FAX BLITZ: to BC-RCMP/TC Energy gooFs..

 (You can too - in fact, PLEASE DO:  For justice!  Here's the link from the aws Wilderness Committee:  https://www.wildernews/ChannelYrRage

& here's my letter, for inspiration:

I'm writing to express my profound horror that you & TC Energy back the BC-RCMP's deplorable treatment / trespassing of Wet’suwet’en 1st Nations to make way for your (CGL) pipeline : Whatever you may believe/ were told by the BC-NDP, THESE are the FACTS:

●Article 10 of U.N.D.R.I.P. (UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which BC HAS instated) is V clear that “Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories": NOW U KNOW

●RCMP action on Wet’suwet’en territory is a shameful violation of Indigenous rights & ignores the Supreme Court of Canada ruling that recognizes Aboriginal title TO THAT AREA

●Pointing machine guns at unarmed women & journalists is totally unacceptable! These officers must be held accountable for putting civilians at risk & continuing to use force where they have NO JURISDICTION 

●That the RCMP saw fit to carry out this crass operation on behalf of a gas pipeline co. EXACTLY WHEN emergency resources were needed for flood relief in southern BC proves who the force - & YOUR CO. - prioritize (& it's NOT US BCers!)

●TC Energy has exhibited nothing but entitled arrogance since starting this "economic dud" (experts' words, not mine) - a reckless endeavor which belies ALL science re. Fracking/ LNG: I.E. it's polluting, uneconomical, unsustainable.. & ruins ANY chance we have at meeting BC's/ Canada's climate goals

PLEASE: Quit acting like you're God's gift to BC (you're not even BCer-approved, let alone lawful.. or even liked!) DO THE RIGHT THING & STAND DOWN. Leave Wet’suwet’en territory & the Yintah - as you were asked, by its rightful leaders/ residents, many times. Abide by the Courts & allow the Chiefs to exercise their sovereignty - before you spark an ugly war.. (YOU are the criminals here, & will lose!)

Consider yourselves warned, by just 1 of the MANY who support the Wet’suwet’en people defending their hereditary lands from your diabolical operations.

FYI: informed BCers oppose ALL fracking, LNG & new FossilFuel projects in this province. So you know.

Thank you very much.

SARAH (SAZ) CHESTERMAN

My [removed] comment on a Narwhal article..

WOW: it's discouraging that this happened in The Narwhal, a paper considered one of the most hard-hitting among 'alternative' media, & one that's gained my respect.. Did I GO TOO FAR/ HIT BELOW THE BELT? Express too much emotional & not enough 'factual' data? Maybe.. [I dunno].. 

FACT IS, I respond IN KIND to aLL an article conveys --& may carry over other built-up feelings/ opinions from recent related articles/info to form a 'Big Picture' gleaned from accumulated sources. And with recent in-depth exposes on the BC Govt. abounding, THIS piece REVEALED iN 3D just how dangerous & dishonest our Govt. iS.. 

Given the BCNDP's obvious heinous disregard for BC's future & acTuaL 'Reconciliation' with 1st Nations peoples --& the false public image with which they (& the corporations to which they consistently pander) MISLEAD the public, again & again-- as a dedicated BCer rallying to protect our native biodiversity & our precious old-growth ecosystems from destruction via BCNDP permits handed out recklessly like candy, I feel my response is MILD in light of Govt's obvious [UNETHICAL & UNJUST] trajectory.. & the clear conclusion that our provincial Premier Horgan & Co. are USING the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to 'get away with' heinous corruption & eco-crimes -- i.e. BIZ AS USUAL for BC Govt's shameful history of corporate pandering & indigenous GENOCIDE.. [Just sayin'..]

EXTREME DISHONOUR & DISRESPECT FORCE EXTREME REACTIONS-!?


