Umpteenth plea to SAVE BC's FORESTS

Yup I was pushed --again-- to pen another impassioned plea to the BC Govt to save our priceless forest ecosystems -- which are dwindling disastrously due to cont'd CLEARCUT LOGGING:  THE major cause of worsened Climate catastrophes like the insane wildfires we saw this past summer!  No hyperbole needed - all is 100% verifiable.  You too can customize your own message, via https://sierraclub.bc.ca

                   Pic by me:

My fave old-growth

forest grove in BC

Dear Minister Ralston and Premier Eby, 

The 3-year anniversary of your govt's promises to implement all 14 recommendations of the Old Growth Strategic Report has come & gone without meaningful measures taken.  This is unacceptable, since the extreme Climate impacts of 2023 -- & cont'd clearcut logging -- have further imperiled BC's communities & globally-rare rainforest ecosystems.

It's now crystal-clear that protecting BC's last intact unlogged primary, old-growth & mature forests is crucial to maintain natural carbon sinks, reduce Climate impacts & protect biodiversity that depends on these ecosystems.

Yet your govt. has stalled progress on the most fundamental, urgent calls to action -- eg. petitioning the federal govt NOT to issue an Emergency Order to save the last critically endangered Spotted Owl in the Spuzzum watershed (!) -- & instead allowed catastrophic clearcutting of its essential habitat, highlighting your govt's sinister true intentions.      

* * * *

The double whammy of industrial logging & Climate impacts means our iconic forests -- i.e. the ecosystems that draw tourists from all over to experience "Super, Natural BC" -- are fast shrinking, while industrially-degraded forests become parched 'dead zones' that fuel fast-spreading wildfires & jeopardize whole communities as well as entire wild foodchains. 

All so logging corps can keep reaping their outsize profits while denying BCers our Constitution-backed rights to benefit from & steward these irreplaceable LIVING LEGACIES, without which our lives will drastically decline.

* * * *

Your govt. ought to resign 'en masse' for its cont'd failure/refusal to protect the public's interests!

* * * *

In just 50 years much of the interior’s once-bountiful forests are gone, with horrendous consequences for endangered wildlife species such as woodland caribou, who need all that the forest contains, & where a “low-quality” tree for lumber is the highest-quality tree for lichen, without which caribou cannot survive.

The additional forest losses associated with Climate change & its role in fueling more prolonged & intense wildfires, tree-killing droughts, insect attacks & tree diseases, are exacerbating this ecological & economic crisis.

Surely as BC's official representatives in charge of managing our most invaluable (PUBLIC) natural resources on our behalf, you recognize the sheer folly of stubbornly keeping the (obvsly broken, harmful & unfair) status-quo -- along with the urgent need to save what’s left of our critically key forest landscapes!??

By banning ecocidal clearcut logging, protecting & restoring existing forests, & reforming forest practices (for starters), your govt. has the power to fulfill its stewardship responsibilities of supporting critical biodiversity & the health & safety of BC communities!?

* * * *

Therefore I'm calling on you to ACT NOW on your govt's promises to implement aLL 14 Old Growth Strategic Review recommendations, before it becomes even harder to save (once-'Beautiful') BC's life-saving Lungs of the Earth.

The entire world is waiting & watching, in mortal dread of the consequences of cont'd ill-advised corporate ecocide on the futures of those who will inherit the worst of its inevitable disasters:  our kids, & their kids.. & the many priceless benefits BC's native (unlogged & unsprayed) forests bestow on aLL our lives.

Allowing them to be systematically wiped out -- along with their myriad life-sustaining benefits/ biodiversity -- by greedy polluting billionaire corporations (/for export!?) is a crime worse than demolishing the Great Pyramids for the price of their stones:  & one to which your dishonest money-grubbing govt. CANNOT POSSIBLY BE ENTITLED!

Sincerely,  

Sarah (Saz) Chesterman

CC: Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, Nathan Cullen; Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, George Heyman

BC needs to REJECT Tilbury LNG!

In case you haven't heard, the BC govt. is considering a proposal by FortisBC to build new expanded LNG infrastructure @ Tilbury LNG -- another fraught political megaproject that promises increased shipping for the fracked gas along with risky methane emissions & outsize GHGs, as well as exacerbated Climate imbalance -- right between densely populated Richmond & Vancouver, on the Fraser River's threatened habitat of our last few orca & salmon populations.  While the public commenting period is over, the govt's decision is delayed -- so you can still express your opposition to this disastrous project thru StandEarth's letter page.. Click link:  

Tell the BC government to reject the Tilbury LNG jetty (stand.earth)

Here's my own edited letter -- unapologetically lengthy!  Cuz this BC govt needs to WAKE out of its corporate-captured fog & realize exactly what's being proposed by Tilbury LNG..

