which links Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit.

Within hours, authorities on both sides of the border declared the route closed. That quickly created a logistics nightmare. The span, which opened in November 1929, today serves about 2.5 million trucks annually, according to the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority. It handles about $100 billion in cross-border shipments of automotive parts and fully assembled vehicles. The Ambassador Bridge alone accounts for an estimated 20 percent of all U.S.-Canadian trade.

Officials on the Windsor side of the bridge have been struggling to open up access to the Ambassador Bridge and had only partly succeeded as of Wednesday morning, with a small flow of traffic trickling over to Michigan from the Canadian side.

Authorities began redirecting traffic to two other routes linking Michigan and Ontario. Passenger traffic between Windsor and Ontario has been heavier than normal but is moving through the Detroit-Windsor tunnel. But the route under the Detroit River can’t handle large trucks. They’ve had to head north to the Blue Water Bridge.

Protesters began moving to tie up that route on the Canadian side Tuesday. Combined with the added traffic load diverted from the Ambassador Bridge, reports from border officials indicate that it is taking at least four hours for trucks to cross the twin spans linking Sarnia, Ontario, and Port Huron, Michigan. That’s on top of the added travel time to and from the Blue Water Bridge.

Pandemic Problems

The industry has been struggling since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and the three-month shutdown of production that was ordered in the spring of 2020. Since then, manufacturers have faced not only manpower issues, but also an ongoing shortage of semiconductor chips. Ford this week was forced to suspend or cut back production at eight North American assembly plants because of a lack of chips. A number of those plants are within an hour of the Ambassador Bridge and also depend on some Canadian-made parts.

“Basically if there’s a shutdown of transportation routes, the auto industry comes to a screeching halt in about two days,” Robert Wildeboer, the executive chairman of the parts supplier Martinrea International, told BNN Bloomberg Television on Tuesday.

Consumers would quickly feel the impact. They’ve already found it difficult to buy the vehicles they want, said Tyson Jominy, a senior analyst with J.D. Power. The research firm estimated that there were barely 1 million vehicles on U.S. dealer lots in January. Normally, there are more than 3 million this time of year.

The shortages have been a factor in a sharp run-up in the cost of a new car, which, on average, reached $45,000 to $47,000 in December, according to J.D. Power, the auto sales and analysis site Edmunds and other tracking services.

‘Snowball effect’: Canada’s trucker convoy sparks anti-mandate protests globally

Saba Aziz - Yesterday

The so-called “Freedom Convoy” protest movement against COVID-19 vaccine mandates that has paralyzed the Canadian capital and spilled over to key Canada-U.S. border crossings has gained global momentum, with similar demonstrations popping up in other parts of the world.

Misinformation fuels copycats as Ottawa convoy gains international support

Since Jan. 28, a convoy of vehicles, mostly trucks, has been parked around Parliament Hill, disrupting traffic in Ottawa’s downtown core.

Read more:
‘Incredibly scary’: How Canada’s trucker convoy protest is galvanizing the American right

Many in the hundreds of vehicles have vowed to stay until all COVID-19 restrictions, including mask and vaccination mandates, are lifted.

As the Canadian truckers — many with families and children — continue to clog Ottawa’s streets, anti-vaccine mandate protests in several other countries have also picked up steam.

Kerry Bowman, a professor of bioethics and global health at the University of Toronto, said the Canadian trucker protest resonates with people around the world.

“There's a lot of pent-up frustration and it's resonating not just around the country, but it's resonating globally,” he told Global News.

However, he is concerned about how the movement is portraying Canada on the global stage and the impact this could potentially have on the COVID-19 pandemic response.

“What I worry about is will it erode the … the acceptance of public health intervention in the future if in fact the pandemic continues or …. if we have another pandemic someday within our lifetime,” Bowman said.

Inspired by the Canadian truckers, French protesters set out from southern France on Wednesday in what they call a "freedom convoy" that will converge on Paris and Brussels — headquarters of the European Union — to demand an end to COVID-19 restrictions.

About 200 protesters assembled in a parking lot in Nice, on France's Mediterranean coast, with many displaying Canadian flags in a nod to the truckers in Canada.

Read more:
Convoy protesters could be ‘arrested’ for blocking streets, Ottawa police warn

The protesters in Nice said they are demanding, among other things, the scrapping of rules barring people from public venues if they do not have a COVID-19 vaccination.

Not all of the people setting out from Nice planned to travel all the way to Paris or Brussels. The convoy was made up of motorcycles and private cars, but no trucks.

In the city of Perpignan, near France's border with Spain, around 200 people gathered to set off towards Paris as part of the "freedom convoy" movement.

Their convoy was made up of cars, some camper vans, and one heavy-goods vehicle.

In the Australian capital, the “Convoy to Canberra” rally against mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations has attracted protesters from across the country. Over the past week, hundreds of cars and trucks have blocked roads and targeted businesses in the city.

Meanwhile, in Wellington, New Zealand, more than 1,000 people driving cars and trucks from around the country converged on Parliament Tuesday to protest against COVID-19 mandates.

Among the protesters’ grievances is the requirement in New Zealand that certain workers get vaccinated against COVID-19, including teachers, doctors, nurses, police and military personnel.

By Thursday, the number of protesters had dwindled to a couple of hundred.

New Zealand police said in a statement they have arrested more than 50 people who face charges including trespassing and obstruction, and will be bailed to appear in court.

Read more:
Texas attorney general to probe GoFundMe for removing Canada’s trucker convoy fundraiser

Across the border in the United States, an American version of Canada’s trucker convoy is planning a similar demonstration against COVID-19 mandates.

