[rad-green] There's Something Happening Here (on the meaning of the Wet'suwet'en struggle) -- message from Charlie Angus, MP

From: Charlie Angus <[email protected]>
Date: February 15, 2020 6:03:21 AM PST
Subject: There's Something Happening Here
Reply-To: Charlie Angus <[email protected]>

*"There's something happening here and what it is ain't exactly clear." –
Buffalo Springfield*


February 15, 2020

Friends,

The railway blockades across the country have shaken up the political and
business establishment in Canada. There are millions of opinions floating
around Facebook/Twitter about the meaning of these protests. The media
pundits seem absolutely shocked. Talking heads for the right-wing are
denouncing these actions as mob rule, but none of them have a credible plan
for defusing the situation. On the centre/left the focus has been on who is
the legitimate voice of authority in the Wetsuweten lands. And as the
Toronto Star pleaded, "There are growing calls for somebody to do
something."

My friends, we are witnessing an extraordinary moment in Canadian history.

If you spend any time in First Nation communities, you won't be surprised
at this unprecedented challenge to the status quo. It's been brewing for a
long time. And if you have the opportunity to talk with young people who
are growing increasingly angry about political lip service on the
environmental crisis, you'll see why the RCMP move against the Wetsuweten
blockade touched off a perfect storm.

RULE OF LAW

First off, I will say that I have real concerns about the impacts on rail
traffic in Canada by the blockades. But as I sat with St. Anne's
Residential School survivors this week, they put the government's lines on
the rule of law in perspective. "People are being inconvenienced," one of
the elders said, "We First Nation people had our lives ruined, and nobody
ever worried about what happened to us."

The fact that the survivors were in court yet again, to deal with a
government that suppressed thousands of pages of police evidence and had
their cases thrown out, says something about how Canada's notion of legal
fairness doesn't seem to include Indigenous Canadians.

You might think this is an argument of apples and oranges. First Nation
people know better.

While the media were obsessing over the future of the LNG pipeline, the AFN
was announcing that they are fed up with the federal government's
obstruction on the human rights tribunal. The AFN is now suing Canada for
$10 billion for the ongoing damage being done to this generation of First
Nation children. I can't remember ever reading an article from the National
Post crowd about the abuse of rights of First Nation children and the
refusal of government to respect their treaty and legal duties.

The establishment doesn't have a clue about why these protests have taken
off so quickly. My gut feeling is that First Nation people are rising up
across the country because they are tired of a status quo that overrides
their rights and territories daily.

ENVIRONMENTAL RECKONING

It could have been the LNG pipeline. It could have been the approval of the
Teck Frontier tar sands project. It could have been the building of TMX. A
confrontation moment has been brewing in Canada for some time. People hear
the words of the Trudeau government on getting serious about the
environmental crisis, but they don't see any real action being taken.

Canada is a petrostate, and much of our national discourse remains focused
on the needs of the oil industry. How many articles have you seen telling
us that approving Teck Frontier is "win-win" while turning it down will
lead to more western alienation? The mushy middle position is that the
Liberal government promises to get to "net-zero" emissions someday, but
year in, year out the emissions continue to rise.

I spoke to a young woman who is heading out to the protests this weekend. I
asked what motivated her. She replied, "When I saw the convoy of protesters
denouncing Greta Thurnberg, I knew it was time to do something. It was the
sight of all these grown men in big trucks, honking and attacking a
teenager for speaking up on the environment that made me realize that my
generation needed to push back."

I find this debate about workers versus the environment deeply troubling.
When I was in Alberta, I met energy workers who are deeply committed to
leading the transition to renewables and a more sustainable economy. But
where is the government to champion those investments? We should not let
Jason Kenney and his yellow jacket writers be seen as the voice of the
working class. In reality, working families in the energy sector are being
kept as hostages to further the interests of an out of date 20th-century
economic vision. We can do better than this.

SO WHERE DOES CANADA GO FROM HERE?

The LNG issue has morphed into a nationwide showdown on First Nation rights
and environmental action. Everyone seems to want to find a quick
"solution." The reality is, this is a wake-up call. We need to get serious
about the fundamental questions of Indigenous justice and environmental
action.

The Greeks have a word – kairos –which means a time of crisis but also one
of opportunity. My friends, this is a moment of Kairos. Stay confident. Be
positive. This is a time of opportunity that could bring Canada forward to
a more just place. As the song says, "There's something happening here…"

We're in this together,


Charlie




P.S. For some of you, this may be the first email you are receiving from
the Team Charlie Angus Email Updates, and I want to welcome you to this
community. I use this platform to share the important work my team is
engaged in on the regional and national levels. No BS. All fact with a bit
of fun and we don't share our list with any political party.

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