Dear {contact_data~salutation}{contact_data~lastName},

As a B.C. resident I am appalled that you & your government continue to ignore the overwhelming mass of evidence of the disastrous impacts that will -- not might -- result from approving the Tilbury LNG expansion project, for which this new tanker dock ('Jetty') awaits your immediate permission to ruin BC's future.

How is it that, having received reams of detailed expert opposition to this project's undeniable harms, your govt has not already rejected this proposal & denied FortisBC permits to build another ecocidal monument to climate catastrophe? 

I am tempted to reassert here -- again -- Tilbury LNG's significant cumulative effects & fundamental flaws (including:  Project splitting, Failure to address GHG targets, Methane emissions 86X deadlier than C02, Economic viability incl. dearth of data thereof, Marine shipping impacts incl. likely extinction of southern resident killer whales & salmon populations, Impacts on Indigenous rights & title incl. non-adherence to UNDRIP...) but blah blah right?  You've already read -- & apparently decided to ignore -- the numerous persuasive public comments detailing these ills, including my own posted input, on your govt.'s Tilbury LNG web page.

No, it's clear what you need to read -- not reported by our captured corporate media -- addresses your govt's baseless hopes that future LNG sales will justify BC's expanded natural gas production... & your repeated claims -- echoed by PM Justin Trudeau -- that BC produces “the world’s cleanest natural gas.”

*  *  *

The fiction of BC producing clean fossil fuel originated with Premier Christy Clark’s Liberals -- a claim as dishonest as the one about LNG rewarding the province with one trillion dollars in a “BC Prosperity fund.”  I.E. irrefutably FALSE...

National Geographic examined “the cleanest liquefied natural gas in the world” & concluded it was a hypothetical notion repeatedly promised by political leaders to build public support for the fossil fuel.. Quoted here:

"There’s no such thing as “clean natural gas.” It’s a fossil fuel, and it releases climate-disrupting greenhouse gases all the way up and down the chain of production, from the wellhead to the burners on your stovetop or in your furnace.

"This is especially true for LNG. In order to ship it, energy companies must first chill the gas to -160°C (-256°F) in giant coastal plants that are essentially industrial-size freezers. The process consumes vast quantities of energy. After it’s shipped across the sea, companies then return the LNG to its gaseous state before shipping it off to customers.

"Because of these extra steps, LNG carries a whopper of an energy and carbon footprint compared to unadulterated natural gas." [End National Geographic quote]

*  *  *

Both natural gas producers & transportation companies conceal the true climate impact of LNG. The New York Times reported that shipping produces as much C02 as all of America’s coal plants combined. The newspaper explained why regulation of shipping emissions by the powerful International Maritime Organization (IMO) is so ineffective:

"The I.M.O. is a regulatory body that is run in concert with the industry it regulates. Shipbuilders, oil companies, miners, chemical manufacturers and others with huge financial stakes in commercial shipping are among the delegates appointed by many member nations. They sometimes even speak on behalf of governments…

"Next week, the organization is scheduled to enact its first greenhouse gas rules since Paris — regulations that do not cut emissions, have no enforcement mechanism and leave key details shrouded in secrecy…

"Although some suggest LNG powered ships could moderate transportation harm, the International Council on Clean Transportation determined there is no climate benefit from tankers burning LNG, regardless of ship engine technology." [End New York Times quote]

*  *  *

The Natural Resources Defense Council states:

"Historically, gas has been considered a “bridge fuel”— cleaner and with lower carbon dioxide emissions than coal or oil— and a potential tool to help address climate change.

"However, LNG is neither clean nor particularly low in emissions. In addition, the massive investments in new infrastructure to support this industry, including pipelines, liquefaction facilities, export terminals, and tankers, lock in fossil fuel dependence, making the transition to actual low-carbon and no-carbon energy even more difficult.