Organizers of the “The People’s Convoy” plan to kickstart their protest from Coachella Valley in Indio, Cali., on Mar. 4 and head towards Washington, D.C.

“Our brothers and sisters of the highway succeeded in opening Canadian’s eyes about the unconstitutional mandates and hardships forced onto their people and now it’s time for the citizens of the United States of America to unite and demand restoration of our constitutional right,” a statement posted on the group's Facebook page said on Wednesday

Foreign influence concerns rise as Ottawa convoy galvanizes U.S. far-right

Caroline Orr Bueno, a disinformation researcher at the University of Maryland, said subtle forms of influence online that can have a "snowball effect" should not be overlooked.

“I think we will continue to see attempts to plant that seed in people's minds to see if they can mobilize somebody to do something,” she told Global News.

“Once one person gets that ball rolling, then those same people who goaded them will be right there to help them along the way and make that snowball grow a lot faster.”

— with files from Jackson Proskow, Reuters, the Associated Press

 

'We're not going anywhere': Alberta border protesters won't move to new site

Yesterday 

COUTTS, Alta. — Alberta RCMP officers were met with anger and chants of "Hell no, we won't go" Wednesday as they attempted to persuade protesters camped at a United States border crossing to move to another location.

"We're not going anywhere. There's going to be more coming," said Keith Alexander, who was among dozens of truck drivers and their supporters on the highway north of the Coutts crossing and near the town of Milk River.

"I'm here for my kids and I guarantee 90 per cent of the people that are here are here for the same reason. The cops are telling us we've got to move to a more convenient location over there.

"No, no, no, no."

Demonstrators set up a blockade at the crossing late last month in solidarity with similar ones in Ottawa and other cities to protest a federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers and other public health measures.

They had agreed to keep one lane of Highway 4 open in each direction, but there have been closures a number of times. On Tuesday night, several tractors again shut down the highway.

RCMP Supt. Roberta McKale said a field had been secured for protesters on the south edge of Milk River.

"End of story — they've got to go. This site is unsafe. We can't have this continue on. And people have to make decisions that are good for themselves and good for society," McKale said.

"There are consequences for that. If it's a ticket, it's a ticket," she said. "People are coming here knowing this is illegal. That is a decision that they're making."

McKale said vehicles are lining the highway and people are camping in ditches. Firepits that have been set up pose a risk and people are wandering onto the highway at night not wearing reflective equipment.

Some were also playing ball hockey on the road, she added.

McKale said officers were trying to persuade protesters to move and tickets were a good possibility. An RCMP spokesman said later Wednesday that officers had started issuing tickets.

"Eventually people are going to have to make some decisions about where they want to protest. We are providing them a legal site down the road."

Ed Miedema drove nine hours from Barrhead, Alta., to join the blockade. He said he expected a tense situation but found a laid back, small-town atmosphere.

"We came to support the people that are here and to show our frustration with the state of our nation," he said.

"You cannot restrict my right to drive down the highway to see my fellow Albertans and my fellow Canadians."

Brad Rabusic, from nearby Taber, Alta., said he was thrilled to join the protest and wasn't going to leave.

"They're just trying to move you further and further away from the border. I never thought I'd be doing this … camping out on a highway, but here I am."

The Alberta government announced Tuesday that it was scrapping its COVID-19 vaccine passport requirement starting Wednesday. Other public health measures, including a mask mandate, are to be lifted March 1.

For many of the protesters, it wasn't enough.

"We're here for the big picture. It started with the border thing. It started with (Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau, and until Trudeau moves, we don't move," said John Vanreeuwyk, a feedlot operator from Coaldale, Alta.

Vanreeuwyk said he's grateful for the steps that Premier Jason Kenney has taken, but is angry that people still have to wear a mask.

"Overall it's disappointing," he said.

"We've got guys here — they've lost everything due to these mandates. They're not giving up and they're willing to stand their ground and keep going until this is done.

"The harder the politicians push, the larger this is going to get."

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino acknowledged Wednesday the situation at the Coutts border crossing had again deteriorated, and he called for the disruption to end.

"This blockade of Alberta's most important link to the U.S. has already cost the province's economy hundreds of millions of dollars. The North American agricultural sector is highly integrated with everything from feed to meat to live animals crossing the border in both directions and most of it is at Coutts," he said during a news conference.

"The Coutts-Sweetgrass crossing is the only one between Winnipeg and Vancouver with the capacity to handle many of these goods, which support thousands of jobs across Western Canada."

Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair added that the law must be upheld.

"Truckers who have kept our shelves stocked with the pandemic are currently being blocked or slowed down while carrying essential goods into our country and from our factories to their markets. These truckers, who have been heroes throughout the pandemic, are by being unlawfully stopped and impeded from doing their jobs," he said.

"As a result of their actions, their unlawful actions, to block our highways leading into our ports of entry with the United States, they're essentially putting their foot on the throat of all Canadians. They're cutting off essential supply lines and goods and services."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 9, 2022.

— With files from Jim Bronskill in Ottawa.

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press

Calgary street church minister incited protesters to continue border blockade, prosecutor tells court

After inciting protesters not to abandon an international border blockade even if it meant arrest, street church minister Artur Pawlowski hopped into his luxury vehicle and drove home to Calgary, a prosecutor charged Wednesday.

Kevin Martin - Yesterday 

Calgary Herald

© Provided by Calgary Herald

Calgary's Artur Pawlowski joins the rally as authorities dealt with a new roadblock on Highway 4 and 501 outside of Milk River heading towards the Coutts border crossing. Protesters were letting trucks through on one lane on Thursday, February 3, 2022.