The Narwhal piece in question hit me square-on with realization that compounds cumulative essays upon news items upon commissioned reports ETC. over the past year & a half of murderous ECORUIN aided & abetted by the BCNDP [directly opposing their elected platforms/ promises] -- so yes, I responded with blatant honesty & open eyes to the appalling direction the BC Govt. is dragging this province --i.e. DOWNHILL, FAST-- as reported in THIS Narwhal article:

B.C. orders Coastal GasLink to stop pipeline construction near protected wetlands

[Here's my comment:]

Where are the BC Greens when they're desperately needed to step in & OPPOSE the BCNDP's reckless issuance of permits to corps B4 they fast-track catastrophic destruction of important natural ecosystems?

It's SICKENING that Horgan's SHAM BC Govt. (like those b4) are letting forestry/ O&G corps get away with widespread ECO-RUIN --including clear-cut logging of our last remaining precious old-growth forests-- while claiming to be on track with their 'CLEAN BC' "plans": WHERE's Govt's compliance with their self-proclaimed respect for indigenous rights? Where's Horgan's [promised] Species At Risk law protecting BC's threatened wildlife habitats??

Equally heinous is Coastal GasLink's reckless --illegal-- disregard of their own "wetlands mgmt. plan" (?), along with their LiES (eg. "Environmental protection is a top priority for us"). Since CGL have already cleared 80% of the pipeline's "right-of-way" without a single concern for ANY of the 300 protected wetlands subsequently harmed, HOW can Govt's confidence in "resolving these issues" be trusted --esp. as the Wet’suwet’en's opposition IS UNCHANGED?

Bottom line: Govt.'s benefit agreements [/MOUs] coerced from some #1stNations are clearly A FRAUD (proven repeatedly w/ past resource rapes) & Govt's pipeline push --for a toxic LNG-soaked future that refuses 1st Nations autonomy AND reconciliation-- is ANOTHER BETRAYAL THAT DENIES EVERYONE A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE.. (SHAME)

[OK, i feel slightly better now..] 

O+G PUSHERs: YOU WILL LOSE..

- cuz SCiENCE aLways wins..

We aLL need to get back to respecting SCIENCE, which just IS -- in a singular category of objectivity, if not its 'last bastion' thereoF..

Science's standardized/ streamlined methodologies exemplify the most efficient/ fruitful/ TRUTHFUL use of human endeavour.. (In an era of artistic license & 'anything goes' -- of random acts & uncertain foes & non-fiction taken for fake news posing as prose (?) SCIENCE PLODS ON, indifferent to traits/ trends & stuck on measured singularities of PLACE/ TIME, in obeyance to its unwavering parameters & consistent procedures that make military regimes seem unhinged..)

Yet for all its unexciting exactitude & unfettered focus on tangible, touchable PHYSICAL REALITY, SCIENCE SUCCEEDS at joining humans in tireless quests for undiluted knowledge & observable overriding truths about our world.. & in doing so, scientists have unearthed the most heartstopping realities & real-life histories that defy the vividest mind of any mortal.. HOW can these epic odysseys of overwhelming magnitude possibly be dismissed with any integrity by self-appointed 'leaders' of whole populations, in favour of paltry fictions & the polluting limitations of ongoing, unchanged use of O&G?

It's taken 1,000s of scientists worldwide working round the clock, using hard-won samples of carefully-measured layers of air & earth & fossils & rock, extracted from physical artifacts/ digs/ dirt/ swamps/ sea-beds/ mountainsides/ cliffs representing different parts of the millions of years embedded therein, then deconstructed & dissected & analyzed & reconstructed & applied to the strictest standards & tested for specific results. The collective consequence amounts to a jaw-dropping Real Natural History of Earth spanning 100s of millions of years -- with ever-accumulating measurements of new finds filling in the blanks, each new discovery illuminating more of the whole, until massive reconstructed worlds are accurately visualized to give us insights into HOW BEST TO PROCEED GOING FORWARD..

[See NOVA TV's 'Polar Extremes']

Point is, WE could be experiencing these ground-breaking discoveries together --shared globally by real [RESPECTED!] scientists sharing their finds as they break them open one by one & unearth the keys to mould our better future-!?  Having this process blocked & downgraded by desperate politicians/ businessmen/ charlatans who profit from polluting systems proven to be the very cuLpRiTs of 100% HUMAN-CAUSED GLOBAL WARMING CONFIRMED BY MODERN SCIENCE is such an obvious perversion to those of us with half a brain who value life beyond constraints of oppression imposed by global leaders profiting from mass consumption of the inefficient, poisonous products they keep hawking, indifferent to the suffering SCIENCE IS SHOWING THEM IN 3-D..