"Our analysis shows that using LNG to replace other, dirtier fossil fuels, is not an effective strategy to reduce climate-warming emissions..." [End NRDC quote]

*  *  *

Your govt. is therefore considering inflicting a dirty polluting megaproject on hapless Lower Mainland residents, which will undoubtedly cause health problems & bring deadly risks into the lives of already-stressed BCers.  How grossly unfair..

Clearly, FortisBC don't care!

You must also realize that the EAO has taken steps to ignore clear evidence of project splitting & has accepted unsubstantiated & misleading representations made by FortisBC about the supposed climate benefits of the Jetty.

I implore you to take into account all of the information before you, to arrive at the only decent decision:  for all these reasons, Tilbury LNG (& this Jetty) should be assessed as NOT in the public interest & should be denied all permits. 

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Sarah (Saz) Chesterman

PS. For more complete & updated info about methane, check out this article on Norm Farrell's excellent 'In-Sights' blog:

in-sights.ca/2022/02/08/economic-interests-rank-higher-than-human-life/

Time's running out for systemic changes to make aLL BC sectors eco-safe & sustainable -- not just talk about 'Just Transition' while pushing status quo, as BC NDP & BC Liberal Party do (& BC Conservative Party treat #ClimateAction like the joke THEY are). In case you didn't notice, the BC Green Party -- led by Sonia Furstenau, MLA for Cowichan Valley -- is the sole entity to consistently hold Govt. to task on its #ClimateAction failures, proving she & her Greens work tirelessly for US & not wealthy corps driven solely by profits. So Sonia & Co. deserve our support -- & esp. our VOTES -- for the chance to deliver Greens' Science-backed V I S I O N for #RealReconciliation & the sustainable future we aLL want!! So E M E R G E from your #MSM-fed FOG & learn the DISCONCERTING TRUTH of the BC Govt's 150 years of abrogation of duty, bigotry & malfeasance--->that still prevails today with ecocidal policies that promise only fast-tracked Climate disasters (heat domes, wildfires➕➕) boosted by increasingly corporate-aligned press. Despite #MSM's baseless derision, the BC Green Party stands out with the integrity & smarts to lead BC out of this mess & transition to a livable, prosperous future for every BCer: Science says so, & science doesn'T lie..🐸🐛🐝🦉

🤞

FOREST BIOMASS: Letter to Govt.

Stand.earth has numerous opportunities to TAKE ACTION on Climate change, which I urge everyone to do now - including their key campaign against the unsustainable destruction of our primary forests for export as pellets that are burned as fuel, called FOREST BIOMASS..

Forest Biomass is an ecocidal & polluting cycle that Trudeau's Liberal Govt. claims is a "Carbon-neutral climate solution" -- another blatant LIE that perpetuates rising emissions & the catastrophic loss of our non-renewable Old-growth forests by irresponsible corps like UK's DRAX INC.

I've written the following letter via this Stand.earth link:

FOREST BIOMASS IS A FALSE CLIMATE SOLUTION - click to add your own letter!  All letters written on this Stand.earth page are sent to:

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson (Liberal Party of Canada) & The Honourable Steven Guilbeault (Liberal Party of Canada)

Subject:  FOREST BIOMASS is noT sustainable! 

Dear Ministers,

The evidence exposed by Stand.earth is shockingly clear:  our primary forests are being logged to produce wood pellets for global export, to burn for fuel.

Burning forests for fuel is FAR from a "climate-friendly solution" to the fossil fuel economy, & its claims of carbon neutrality have been SCIENTIFICALLY DISPROVEN AROUND THE WORLD.

Industrial use of forest biomass is at odds with national & global carbon emissions reductions goals for a livable planet. 

We deserve true investments in clean energy, & climate protection that does not mechanize away union jobs & devalue/ disrespect our important forest ecosystems!

The time to move away from high-GHG, polluting energy production is NOW, by meaningful consultation with [hereditary] indigenous leaders & scientists -- NOT by pandering to fossil fuels/ logging firms whose historical contribution to Climate change is utterly defeating- & damning. 

We need climate solutions that prioritize healthy ecosystems & local production, to safeguard aLL Canadians' future wellbeing.  It can be done.. but only if you cut Govt's ties to corrupt industry lobbyists & dictatorships like Brazil.

We're watching you closely, because so far you've only failed Canadians on key Climate action:  & that's unacceptable!

Thank you,

Sarah M. Chesterman 

Please STOP SPRAYING OUR FORESTS!

