Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador (AFNQL) Regional Chief Ghislain Picard Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) Grand Chief Derek Nepinak, llb, ba (Hons) Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC
December 17, 2015
OPEN LETTER TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE PRIME MINISTER TRUDEAU
Re: Fixing the Broken Review Process for Tar Sands Pipelines
Last weekend, Canada signed onto a global climate agreement that ushered in a new chapter for this global movement. We are at a potential turning point away from fossil fuels -- but only if Canada keeps its promises, increases ambition, and comes up with a plan to keep fossil fuels, starting with the tar sands, in the ground.
By comparison to what it could have been, it’s a miracle. By comparison to what it should have been, it’s a disaster…. The talks in Paris are the best there have ever been. And that is a terrible indictment.” George Monbiot, The Guardian , December 12, 2015
Banner saying “COP 21 +3 Degrees Celsius” on fire at climate protest in Paris, December 12, 2015. Photo by John Foran
PARIS, France – The most inspiring moment of December 12 was not the adoption of the United Nations Paris agreement but the sight of more than 20,000 people on the streets, building the power of the people, demanding climate justice and an end to dirty energy.
PARIS, France – The most inspiring moment of December 12 was not the adoption of the United Nations Paris agreement but the sight of more than 20,000 people on the streets, building the power of the people, demanding climate justice and an end to dirty energy.
On December 12th, 2015, world governments meeting in Paris produced a landmark climate agreement. The deal followed two weeks of intense negotiations and waves of global mobilization by the climate movement.
If Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s new cabinet ministers needed any reminder of how difficult their jobs are going to be when it comes to rebuilding trust with First Nations, they got it last week.
Working the crowd, when the Liberal caucus gathered for its annual Christmas party, was Chief Roland Willson, a big man with a powerful voice and an intractable problem he wasn’t going to let anyone ignore.
After a years-long, hard-fought campaign against Line 9, which employed a diversity of tactics, from lobbying to legal battles to direct action, Line 9 transported crude to a refinery in Montreal on December 3, 2015.
On December 7, we shut it down. Literally. Most media reported that Enbridge shut down Line 9 as a “precautionary measure”, but we know better. We closed the valve manually. This is historic: to our
knowledge, this is the first time that activists have manually shut down a pipeline. Who would have thought that it be so simple?
Mere mention of the Paris climate talks is enough to make James Hansen grumpy. The former Nasa scientist, considered the father of global awareness of climate change, is a soft-spoken, almost diffident Iowan. But when he talks about the gathering of nearly 200 nations, his demeanor changes.
As we finished sending this Daily, the Paris Agreement was adopted. This is our update from yesterday, but we promise more soon from this last day of negotiations! You can follow along live here.