What's gross is the QUACKs/ FoReSTRY HACKS/ FRACKeRs/ O&G cRack LACKeYs & the LiKe  --somehow, against aLL sense of decency/ reason-- have been WINNING, by silencing those of us who are almost hoarse after decades of cLamoRing for JusTice & eco-equaLiTy & future S.U.S.T.A.I.N.A.B.i.L.i.T.y (which is MoRE KEY THAN EVER NOW)..: HOW is indeed a marvel of $$-minded manoeverability of the blind leading the blind, with nothing but personal wealth & obsolete, unETHiCAL [iLLEGAL] eco-destruction mowing down all in their killing paths [furthered by complacent politicians wilfully ignoring conflicts-of-interest/ corruption at the core of lobbyists' non-stop monopoly of their target politicians' sucked-in ears..]

It's exhausting trying to arm everyone with Science + Truth ON TOP OF attending/ organizing rallies to mobilize the general public so your (supposedly Democratic) GovtS wiLL @ leasT LISTEN & mobilize WITH US --as they obviously did during wars-- instead of proving by their underhanded complicity with big-industry polluters that they OUTRIGHT LIE TO THE PUBLIC ABOUT THEIR GOOD INTENTIONS & their PRETENSIONS to 'Climate Action' (<---which however, LET'S FACE IT, reveals that the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY IN FACT FAVOUR CLIMATE ACTION / GREEN DEALS / NATURE'S PROTECTION oveR appeasing the OiL-soaked POWERS THAT BE..)  BuT WHO ARE WE to demand (/politely request) ouR own GovT's attention, having OBSERVED theiR unheaLTHY dynamics enTRENCHed in their daily M.O.s..

--BUT after trying to URGE EVERYONE I KNOW that VOTING GREEN is the onLy WAY TO GO --the ONLY VALiD alternative to the decrepid ECO-WASTING, U.N.D.R.I.P.-betraying STATUS QUO we've come to SEE RIGHT THRU-- the TRUSTY ECO-DEFENDING GREENS (their Constitution the BEST & mosT egaLiTaRian I've ever seen) go STRANGELY SILENT, & in their election-resultant Minority legitimacy DEMANDING iF NOT MANDATING their NOTED VIEWS on aLL GovT. issues, which oughT to heighten their visibility MORE THAN EVER BEFORE IN THEIR HISTORY, THEY INEXPLICABLY DISAPPEAR FROM VIEW -- on public media, in public events... MISSING this once-in-a-lifetime UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO OPPOSE GOVT.'S NEVER-ENDING, NONSTOP SLEW OF BAD DECISIONS, MISPLACED SUPPORTS & BACKWARD BETRAYAL OF THE PUBLIC THEY CLAIM TO REPRESENT!!??  (But CLEARLY, DO NOT.)  W.T.F.?

LEAVING US, THE PUBLIC --LEGIT TAXPAYERS WHO DESERVE PROPER REPRESENTATION & A PROGRESSIVE GOVT. MOVING FORWARD TOWARD THE HEALTHY, SUSTAINABLE, REGENERATIVE WORLD OUR GRANDKIDS DESERVE & EXPECT-- NO OPTION BUT TO HAMMER AT THE GOVT. WE'VE GOT, TO GET THE JUST ECO-FRIENDLY FUTURE WE DESERVE NO MATTER WHAT..

[But i digress..]

IF Govts. WERE interested in taxpayers' --as opposed to corporations'-- concerns, we'd already be transitioning EN MASSE to science-based alternatives, regenerative farming, renewable energy sources like geothermal ETC. --ALL OF WHICH HAVE SUCCESSFULLY BEEN IMPLEMENTED IN BC & GLOBALLY WITH OUTSTANDINGLY PRODUCTIVE RESULTS!?  Tragically, most govt. leaders are --STILL!!??-- wielding way too much (unwarranted) power & held in thrall (apparently?) by O&G lobbyists who have managed to monopolize their tiny brains to the exclusion of anyone else in their decision-making... WHICH I CAN'T EVEN FATHOM AS LEGAL!!?? SHOULDN'T GOVT. BE LISTENING TO THE S.C.I.E.N.T.I.S.T.S. & SUING THE POLLUTING CORPS FOR DAMAGES WITH WHICH TO FUND OUR CLEANER, COOLER FUTURE??