(Updated Sept '22 - see bottom of pg)

Email now: stop the chemical herbicide spray in forests across southern B.C. (stand.earth)

Org's like StopTheSprayBC have been opposing the unethical spraying of forests by BC Timber for the purpose of killing fire-resistant broadleaf shrubs/ trees that jeopardize ecosystem/ wildlife health for years if not decades:  It's GOT TO STOP!!

For more information, Stand.earth have provided these links on their letter-writing page, for review / add more details to your submission:

• Angelina Hopkins Rose from the St̓át̓imc Nation’s letter template
• Stop the Spray BC press release
• Stand.earth statement

Here's my letter, which Stand.earth will send to key decision-makers, including Premier Horgan & Minister of Forests Katrine Conroy:

To whom it may concern,

I am appalled that the province has not fulfilled its responsibility to adequately engage Indigenous Nations & the public at large RE. Pest Management Plan 18597-40/2022-27 proposed by BCTS for the Sea to Sky & Chilliwack Natural Resource Districts on unceded Stó:lō, St’át’imc, Nlaka’pamux, Squamish & Tsleil-Waututh territories.

"Given the complexity & potential severity of these issues, 30 days is simply not enough time for members of our communities to be adequately engaged & provide feedback." - Excerpt from the letter written by Angelina Hopkins Rose, St̓át̓imc First Nations member

Glyphosate, currently under federal review, is an especially controversial chemical herbicide that is the subject of ongoing lawsuits for potential cancer links.

The potential impacts of this plan are immense & likely to jeopardize local food & medicine sources for Indigenous communities, as well as all wilderness areas:

"The broad-leaf plant species that BC Timber Sales proposes to target with glyphosate, triclopyr & Formula 40 include salmonberry, huckleberry, thimbleberry, elderberry, salal, red raspberry, blueberry, mushrooms, Indian Hellebore, Devil’s club, fireweed.. These are all culturally significant plants & medicines that local Indigenous peoples have harvested & relied upon for thousands of years. Targeting these native plants will have serious negative impacts on local Indigenous peoples, local wildlife, & wild salmon." - Excerpt from the letter written by Angelina Hopkins Rose, St̓át̓imc First Nations member

The protection & recovery of forests, including fire & drought-resistant species like broadleaf trees, must be an integral part of any strategy to mitigate climate change impacts.

The B.C. NDP government has pledged to undertake a “paradigm shift” for forest management, specifically to value ecological & community values above timber values. The continued spraying of chemicals, especially without due public dialogue or transparency, is the very antithesis to this commitment.

Signed,

Sarah (Saz) Chesterman

Update Sept. 20th:  important FB post by the knowledgeable Taryn Skalbania:

Taryn Skalbania

17 h  · 

Did you sign this yet? https://www.intotheweedsimpact.com/...

INTOTHEWEEDSIMPACT.COM

Into the Weeds Impact - Home

Official film site for Into the Weeds and information about the ban against glyphosate

BC's CLimate iNaCTion wiLL BURN us aLL..

Half-baked plans won’t cut it in a #ClimateEmergency! Pls. join me in using #SierraClubBC's letter-writing tool to tell #bcndp that BC desperately needs effective actions to combat #ClimateChange B4 deadly effects worsen.. Click link:

Tell your MLA we need a full climate plan for B.C.! - Sierra Club BC

My (edited) letter using the tool:

Dear [Premier Horgan, Mr. Heyman],

I am writing to you today to express my dismay at the BC Government’s woeful lack of action to combat Climate change, "the Challenge of our times" according to experts, leading financial institutions & the scientific community at large.

Therefore I strongly support Sierra Club BC's Ecojustice-backed legal action against the BC Govt for failing to devise & implement legislation to achieve the targets set out in its own Climate change plan.  And I'm calling on your help to ensure Premier Horgan moves quickly to protect us from worsening Climate risks.  

With the increased frequency of deadly Climate events like floods, landslides & wildfires, anything less than a plan without blind spots & loopholes is unacceptable.  Govt's 2021 report on the Climate Change Accountability Act falls short by failing to include a plan for 2025, 2040 & 2050 targets -- & by omitting plans to cut GHG pollution from the O&G sector.  

The latter is a real worry, due to BC Govt's ongoing support for fracked gas/ LNG projects.  Also missing is the C02 footprint of BC Forestry, which continues to deplete our critically key -- globally rare -- C02 sinks/ wildlife habitats at an unsustainable rate. 