Crown lawyer Steven Johnston said Pawlowski should be kept behind bars on three charges, including committing mischief by inciting others to prevent the lawful use of the border crossing.

Johnston told Lethbridge provincial court Judge Erin Olsen that Pawlowski, 48, went to the protest at Coutts, on the U.S.-Alberta border, last Thursday and spoke to a group of protesters.

The prosecutor said Pawlowski’s speech, which was video recorded and posted online, was made after organizers had agreed to shut down the blockade and move their protest to Edmonton for the weekend.

But Johnston, who appeared in court via video from the border crossing, said the Calgary minister implored the truckers and others blocking the border crossing to stay.

“Pawlowski told the crowd that millions of people had to die to end the world wars … to get freedom,” Johnston said.

“Pawlowski said that there were not enough RCMP officers to deal with them and there was not enough army to deal with them.”

The prosecutor said the reference to police and the army indicated “he’s not talking about any kind of peaceful protest at that time.

“He’s clearly, in the context of his speech, referencing to the notion that there would be some sort of violence.”

Johnston said despite negotiations to leave “the mood of the people changed and they decided to stay at the blockade.”

During his speech Pawlowski referred to the blockade as “our Alamo,” a comment Johnston called an overt threat to commit violence.

“On the video … he makes reference to the fact that for freedom to be preserved, in Mr. Pawlowski’s view, people must be willing to sacrifice their lives.”

But the minister didn’t stay to maintain the protest.

“Following the speech, from my understanding of the situation, Mr. Pawlowski got into his BMW and drove to Calgary leaving the protesters behind,” Johnston said.

But defence counsel Chad Haggerty, who argued Pawlowski doesn’t pose a danger to the public and should be released, said his client was simply exercising his Charter rights to free expression and association when he spoke to the protesters.

And Haggerty said his client was just as likely to be charged with inciting them if he suggested they abandon the blockade and head to Edmonton to protest.

Haggerty said Pawlowski had no more sway over the blockade than anyone else.

“That protest is still going on. It began before Mr. Pawlowski went to Coutts. It continued on after he left,” the lawyer said.

Olsen will decide next week whether Pawlowski will be freed pending trial.

KMartin@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @KMartinCourts

An unvaccinated truck driver died from Covid-19. His mom has a message for protesting Canadian truckers

By Christina Zdanowicz, CNN

Marg Makins' family has been in the trucking business for generations. As she watches the crowds of truckers protest vaccine mandates across Canada, she wants to tell them about her son who died from Covid-19.

David Mitchell, 70, was a veteran trucker before he died on October 15, Makins said. She says her son was not vaccinated.

"It's a horrible thing to watch somebody die of this disease," Makins, who lives in a small Ontario town, told CNN on Tuesday. "I'm hoping (these truckers) can hear what I have to say and how bad Covid can be and maybe save somebody in their family or even themselves."


© Marg MakinsThe Mitchell family is pictured here together about 15 years ago, David (right) sits with his sister Jane, mother Marg and brother Bruce.

Thousands of Canadian truckers are in their second week of protests against a mandate requiring drivers entering Canada to be fully vaccinated or face testing and quarantine requirements. The group also opposes other restrictions, like mask mandates and Covid-19 lockdowns.


© Courtesy Marg MakinsDavid Mitchell battled Covid-19 for weeks. After he was put on a ventilator, he never responded to his family again.

The protests stemmed from the "Freedom Convoy" of truckers, which traversed the country before arriving in Ottawa, crippling the capital city.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said these protesters represent a "small, fringe minority." Nearly 90% of Canada's truckers are fully vaccinated and eligible to cross the border, according to the government.
'Now all of my children are gone'

Mitchell was sick in bed for days before he was first taken to the hospital, Makins said. He was released after some testing.

"He looked very ill to me," Makins said. "He was in bed in a great deal of pain and couldn't even reach for his cell phone."

His condition didn't improve even a week later. On September 18, he was having difficulty breathing and moaning in pain, Makins said. He was readmitted to the hospital and immediately put on a ventilator, she said.

Mitchell was given paralytics, which are used to prevent patients from moving while on a ventilator. He could not even move his eyes or hands, Makin recalled, in tears.

"I spent many, many days and nights with his children at the hospital," Makins said. "I stayed overnight as well and never, ever was able to get any response from him."

When the family decided to take him off the ventilator, Mitchell died within minutes, with his mother and loved ones holding his hand.

Makins lost her last surviving child that day.

Mitchell was Makins' oldest child; she lost her son Bruce in 2020 and her daughter Jane in 2010, both to cancer.

"Now my children are all gone," she said. "It's sort of the wrong way around. It's not the way it's supposed to be."

Mitchell leaves behind two sons, a daughter and five grandchildren.
'My son was not an anti-vaxxer'

Mitchell never got vaccinated, but it wasn't because he was against the vaccine, according to his mother.

"My son was not an anti-vaxxer, he just claimed he didn't have the time -- and if he was here, he would be sorry, wouldn't he," Makins said. "He knew that he should get it, but he just didn't get around to doing it."

Mitchell worked a lot, driving across Canada and sleeping in his rig. He often brought his dog, Bull, along for the ride, his mom said.

His fellow truckers called him a legend, Makins said. Mitchell became a trucker when he was around 19 and was still working at age 70, until he fell ill, she added.

"He was very likable. Wasn't very good with the dollar. He spent everything (or) gave it away if he couldn't spend it on himself," Makins said. "He was funny, curious, always had a joke."

Makins' entire family was vaccinated, except for Mitchell and one of his sons, she said. Makins has received both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine and a booster.

