Sep 21
Four years ago, before I started my investigation into activist militancy and violence, had someone told me that Elizabeth May’s Green Party was part of the problem I wouldn’t have believed it. But then I discovered that May claimed that “breaking windows isn’t violent” after the G20, I watched as May implied that the RCMP …
Sep 03
The Unist’ot’en Camp is a protest site in northern BC that claims to be at the junction of several proposed oil and natural gas pipelines. The camp is officially part of the Unist’ot’en, a clan belonging to the Wet’suwet’en First Nation. The is represented by two indigenous spokespeople and claims to have the support of 5 hereditary chiefs, …
Jun 19
In late February TIDES Canada President & CEO Ross McMillan wrote an angry letter to the RCMP. McMillan was upset by the release of an RCMP document obtained by Montreal’s La Presse analysing risks to Canada’s energy industry. TIDES was named for their connection to anti-energy protests, the document also identified the RCMP’s “most urgent” perceived threat …
Dec 24
The Unist’ot’en camp is a protest camp in northern BC, mostly led by anarchists and militant NGOs with a couple local indigenous people. Despite their claims to be fighting “colonialism”, the camp runs under Indian Act protocols- meaning, the money is paternalistically managed by their white “settler ally” NGO friends. The RCMP views them as an …
Nov 27
Hello Friends, Can I ask you a question? When’s the last time you took a private walk down a country lane with David Suzuki? I don’t mean when you’re filming b-roll for that big special you’re working on, but just you and David meandering in a private conversation. Have you been one of the lucky few? If …
Jun 26
On July 13 a new caravan of people will be bussed up to the Unist’ot’en Camp, an activist action camp it’s leaders call a “soft blockade”. Like most similar events, the media hasn’t been doing a good job at covering the camp. Movement-friendly media have been publishing misleading information- like Rabble.ca’s post that leaves the …
Jun 14
Update: As of 2:56pm EST on Monday July 16th, the webpage is now up again, it wasn’t earlier this morning- bizarre. The Wilderness Committee is a BC based ENGO with about a dozen staff and $2 million in annual (tax-deductible) revenue, they claim to have a membership of approximately 30,000. In addition to their work …
Jun 13
If indications are correct this summer’s hottest pipeline protest will be at the Unist’ot’en action camp, an indigenous/anarchist ‘blockade’ near Smithers, BC that claims to be at the junction of several planned pipelines. The list of activists who’ve visited Unist’ot’en includes a who’s who of the militant community and their associated NGOs- Harsha Walia of …
May 31
Activists interrupted a Burnaby, BC fuel truck refilling station yesterday, protesting Chevron’s involvement in the Pacific Trails Pipeline project, and showing ‘solidarity’ to the (violent) Unist’ot’en Camp. Replicating Greenpeace’s similar stunt in October 2013, three of the protesters locked themselves to the front gate. Their message for Chevron was to ‘frack off’, a slogan as stale as their tactics. …
May 03
Update: Someone just shared an interesting video of Sasha Wiley-Shaw (sharing a stage with NDP MP Libby Davies) saying that Davies “has been a political mentor of mine since my childhood”, and then discussing the incident in 2012. Very interesting, and answers a few questions… Update 2: The arrested cyclist is Jakub Markiewicz, whose prior claim to …