Without addressing these top risks, we have no reason to trust our Govt is serious about taking action to combat dangerous -- increasing -- Climate.catastrophes.

BC brags about being a "Climate leader", yet continues to emit more [cumulative] C02/GHG pollution as Climate effects batter our province.

How many more deadly “atmospheric rivers"/ "heat domes" will it take for the Govt to realize that claims about "bold Climate action" without implementation is an abrogation of its basic duty to keep all BCers safe in an emergency? Claims that "BC's Climate plan is the best in North America" -- if even true -- mean NOTHING without actual emissions reductions.  ESP. if our emissions counts exclude the very industries that continue to make BC a significant material contributor to Climate change!!?

IPCC scientists have warned Canada -- & specifically BC -- are failing by continuing to invest in GROWING Climate-wrecking, ecocidal industries like LNG & Tar Sands pipelines (fossil fuels) & logging.. as well as rewarding them with tax breaks that belong to renewable, sustainable new operations.  Such clear neglect of public duty (Govt malfeasance) -- aided by an equally ethics-light MSM -- keeps Cdns misinformed in endless loops of Govt 'announcements'/ 'decisions'/ 'goals' etc. --> momentary public appeasement/ distraction/ doubt --> exposure of Govt corruption/ inaction/ ineptitude--> helpless hand-wringing at yet another after-the-fact done deal turned deadly resulting from Govt's undying (inexplicable & inexcusable) loyalty to corporate/ industrial status-quo profiteering at BCers' expense, eg. Deadly fires/ mining disasters/ Salmon & Species-At-Risk die-off/ Watershed contamination --> Deafening Govt silence over their utter dearth of trust-buildibg action/ fines --> Public despair --> Back to more Govt plans/ platitudes (& still no actual progress bringing us a Just Transition!!?)

The Green party -- STILL -- provide the only voice of reason, responsibility & sound solutions -- studiously ignored by the vastly inferior duds in office.. (whether Liberal, NDP or -- god help us -- Cons)

Canada's outsize contributions to Climate change NEED to be exposed & curtailed -- INCLUDING exported GHGs via shipped Coal, LNG & pipelined TarSands oil.. as well as raw logs from our criminally CLEARCUT FORESTS -- sold to foreign corps for unsustainable uses, which further lock in global rising GHGs..

Anything less than proactive legislation that restores healthy ecosystems & forests, & works at meeting Paris-Agreement targets in every sector, is bound to fail:  Science says so, & Science doesn't lie..

The stakes couldn't be higher for ensuring a livable & prosperous future for all BCers! 

I expect you, my elected representative, & the B.C. Govt to take this emergency to heart & UPGRADE -- IE. implement effective Science-led Climate actions NOW

Thank you very much, 

Sarah (Saz) Chesterman

CC: Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, George Heyman and Premier John Horgan.

Spotted owl, endangered & unprotected native of BC

& here's my comment on this relevant article at Falcon calls B.C. NDP economic plan ‘propaganda document’ – Nelson Star

Saz Sarah Chesterman

The fact that BC recently emerged -- not unscathed-- from 2 consecutive climate-brought calamities (last summer's extreme heat-dome that directly claimed 60 deaths + 1,000s of hectares of wildfires accelerated by rampant dried-out clearcuts; AND Nov's catastrophic floods/ landslides that crippled our key agriculture industry) would be #1 URGENT priority in a budget drawn by Greens, the only BC party with the brains, guts, heart & science-backed souL needed to tackle this overriding 'Challenge of our Time' that's hit BC -- smack on schedule, as shown by every scientific study of the last 30+ yrs (which inform the Greens' initiatives..)

ALAS-! My fellow BCers have glibly -- infuriatingly -- decided 'en masse' that we don't DESERVE Greens' carefully-considered, in-depth expertise.. & so by default, THIS 'LACK OF' [EVERYTHING WE NEED TO SUCCEED] is what we get -- in a majority, no less. AGAIN. Only now, it's heating up 4ReaL.. & we need to GET THINGS RIGHT to make any inroads at all reversing these unlivable extremes-!?

BCers' profound ignorance of all but what they read/see on #MSM isn't helping, as unfortch Premier Horgan's BC-NDP is failing hard at every turn -- this budget included++ -- but confidently claims/ looks otherwise: HOW do the majority of BCers NOT SEE THRU this Govt's double-speak, promising all kinds of high-sounding Climate ACTIONS but delivering only more inaction & ineptitude?