Makins said she does not understand why some truckers are refusing the vaccine. The situation is starting to "anger" her.

"They're shutting down the economy of our country and (the United States)," Makins said. "It is really disruptive. All kinds of people, nobody can go to work or use those roads. Trucks can't get through with their cargoes, so it's time they went home."

She added: "Freedoms are privileges."

Makins comes from a long line of truckers. Her father owned a trucking transport company. Her brothers and both her sons were all truckers, she said.

She hopes her message can save others' lives and spare families from this pain.

"You don't ever deal with it, you just learn to cope," Makins said of her loss. "I would just like to spare other mothers, other families and other friends" from the grief.

GoFundMe Now Faces Investigations From Florida, Texas, Missouri, West Virginia On ‘Freedom Convoy’ Donations


Deadline
Bruce Haring - Yesterday 

UPDATE: The Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton (R), said Wednesday that the office will investigate GoFundMe after its decision to end a fundraising effort aimed at assisting the “Freedom Convoy” in Canada. Paxton said they will review possible breaches or violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

Missouri’s AG Eric Schmitt is also probing the company, accusing GoFundMe of trying to silence the Freedom Convoy.

The protest is broadening outside Ottowa as well. Protest convoys are gearing up elsewhere in Canada, in the US, Europe and New Zealand.

EARLIER The GoFundMe website has reversed course and decided to automatically refund donations to the truckers organization leading a protest against Canadian pandemic restrictions. But politicians vowed to investigate the website’s original plans for dealing with donations to the truckers.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Saturday morning that he and the state’s attorney general will investigate GoFundMe after it shut down a fundraiser for the Canadian truckers participating in the so-called “Freedom Convoy.”

West Virginia attorney general also joined in, asking his residents to contact his office to let him know if they had “been victimized by a deceptive act or practice” by GoFundMe.

GoFundMe originally shut down donations because of what it called “law enforcement reports of violence and other unlawful activity. At first, GoFundMe said it would refund anyone who asked and donate the remainder to charities chosen by the Freedom Convoy organizers and verified by the site.

However, the website later scrapped that plan, saying “donor feedback” led it to simplify things and automatically refund all donations.

The fundraiser had hit the C$10 million—around $7.9 million in US dollars – with C$1 million already distributed before the fundraiser was halted.

GoFundMe’s original plan didn’t sit well with DeSantis. He tweeted, “It is a fraud for @gofundme to commandeer $9M in donations sent to support truckers and give it to causes of their own choosing.”

“I will work with @AGAshleyMoody to investigate these deceptive practices — these donors should be given a refund,” the governor said.

GoFundMe had issued a statement on why it was taking down the fundraiser.

GoFundMe supports peaceful protests and we believe that was the intention of the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser when it was first created.

We now have evidence from law enforcement that the previously peaceful demonstration has become an occupation, with police reports of violence and other unlawful activity.

To ensure GoFundMe remains a trusted platform, we work with local authorities to ensure we have a detailed, factual understanding of events taking place on the ground. Following a review of relevant facts and multiple discussions with local law enforcement and city officials, this fundraiser is now in violation of our Terms of Service (Term 8, which prohibits the promotion of violence and harassment) and has been removed from the platform. Organizers provided a clear distribution plan for the initial $1M that was released earlier this week and confirmed funds would be used only for participants who traveled to Ottawa to participate in a peaceful protest. Given how this situation has evolved, no further funds will be directly distributed to the Freedom Convoy organizers — we will work with organizers to send all remaining funds to credible and established charities verified by GoFundMe.

All donors may submit a request for a full refund until February 19th, 2022 using this dedicated refund form.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said his state’s law prohibited GoFundMe’s plan to redirect money.

“#GoFundMe now won’t honor #FreedomConvoy donations and will instead redirect to other charities? In WV, organizations must not deceive donors and engage in deceptive advertising practices. If you’ve been victimized by a deceptive act or practice, let us know!” Morrisey wrote. “According to their website, #GoFundMe is not automatically refunding the donations. Individuals interested in a refund can submit the form below if they do so by Feb 19, 2022. This will avoid the ‘redirecting’ of the donation.”

Jagmeet Singh Says The Freedom Convoy's Goal Is To 'Overthrow The Government'
Tristan Wheeler - Monday

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has said that the Freedom Convoy's goal is to "overthrow the government" and has called for an emergency debate in parliament ASAP.

Speaking during a press conference on Monday, February 7, Singh said, "It's clear that the state intent of this convoy is to overthrow the government."

He went on to say that those involved are "harassing citizens, threatening people [and] assaulting people."

Singh also mentioned reports of protesters allegedly lighting a fire in an apartment building in Downtown Ottawa, saying that these stories are examples of violent and dangerous behaviour "that is causing really severe consequences to people."



He's also calling for an emergency parliamentary debate on how to put an end to convoy blockades "and get Canadians through to the end of this pandemic."

Singh touched on the need to address alleged foreign interference from people in the United States and elsewhere in the world, too.

"There are many examples of American politicians and other folks who are funding this direct action that is trying to undermine our democracy," the NDP leader said.

Later, he repeated, “This is clear it’s not a protest, it’s an act to try to overthrow the government.”

Singh isn’t the only one calling out the protesters involved in the Freedom Convoys taking place.

Justin Trudeau previously described the group as a "fringe minority" that doesn’t represent all Canadians. More recently, an Ottawa City Council called the Freedom Convoy participants “terrorists.”

A day before Singh’s call for federal action, the City of Ottawa went into a state of emergency because of the demonstrations.

