Guest Post: Dr. Faisal Moola of David Suzuki Foundation on Site-C

maxresdefaultThank you Treaty 8 Tribal Association!

I had a wonderful time addressing a packed hall yesterday in Fort St John on the science case against the Site C Dam. Research by the David Suzuki Foundation and our partners has revealed that the pace and scale of industrial development in northeastern BC is unprecedented in Canada. Dunne-Za lands are literally being ripped apart by resource development: crisscrossed with roads, transmission lines and pipelines, and pockmarked by pump jacks, flare stacks, and other infrastructure used to drill, frack, and strip-mine fossil fuels from the ground.Today, more than 65 per cent of the region has felt the impact of industrial development, leaving little intact habitat for sensitive or endangered species such as caribou to feed, breed or roam.

First Nations, who have relied upon caribou, fish and other wild game for thousands of years, can no longer hunt them. The animals are gone, or are so toxic that they are unsafe to eat. This is a clear violation of the Treaty Rights of local First Nations, and they are now going to the Supreme Court to defend their Indigenous Rights and stop Site C. By doing this, the Dunne-Za and other First Nations and Metis who live further downstream on the Peace River are helping to protect the environment for all of us. We are so grateful for your leadership!

Thank you to Andrea Morrisson and the Peace Valley Environment Association for helping to organize yesterday’s forum and to the many farmers, ranchers, scientists and local community members that came out to participate. Thank you Chief Roland Willson for hosting us on behalf of Treaty 8 Tribal Association. Arlene Boon – please extend my gratitude to Ken for telling us more about the Peace Valley Landowner Association lawsuit on the phone. You guys are so strong and so tenacious and we are all so grateful to you.

Please consider donating to the legal fund in support of Treaty 8’s lawsuits against the Site C Dam: http://raventrust.com/join-the-circle-no-site-c/

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