EG. Agreeing with scientists in words is 1 thing -- saying THIS should alert most peops we've psychopaths in Govt:
"Science shows fossil fuels burning/ use is a major driver of climate change.. but we're going forward on/ funding massive NEW clean [= dirty: LNG isn'T clean OR renewable!!?] energy 'projects' like LNG/ TMX to RAISE REVENUE FOR THE 'JUST TRANSITION' WE'RE PLANNING FOR.." 

WHEN? 2030?? 2050??? That's too late - esp after locking ourselves & all Earthlings into polluting fossil fuels for another decade or 2!!??

THAT'S NOT A SOLUTION -- it's trying to quit smoking using cigarettes, & BCers' ever-compliant silence at these constant Govt INSULTS [implying our weak-&-easy acquiescence of same-old junk/ inaction] means MORE & WORSE CLIMATE CRISES are coming -- & even scarier, our Govts don't CARE they're leading us like lemmings off the cliff -- rather than improving our prospects for success!!?

At this late hour, only the latter will do - the rest simply deserves NO CONFIDENCE in this Govt's ability to lead us into an ACTUAL 'JUST TRANSITION' (starting with protecting all our intact OldGrowth forests from being clearcut, as our last & only C02-sinking saviours -- our 'Lungs of the North' which BC govts from day 1 have permitted the wholesale destruction thereof)

It's clear this govt has no interest in protecting our best interests or the natural features that make BC 'Beautiful':  we're losing the crucial fight of our lives -- & only the Greens have what it takes to lead us into actual, measurable, real-life success.

WHAT'LL iT TAKE for GOVT. to PROTECT BC's BiODiVERSiTY-RiCH FORESTs -- & RESPECT the 1st Nations hereditary chiefs' lawful decision-making rights over their territories??

Here's yet another letter I've recently written to BC's powers-that-be - Premier Horgan, Forestry Minister Katrine Conroy et al.. via Sierra Club BC's aws letter-writing tool (extended & detailed to maximum capacity - without apology..)

Premier Horgan, Minister Conroy et al,

I watched this summer as the RCMP violently policed Indigenous forest protectors at the Fairy Creek/Ada’itsx Blockades & even more baffling, blocking the #Wetsuweten rightful hereditary chiefs & #1stNations members/residents from ACCESSING THEIR OWN LANDS & thereby reneging on all U.N.D.R.I.P. required PRIOR INFORMED CONSENT for forcing the #CGL (COASTAL GAS LINK) O&G PIPELINE THRU SACRED SITES & WATERS OF THE WET'SUWET'EN people-!!??

Such harmful, hateful, hypocritical --& yes, heartbreaking-- violations against promised Indigenous sovereignty (ESP. IN LIGHT OF THIS YEAR'S EXPOSÉ OF THE GOVT-SANCTIONED ABUSIVE/ OPPRESSIVR TREATMENT of Indigenous children kidnapped from their homes suffered at Residential Schools -- LIKE SOMETHING BELONGING IN A DICKENS NOVEL, NOT REAL-LIFE HISTORIC CANADA!!?? -- SHOCKED CANADIANS & BROUGHT A SWELL OF PUBLIC SYMPATHY & SUPPORT FOR BC's NEGLECTED INDIGENOUS SURIVORS.. which promised a newfound respect for their pre-Res-school cultural heritage --& stewardship of Nature at a level that could be THE key to our (humans') ongoing future existence on Earth.

The hopes & wishes for REAL, longed-for #RECONCILIATION (which is now enshrined per #U.N.D.R.I.P. --adopted by #PremierJohnHorgan himself, as well as by federal #PMTrudeau) would seem to become more doable & tangible  by the day, with govt. Leaders across the country forced to pause & recognize the full weight of past Govt-hidden atrocities committed in what at the very least  appears to prove suspected genocide as their gruesome, publicly-suppressed intent.

Orange shirts of solidarity became the official attire for showing  your respect & sincere shame at learning what 1stNations endured at the hands of BC's colonial leaders-- who, judging from the small but highly detailed handful of books written about this exact segment of BC's history, ruthlessly carried out the UNOFFICIAL & UNSIGNED APPROPRIATION OF NATIVE SACRED & TRADITIONAL TERRITORIES, while forcing the (majority of) native inhabitants onto the tiniest possible reserves -- like rounding up & imprisoning cattle to use & abuse --& of course repress -- at will, as needed.