Police in the city have also announced that they will arrest individuals who provide fuel or other goods to those protesting.

The Freedom Convoy protests have been taking place in Ottawa and across the rest of Canada since January 29. Those involved include people against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and government lockdowns.

'Putting their foot on the throat of all Canadians': Federal ministers call for end of blockades

Ryan Tumilty -  POSTMEDIA

OTTAWA – Federal ministers said the blockade shuttering downtown Ottawa and two major border crossings are “putting their foot on the throat of all Canadians,” but for the second day in a row were thin on specifics on how they will help bring them to an end.


© Provided by National Post

Protestors block the roadway at the Ambassador Bridge border crossing, in Windsor, Ontario on February 9, 2022.

For the 12th day in a row, streets around Parliament Hill were closed as large trucks and smaller vehicles effectively blockaded the city’s core. A closure of the Coutts border crossing in southern Alberta has been in place for essentially as long and on Monday, protesters shutdown the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said the protests were causing significant economic damage including forcing downtown Ottawa businesses to close and delaying huge volumes of traffic.

“I want to be clear, those participating in the convoy are hurting Canadians. They pose serious dangers for the economy, and they are breaking the law and no one is above the law,” he said.

Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair went further and called for a swift end to all the protests.

Blair, who was previously Toronto’s police chief, said the protesters were hurting Canadians.

“There are many criminal acts, acts of thuggery and obnoxiousness that they’ve inflicted on the people of Ottawa. Now as a result of their unlawful actions to block our highways leading into our points of entry with the U.S. they’re putting their foot on the throat of all Canadians.”

Earlier this week, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson asked the provincial and federal governments to come together to provide 1,800 additional officers to local police.

Ottawa protesters employ gas can subterfuge to frustrate police

Ottawa mayor calls for feds to provide 1,800 more police to clear protesters

“We must do everything in our power to take back the streets of Ottawa, and our parliamentary precinct, from the criminal activity and hooliganism,” he said. “We can contain the occupation, but we cannot end it without your support.”

Mendicino, who oversees the RCMP, said reinforcements were coming, but offered no details on when or how many officers might arrive.

Blair announced a tripartite table with representatives from the provincial, federal and municipal governments on Monday, but revealed Wednesday the province had not yet shown up to those meetings.

Trucker protests: Bloc Québécois MP suggests ‘crisis team’ creation to deal with ‘siege’ on Ottawa

“They have not been at the table for the first two meetings. We have indications from them today that they’ll be joining us,” he said.

Blair said despite the Ontario government’s absence there had been other conversations with the province and the government was working to find the resources.

Stephen Warner, a spokesperson for Solicitor General Sylvia Jones, said she had been in regular contact with federal cabinet ministers, including Blair and Mendicino about the situation in Ottawa.

He stressed politicians did not direct police.

“Policing protests is a responsibility carried out by local police services across Ontario, who have the resources and authority to ensure their communities remain safe,” he said.

Warner said the government had shared Watson’s request with the head of the Ontario Provincial Police. An OPP spokesperson said they were reviewing the request, but wouldn’t provide operational details about how many new officers might arrive or when.


© Provided by National Post

A person carries a fuel can in a stroller as truckers and their supporters continue to protest in Ottawa, Ontario, February 8, 2022. REUTERS/Patrick Doyle

Ottawa Police issued a warning to protesters Wednesday that blocking roads as they were doing constituted criminal mischief and they could be arrested, face vehicle seizures and if convicted end up with criminal records that would prevent them from crossing the U.S. border. One of the protesters’ original demands was for Canada to rescind a current requirement for cross-border truckers to be vaccinated.

Ottawa Police have revealed this week that protesters were subverting efforts to cut off fuel supplies by carrying around empty jerry cans. The police also said many of the vehicles had children inside, which would make any police operation more difficult.

The Ambassador Bridge carries a quarter of the annual trade between Canada and the U.S. with thousands of trucks making the trip every day in normal circumstances. Dozens of business groups called on governments to act swiftly to get the bridge reopened.

Perrin Beatty, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said action could not wait.

“This is the most important land crossing in North America and it needs to be reopened now,” he said on Twitter.

The delays were forcing some auto plants to shutter until more parts could arrive, and truckers were forced to take an hours-long detour to Sarnia, Ont.

Windsor’s Mayor Drew Dilkens said in a press conference that about 100 protesters were blocking the main access route to the bridge. He called for both provincial and federal help to end the protest.


© Photo by Geoff Robins / AFP

A line of trucks waits for the road to the Ambassador Bridge to reopen on Tuesday. The bridge is the single largest conduit for trade between Canada and the United States, with some $323 million worth of goods passing over the span each day.

“There has to be a resolution to get this border crossing open. It’s going to be impacting the economies of the United States and Canada,” he said. “You have 100 people who are holding hostage part of our national economy. That is why this cannot be allowed to be sustained for any length of time, action will have to be taken to reopen this bridge so the economy can continue to function.”

Twitter: RyanTumilty

Email: rtumilty@postmedia.com

Two decades and $30 million later, a B.C. mine proposal is officially dead


They say that history repeats itself because nobody was listening the first time.

B.C. rejected a proposed open-pit copper, gold and molybdenum mine for the second time Monday, spelling the likely end of a saga that lasted nearly 20 years, cost tens of millions of dollars and exposed flaws in B.C.’s environmental assessment process along the way

Plans for the Morrison mine, proposed for the shores of Morrison Lake, known as T’akh Tl’ah Bin, about 65 kilometres from Smithers on Lake Babine Nation territory, go back to the ‘90s — although miners have been eyeing the area for its gold and copper since as far back as the ‘60s.