(AT LEAST WE OUGHT TO BE MOBILIZING TOGETHER TO URGE GOVT. TO QUIT USING OUR MONEY TO FUND POLLUTING OPERATIONS THAT ARE OBVIOUSLY CAUSING/ EXACERBATING THESE PROBLEMS???)

(HELLLLOOOO??? HORGAN?? TRUDEAU???? WE SEEEEE YOU... YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM THIS, SO STEP UP & DO US A FAVOUR.. OR BOW OUT GRACEFULLY & LET THE GREEN PARTY DO ITS THING!)

My reply to BC Greens' 'leadership' email..

- in which i shouLd have included my outrage at BC Govt's gross inaction RE. Coastal Gas Link's trespassing on unceded Wet'suwet'en territory, as succinctly explained by DogwoodBC:

B.C. is refusing to meet with Wet'suwet'en chiefs, and is instead passing off the responsibility to the very pipeline company trespassing on the Indigenous community's land. Where is B.C.'s newly promised approach to respecting Indigenous rights and title 

[REF.: thetyee.ca/News/Wetsuweten-Chiefs-Government-Talks ]

UPDATES:  thetyee.ca/Newsearch

Re:  BCGreens Leadership Contest 2020

Jan. 7th, 2020

Dear Adam Olsen,

Thanks for your email.  As an active supporter of the BCGREENS for the past decade+, I feel my continuing activism on your party’s behalf has helped contribute to its increased successes. While further advancing GREENS’ policies/values is bound to enable the huge shifts needed for effective climate action, the latest in-party structural shifts appear to have stalled the necessary progress..

TBH I’m extremely discouraged by the apparent absence of BC Greens’ influence on BCNDP’s actions/policies in supporting the provincial minority government.  Where is Greens’ presence in Govt’s horrifying decisions to advance harmful LNG projects in BC?  Or affecting Site-C dam’s (/Peace River valley’s) fate??  How have BCGREENS made their mark on critical BC Forestry revisions/ holding NDP to their promises of creating SUSTAINABLE industries going forward & meeting GHG reduction targets??? Why have I not had Greens’ support for my constant efforts —alongside orgs like Ancient Forest Alliance & Wilderness Committee— to stop clearcut logging of BC’s ancient old-growth forests & ban raw-log exports?  Nothing’s more important now! (These key campaigns are very close to my heart)
 
Our fast-shrinking old-growth forests —BC’s best (/ONLY) efficient C02 sequesters/ intact wildlife habitats— URGENTLY need to be protected by a MORATORIUM placed on permits to CLEARCUT these last bastions of hope for effective C02 control!  The BC NDP’s flimsy measures RE. Climate change are woefully inadequate to enable Reconciliation (via U.N.D.R.I.P.) OR safeguard BC’s communities from predicted ecosystem imbalances.. We desperately NEED our Greens to step in & fulfill their official parliamentary duties —to table science-based solutions & REJECT extinction-drivers (eg. a WOLF CULL?)  Please don’t wait until it’s too late to have your rightful say in BC’s future!  (Can’t in-party re-org WAIT?)

If the BC NDP has been unlawfully blocking BCGreens’ rightful input in decisions/policies affecting our province —as many suspect— is it not your DUTY to publicly report such obstacles blocking due process, so we can properly respond & be included in the process, as well as show support for Greens’ inclusion in our future?  The time is NOW to apply Greens’ considerable ethics/ know-how/ resources/ values to our remade future, which will look much better with —& MUCH worse without— the priceless benefits of Greens’ involvement..

I can’t wait much longer to see more of those good public policies & collaboration across party lines mentioned in your email!

Sincerely,

SARAH (SAZ) CHESTERMAN