But since BC's govt. leaders -- unlike the rest of Canada's provinces -- deemed treaties outlining Natives' rights unneeded, today that translates into presumed 'unceded lands' of acknowledged aboriginal historic development/use dating back 1,000s of years.  If you think you can continue to disrespect & violate their most eloquent, science-backed defenses of Mother Nature's complex workings (which noone knows better than 1st Nations hereditary knowledge holders) -- by building UN-ASSESSED & #BCNDP-BACKED TAR-SANDS SUPPORTIVE INFRASTRUCTURE PROVEN TO ENSURE EVENTUAL EXTINCTION OF BC'S RESIDENT ORCAS -- then you have FAILED to grant even the most minimal protection to the land defenders doing all they can to save the precious integrity of their once-priceless --now-threatened-- rainforest ecosystems..

(WHICH ARE, IN TRUTH, SOME OF THE LAST 1-3% OF UNTOUCHED WILDERNESS AREAS WITH THE HIGHEST BIODIVERSITY COUNTS & UNLOGGED INTEGRITY OF ANY IN BC..)

*  *  *  *

FROM Fairy Creek this year, videos circulated online showing officers choking, pepper spraying, punching & dragging activists face down over rocks by their hair. [1] [2] [3] 

Reports further revealed that the RCMP continued to use exclusion zones & block the freedom of the press, long after the B.C. Supreme Court stated this wasn’t permitted by the court-ordered injunction. [4]

And now, Justice Thompson has sided with the forest protectors by denying an extension to the injunction, stating that the RCMP actions at Fairy Creek trampled civil liberties & put the court’s own reputation at risk! [5]

Take notes, because the B.C. NDP government’s reputation is also at risk.

Premier John Horgan: you have clearly stated you want an end to this conflict, yet you've shirked your responsibility to keep citizens safe. [6] Meanwhile, some of B.C.’s best allies in the fight against climate change are on the line: old-growth forests. [7]

After a summer of intense wildfires & record-breaking heatwaves, & now disastrous erosion & flooding jeopardizing B.C.'s communities, you need to keep the promises you made to save our last old-growth forests & end destructive practices like clearcutting, which is exacerbating these crises & threatening our future..

I therefore feel duty-bound to call on your B.C. government to take immediate action as follows:

●Publicly denounce the use of force by the BC-RCMP, while initiating a full & independent investigation into RCMP actions at Fairy Creek;

●Deny further provincial funding or support for RCMP enforcement at Fairy Creek & Wet'suwet'en territory/ 'yintah' (& all waterways) until an independent investigation is completed;

●Enact all recommendations in the provincial report ‘A New Future for Old-Growth Forests’ for an urgently-needed paradigm shift in the management of these rare ecosystems; [8]

●Enact a just transition for forestry workers into a new sustainable economy that doesn’t rely on old-growth logging;

●Cease & desist ALL trespassing over 1st Nations territories!  In a code red climate emergency, it is unacceptable that you continue to put industry profits over our right to a climate-safe future. And in a country that talks a good talk about truth & reconciliation, it is despicable that RCMP trample civil liberties & violently police Indigenous forest protectors on their own land!

Old-growth forests in B.C. are teetering on the brink, in danger of becoming a permanent carbon source rather than a critically important carbon sink & habitat for numerous beloved species of biodiversity, known as the 'Lungs of the North'.  Please stop fast-tracking their demise:  these iconic ancient stands are B.C.'s only valuable natural legacy left - & as you've said before, they're worth their colossal weight in gold INTACT & NOT ON THE BACK OF A TRUCK!  Logging these living protectors to fulfill Asia's demand for cheap quality lumber is the OPPOSITE of the climate action you claim to support with CleanBC..

The research is IN, the studies are DONE -- by your own commissioned Old-Growth Strategic Review Panel no less -- which called for an "urgent" paradigm shift in Forestry mgmt, which you promised to enact in full OVER A YEAR AGO.

Since then, reckless & unethical clearcutting has continued at an alarming rate & with even scarier outcomes, with 99%+ of 2021's wildfires occurring in previously-clearcut stands -- including replanted monocultures - where resulting eco-degradation accelerates spreading wildfires & leads directly to calamitous erosion, landslides etc.  