But it wasn’t until 2003 when Pacific Booker Minerals officially entered into B.C.’s environmental assessment process that the gold, copper and molybdenum mine project, planned to produce 30,000 tonnes of ore per day over a 21-year period, really began to take shape.

And that’s also when it should have been stopped in its tracks, according to many who saw the project, right from its inception, as too dangerous to fish and water to proceed.

Adrienne Berchtold, ecologist and mining impacts researcher with SkeenaWild Conservation Trust, said the proposed site for the mine should have excluded it from consideration at the outset. But, as Berchtold pointed out, B.C. has no clear guidelines on unsuitable locations for mines — guidelines that would have saved everyone involved in the Morrison mine saga years of time and energy.

“A lot of resources have gone into evaluating this project, not only on the part of the government, but the proponent and First Nations and other community groups have [also] put tons of work … into debating this project that really never should have been proposed in the first place because of the high value of that habitat for sockeye.”

The Morrison mine was first rejected by the province in 2012 on the grounds that the risks to fish, water and communities outweighed any potential economic benefits from the project. About 90 per cent of Skeena River sockeye populations come from the Skeena watershed, of which Morrison Lake is a part, depending on the year.

It’s the same conclusion George Heyman, minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, and Bruce Ralston, minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, came to this week.

“Having reviewed the material provided to us, we have reached the same conclusion as our predecessors: there remain uncertainties and risks to fish and water quality,” the ministers wrote in their reasons for decision. “In light of that uncertainty, we do not think it would be in the public interest to grant an [environmental assessment certificate] for the Morrison mine.”

Yet for many involved in the process, it’s frustrating such uncertainty could trail through a time and cost-intensive process that has dragged on for nearly two full decades.

Vancouver-based Pacific Booker Minerals did not respond to The Narwhal’s request for an interview by time of publication. But in a February 2021 interview with Business in Vancouver, CEO John Plourde said the environmental assessment process, run through B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Office, left his company in frustrating procedural limbo.

“They want us to tell them what we’re going to do. They’re supposed to tell us what we’re going to do,” he said in that interview.

Others say the process should never have dragged on for as long as it did given the insistent opposition to the project by the Lake Babine Nation.

From day one the nation flagged concerns with the proposed mine given its proximity to salmon spawning grounds and nursery habitat.

“It was a fundamentally flawed project,” Verna Power, councillor with Lake Babine Nation, said in a statement after the mine’s rejection on Monday.

“We cannot support any project that threatens our yintah (territory and natural resources) and our future as a people, so it is a huge relief that this project is finally dead.”

Power, who has experience working in mines, noted the Lake Babine Nation is not anti-mining in principle, but the risk the project posed to imperilled sockeye populations and other cultural and ecological values was too great.

“[Morrison mine] threatened our talok (sockeye salmon), the most precious resource in our territory. Talok define us as Lake Babine people,” she said.

The Skeena River is Canada’s second-largest salmon-producing watershed and in recent decades all wild salmon populations in the Skeena have declined, some by as much as 90 per cent.

The high risks to salmon were flagged by the province during the first 2012 assessment of the Morrison mine, with the ministers noting at the time that the project held “the potential to impact a genetically unique sockeye salmon population that contributes to the Skeena River sockeye.” The ministers also pointed out there wasn’t enough knowledge about the “behaviour” of Morrison Lake to adequately protect the quality of the water.

When the province first reviewed the project leading up to the 2012 decision, B.C.’s environmental assessment office found the company planned to use Morrison Lake to dilute effluent from the mine “in perpetuity.” The province also found the original design of the waste storage inadequate and the company later committed to lining the tailings pond with a geomembrane to prevent seepage of contaminated material.

Despite this, the office concluded the mine “would not result in any significant adverse effects with the successful implementation of mitigation measures and conditions.”

Yet Derek Sturko, the then-director of the assessment office, recommended B.C.’s ministers reject the project.

Based on these findings, B.C.’s then-Environment Minister Terry Lake and then-Energy, Mines and Natural Gas Minister Rich Coleman rejected the project. (The B.C. environmental assessment office makes a recommendation for or against a project but the final decision rests with these two ministers).

In response, Pacific Booker Minerals took B.C. to court, arguing the province had treated the company unfairly.

In an affidavit filed with the B.C. Supreme Court at the time, Sturko said the company wasn’t meeting provincial requirements in a timely manner. He also said he felt the company was committing to “whatever expensive and complicated late-stage mitigation measures it perceived might attain it a ‘clean’ environmental assessment.”

The company took exception with Sturko’s reasons for his recommendation the province reject the project, alleging they directly contradicted the results of the assessment, and said it should have been given a chance to respond. In its 2013 petition for judicial review, Pacific Booker Minerals noted the company had spent around $30 million on the project, including $10 million on the environmental assessment process alone.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge agreed with the company in 2013, overturning the province’s rejection of the Morrison mine. The judge noted the environmental assessment office director was entitled to make recommendations beyond the scope of the assessment but agreed with the company that it should have been provided a copy of the environmental assessment office’s recommendations to the ministers and given a chance to respond

When the courts overturned the decision, the province gave the proponent an opportunity to revise its plans, asking Pacific Booker to provide additional information.

It was an opportunity for all parties to make up for missteps in the environmental assessment process, said Richard Overstall, lawyer and former representative of Babine River Foundation, a non-profit environmental group that expressed concerns with the project as a participant in the assessment process.

After the 2013 court ruling, “the government — the [environmental assessment office] and the ministers — had to go back and do things properly, which they did,” Overstall told The Narwhal.

The province “gave the company several opportunities to revamp their application, essentially do more work, which was the main reason why it was rejected in the first place.”

Overstall said the process was marred by a lack of reliable information provided by the company, noting a dispute between Pacific Booker Minerals and Rescan, an environmental consultancy the company contracted to conduct studies as part of the provincial assessment. In 2010, Rescan filed a civil claim against Pacific Booker after the mining company allegedly failed to settle nearly $200,000 in unpaid invoices. In the claim, Rescan also alleged the mining company altered its technical reports to “minimize third-party professional statements of the project effects [on] the environment.”

The claim was settled out of court so the allegations were never proven.

The project then entered into an odd state of limbo, where the company’s application was reconsidered and the province had the opportunity to request more information. During this period, the company submitted three supplementary studies as requested by the province — each was deemed insufficient by the assessment office.

The inability of Pacific Booker to satisfy the province’s requests led to the company generating an unsuspecting ally, former Green Party leader and MLA Andrew Weaver, who argued in 2020 that the province’s handling of the Morrison mine application was plagued with “regulatory inconsistencies.”

Weaver raised questions about the strung-out assessment process, declaring in the B.C. legislature during question period that “despite numerous exchanges with the environmental assessment office and the completion of an in-depth study of Morrison Lake, Pacific Booker has been unable to clarify the precise nature of what is actually required… For Pacific Booker, this order [that the project undergo further assessment] has been tantamount to a rejection of its project without the ministry formally saying no.”

Overstall said the Morrison mine conflict is indicative of even deeper flaws in B.C.’s environmental assessment process, which is essentially an opportunity for government ministers to convince the public the province is protecting the environment, when in fact there is little accountability or transparency built into the process.

Overstall pointed to the assessment reports, which are referred to ministers for decisions on major projects like the Morrison mine, are in fact a composite work of multiple authors, often a mishmash of bureaucrats who are unnamed, meaning no individual can be held accountable for what these reports contain.

Ultimately the decision as to whether a large project should go ahead really rests with politicians who exercise complete discretion. And the environmental assessment process is “essentially greenwashing a political decision,” Overstall said.

The Morrison mine project remained in its state of limbo until Dec. 2, 2021, when B.C.’s environmental assessment office once again referred the project to the ministers for a final decision, which resulted in Monday’s rejection.

Lake Babine Nation is all too familiar with the impacts of mining on its territory. Two shuttered mines on Babine Lake have been polluting the watershed for decades and the threat to struggling salmon populations is a concern for First Nations throughout the watershed.

“Our wild salmon populations are in the red zone … and [salmon are] the backbone of our culture,” Donna MacIntyre, Lake Babine Nation fisheries manager, previously told The Narwhal.

In its first recommendation B.C.’s ministers, the environmental assessment office flagged “the strength of claim of the Lake Babine Nation, in particular their moderate to strong prima facie case for Aboriginal Title” as reasons that factored into its counsel not to proceed with the project.

Early last year, Bill Bennett, former minister of mines under the BC Liberals, told Business in Vancouver Lake Babine Nation’s opposition to the mine played a role in the government’s original rejection of the project.

“It’s true that the local First Nation was not interested in having a mine built so close to the lake,” he said. “You hear that all the time — ‘It’s one of B.C.’s most important salmon lakes.’ Well, this one really is.”

Babine Lake, Na-taw-bun-kut, is the longest natural lake in the province and provides important nursery habitat for 30 populations of sockeye salmon. Morrison Lake also provides nursery habitat and spawning grounds, according to multiple studies conducted during the proposed mine’s environmental assessment. Those spawning grounds would be directly impacted by the mine, which would have been built along prime shore habitat.

“One of the biggest concerns with the projects that I’m aware of is that there are documented … groundwater upwelling areas on the shores close to where the mine would have been,” Berchtold, with SkeenaWild Conservation Trust, said. She explained those areas are where groundwater enters the lake, which “provides the stability of the temperatures in slightly warmer temperatures” that salmon eggs need to hatch.

Berchtold stressed the importance of preserving Morrison Lake’s salmon populations. Unique populations within a watershed helps the species as a whole adapt to changes in the environment. A 2021 study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology noted a decline of 70 per cent in sockeye population diversity in the Skeena River watershed.

“We need that genetic diversity,” she said. “We need that resilience across populations in terms of climate adaptation and all sorts of other other reasons.”

Downstream, Gitxsan and Gitanyow Nations shared Lake Babine Nation’s celebration of the fresh rejection of the mine.

“I think it was a good decision,” Simogyet (Chief) Malii Glen Williams, president of the Gitanyow hereditary chiefs, told The Narwhal. “There was too much risk associated with the planning of the mine and in light of the continued uncertainty of stocks in the Skeena. Some good data and good sound science prevailed here.”

Stu Barnes, chair of Skeena Fisheries Commission, said in a statement that the location of the mine made it dangerous to salmon from the start.

“The location of this proposed mine has extremely high ecosystem values for sockeye salmon that migrate into the Skeena River,” he said.

“We have maintained a razor sharp focus on this ill-conceived mine for over a decade to speak for the salmon that our communities rely upon for food and cultural survival.”

While Lake Babine Nation is breathing a sigh of relief over the decision to reject the mine, it is also charting a path forward to prevent this from happening again. The nation recently signed a groundbreaking agreement with the province which will enable the nation and B.C. to collaborate on future environmental assessments.

The agreement is the first made under the recently revised B.C. environmental assessment act.

“This is an important and significant step on our reconciliation journey with the people of Lake Babine Nation,” Minister Heyman said in a November press release.