A clear example of destructive logging's disastrous effects occurred just yesterday in Agassiz, where ravaged recent cut-blocks blighting the surrounding mountainsides clearly exacerbated -- if not caused -- the deadly flooding/ landslides brought on by heavy rainfall.. along with the washing-away of bridges & highway all along the Coquihalla Highway.  As our public servants, it's your job to properly assess such events in consultation with experts & scientists whose intensive, on-the-ground research cancels out the lies of corporate/ industry lobbyists -- & take proactive measures to prevent reoccurrences & ensure public safety.

One thing's certain:  continued clearcut logging is putting BC's biodiversity, communities, people & wildlife in dire jeopardy -- to the point of guaranteeing increased risks of worsened fires, flooding & other related catastrophes which we simply cannot afford.  Further degradation of our last intact forest ecosystems is a worst-case-scenario that must be avoided at all costs -- not least because the feared outcomes will be noted as YOUR GOVT's failure.

We've seen how Climate change coupled with unchecked ecocidal/ polluting industrial development has turned places like Australia, Brazil & California into disaster-zones that, in turn, have contributed to further increased global warming & loss of invaluable carbon sinks.  Yet your govt. is failing to take these warnings seriously & learn their critical lessons.

You can prevent these tragedies - but only if you do the right thing today!

Science has warned of the dire effects of deforestation for years, yet your office has failed to take the proper protective measures that are urgently required to prevent these outcomes!!?  80%+ Cdns. made Climate a top issue in this year's federal election, & thousands more have supported the Fairy Creek & indigenous land protectors who risk their own comfort/safety to ensure BC's sustainable future.  You need to follow suit -- LISTEN to those who pay your salaries (US!) rather than the corporations who don't give a damn about anything but their own selfish profits!

Continuing to allow destruction of our most eco-rich & valuable ancient forests by approving cutblocks in these old-growth stands is particularly bloody-minded in light of your adoption of UNDRIP as a reconciliation measure:  your inaction on Old-Growth forest protection is inexcusable, & claiming "lost jobs"/ "lost revenue" is simply unfair, given the subsidies you dole out ad infinitum to the most polluting industries, instead of transitioning to sustainable ops in all sectors, in line with CleanBC/ NetZero claimed goals.

Also shameful is continually refusing to provide the proper funding that will ease indigenous transition to preserving, NOT LOGGING, our precious 1,000-year-old forest ecosystems, given the countless benefits they bring to our environments, biodiversity, healthy tourism, clean water quality & vibrant natural surroundings for which we are (/were?) world-famous.  And which First Nations managed - spectacularly & sustainably - for millenia, before white Europeans came along & almost destroyed the lot in 150 years or less:  SHAMEFUL.

In fact, allowing BC's globally-rare forest ecosystems to be clearcut is like demolishing the great pyramids for the price of their stones:  the seriousness of that calamity is less than what your office continues to greenlight, as if our forests aren't  the KEYS to tackling the worst of climate change - which they certainly ARE.

The time to transition is NOW - as the decisions you make today will impact all of us – including your children & grandchildren.

How do you want to be remembered –  as the ones who violently protected big industry profits at the expense of our planet? Or as playing a significant role in building the sustainable economy that ensures a shared climate-safe future for all?

Your choices matter.  We the people are waiting & watching in fear.  Please rise to the occasion & do the right thing, as leaders in an apparent 'democracy' -- before it's too late to save ourselves & the world from the preventable effects of irresponsible status-quo stasis.

Thank you.

Sarah (Saz) Chesterman

SOURCES:

[1] https://gripped.com/gripped-outdoors/crazy-scenes-from-the-fairy-creek-blockades-in-b-c/

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/08/canada-logging-protest-vancouver-island

[3] https://thetyee.ca/News/2021/09/27/Someone-Going-To-Be-Injured-Killed/

[4] https://thetyee.ca/News/2021/08/16/Judge-Rebuked-Illegal-RCMP-Tactics/

[5] https://globe2go.pressreader.com/article/281492164472706

[6] https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2021/10/04/Horgan-Fairy-Creek-Excuses-Betray-Citizens/

[7] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/logging-climate-change-bc-report-1.5895220

[8] https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/farming-natural-resources-and-industry/forestry/stewardship/old-growth-forests/strategic-review-20200430.pdf

[9] https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/07/05/analysis/under-siege-bcs-forests-have-started-emitting-co2-lots-it

SaRaH C.