“The first of its kind under this recent legislation, this agreement establishes a key shared decision-making precedent between the province and Lake Babine Nation moving forward, and ensures that Indigenous knowledge and values will be applied in full collaboration with the Nation.”

While Lake Babine Nation’s agreement helps ensure it has a leadership role in assessments moving forward, very few projects have undergone assessment under the revised legislation, which came into effect at the end of 2019. Critics of the province’s amended assessment legislation say B.C. missed the mark on making sure technical studies related to a project’s potential impacts on the environment are conducted by independent scientists, as opposed to consultants hired by proponents. Those critics, many of whom are scientists themselves, also noted the assessment process needs to be more transparent.

Critics of B.C.’s environmental assessment process have also pointed out that the process is predominantly used to approve projects and rarely to reject them. The arrival of COVID-19 delayed the province’s work to introduce regional environmental assessments that would look at the cumulative impacts of all past, present and future projects on the landscape and also potentially identify no-go zones for major resource projects.

When asked how many projects have been rejected under B.C.’s environmental assessment legislation, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy did not respond directly to the question, instead noting many projects are changed or withdrawn before making it to the finish line. It remains to be seen what impact the revised legislation will have on projects moving forward.

“If issues or adverse impacts are not adequately addressed by a proponent, an [environmental assessment certificate] may not be issued, such as with the Ajax mine project in 2017, the Kemess North mine project in 2008 and the Ashcroft Landfill project in 2011,” the ministry wrote in an email to The Narwhal.

“Many projects also do not reach the final decision stage and are either terminated or withdrawn by the proponent prior to reaching … decision, or are changed substantially over the course of the [assessment].”

Lake Babine Nation Chief Murphy Abraham noted the significance of the agreement in his comments on the rejection of Morrison mine.

“Thanks to our new [environmental assessment] collaboration agreement with B.C., Lake Babine will be deeply involved in reviewing proposed mines in our territory from now on,” he said in a press release.

“Proponents who want to build a mine in our territory need to get to know our people, our values and our expectations. They need to work with us respectfully and develop projects that are sustainable for our yintah, our rights and our way of life.”

Matt Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Narwhal

SELF DIRECTED LEARNING
Pandemic lockdowns didn't disrupt preschoolers' language learning

By HealthDay News

Researchers found that, on average, babies and toddlers made greater gains in vocabulary during that early lockdown period, versus the pre-pandemic norm for youngsters their age. Photo by ReadyElements/Pixabay

The pandemic has dramatically disrupted kids' normal routines, but a new study suggests the initial lockdowns of 2020 did not necessarily hinder preschoolers' language development.

In fact, researchers found, there was an unanticipated "lockdown boost" in youngsters' vocabulary growth -- possibly because parents were spending more time at home.

Studying families in 13 countries, the researchers found that, on average, babies and toddlers made greater gains in vocabulary during that early lockdown period, versus the pre-pandemic norm for youngsters their age.

"Our study did not find any evidence of negative influences of social isolation on vocabulary development in 8- to 36-month-old toddlers during the initial lockdown," said researcher Julien Mayor, a professor of developmental psychology at the University of Oslo in Norway.

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There's a big caveat, though, according to Mayor and colleague Natalia Kartushina, also of the University of Oslo.

The investigators found no harm among families who were willing to participate in the study - but that group may not represent families at large, especially those who are less advantaged.

"We urge caution in generalizing this finding to all families, as it is likely that the most vulnerable families did not respond to the questionnaires," Mayor said.

Diane Paul, a speech-language expert who was not involved in the study, agreed on that caution.

But she also said the research may reassure many parents.

"Overall, these are positive, very encouraging findings," said Paul, who is director of clinical issues in speech-language pathology for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

The results also support what's already recommended to parents for fueling young children's language development: spend time reading together, and limit "passive" screen time.

During lockdown, the researchers found, vocabulary growth was greatest among toddlers who had plenty of shared reading time with their parents, and less time gazing passively at tablets and TVs.

"These are suggestions we'd give to all families of young children," Paul said.

Of course, she noted, the early phase of the pandemic thrust families into a difficult time of school and day care closures. Even when parents could work from home, juggling that along with child care was a huge task.

So parents should not feel guilty if they did have to turn to devices more often during that period, Paul added.

In fact, in a second study, the same research team found that babies' and toddlers' total screen time did tick upward during lockdown -- especially when parents spent a lot of time in front of screens themselves.

Despite that, there was no evidence youngsters' language development suffered. That's possibly because of the time spent on other activities with their parents, according to the researchers.

And screen time is not necessarily negative, Paul pointed out. When young children watch "high-quality" content along with an adult -- talking and interacting -- that is different from passively sitting in front of cartoons.

"We're not saying never use screens," she said. "There are just ways to use them better."

The study, published in the journal Language Development Research, included more than 1,700 babies and toddlers aged 8 months to 3 years. The United States was among the 13 countries represented.

Parents completed standard vocabulary checklists on the number of words their child understood or said, at the beginning and end of the first lockdown in their respective countries. They also answered questionnaires on how often they and their child engaged in various activities during lockdown -- including reading together, outdoor play and structured games.

Overall, children in the study gained more words than expected, based on population norms for youngsters their age. And the more time spent reading with their parents, the greater those gains.

"This highlights the considerable impact of shared book reading in building a child's vocabulary," Mayor said.

Shared reading, Paul said, is more than simply reading a story to a child. It means pointing at pictures, asking questions and interacting in other ways that help youngsters learn to understand and use language.

"It's the time spent together," Paul said, "with contributions from the parent and the child."

More information

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association has more on child language development.

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