News: May 28, 2008
Here is a link to the TORONTO National Aboriginal Day of Action!!!!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=15091215115
News: May 26, 2008
BUSING UPDATE FOR TORONTO RALLY:
We have had to change the itinerary of the Perth/Sharbot Lake bus. We appear to have latched on to the only 11 passenger bus in Eastern Ont. that allows a trailer to be towed behind it. If we don’t keep the van for the duration of the event we would face some significant difficulties in getting the trailer and teepees back. If people are only going for the Rally (on the May 26th), they must take the Kingston bus, which has lots of room. The Perth/Sharbot Lake bus is not coming back on the 26th. Sorry for the inconvenience.
I have also sent the Workshop Program and Sleepover schedule for the Gathering of Mother Earth Protectors.
In Solidarity,
Jack LaPointe
AAFN
(Editors Note: I have included the workshop information in this announcement. For those who would like a schedule sent to them as an attachment, please email me at greenlynndaniluk@yahoo.ca -LD)
——
WORKSHOP PROGRAM
Gathering of Mother Earth Protectors
Introduction
• The workshop programming for this gathering was generated through an open callout to supporters and allied organizations.
• While the schedule is packed and tight, please keep in mind that it is also flexible and intended to be fluid throughout the Gathering.
• Please attend whatever workshops you like, keeping in mind that there are at least two in every timeslot. Please remember to follow “ground rules” for the Gathering during all workshops.
• Any questions on site can be directed to our programming coordinator who can be contacted through our Orientation & Safety Station (which will be marked and visible, and located at the north end of the camp at queen’s park). Any questions prior to the event should be directed to alex.hundert@gmail.com.
Workshops:
• Protest Barrick
protestbarrick.net is an international network of groups fighting barrick gold. Will be showing films about mining conflicts abroad, or a slideshow/presentation about their tour, which took them from the UN Permanent forum on indigenous issues, to Barrick’s AGM in Toronto, to Ottawa with Indigenous communities from the U.S., Australia, Papua new Guinea, and Chile.
• Tyendinaga Support Committee
The Tyendinaga Support Committee is a group in Toronto working to gather support for the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte (Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory) in their struggles for land and justice and against criminal prosecution.
www.ocap.ca/supporttmt
• Mining Watch Canada
Joan Kuyek, Mining Watch’s National Coordinator is presenting a workshop/teach-in on the impacts of mining related to Indigenous struggle.
www.miningwatch.ca
• “No Olympics on Stolen Land – Resistance to 2010”
A workshop-presentation on the issues and growing resistance to the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Olympics.
• Algonquin of Barriere Lake and the Trilateral Agreement: 20-years of Struggle
The Algonquin of Barriere Lake Caravan will be traveling to Toronto as part of a three-city tour to speak out about the history of the current crisis in their community. Spokesperson Marylynn Poucachiche and former Chief Michel Thusky will describe how, for twenty difficult years, the small Algonquin community of Barriere Lake, 5 hours north of Montreal, has been struggling to hold the government to their word. In 1991, they signed a pioneering resource co-management and sustainable development agreement with Canada and Quebec to protect Algonquin land uses, conserve the forest and wildlife, and give them a share in the resource revenue from the logging and hydro projects on their traditional territories. The Canadian government walked away from the agreement in 2001 and the Quebec government has sat on recommendations for implementing its side of the agreement since 2006. Instead of fulfilling their obligations, the Federal Department of Indian Affairs, with the support of the Quebec government, has been playing divide and rule in Barriere Lake, wreaking havoc in the community by ousting the Customary Chief and Council and illegally appointing a small faction as the leadership.
www.barrierelakesolidarity.blogspot.com
• EnJOI
The Environmental Justice Organizing Initiative and Clayton Thomas-Muller of the Indigenous Environmental Network will host a discussion about Indigenous peoples on the front lines of fighting environmental destruction in Ontario, across Canada, and around the world, examples in Canada including the struggle of Cree and Dene Nations against the tar sands, Mackenzie Valley Pipeline, and coal bed methane in northern BC.
Will look at how climate change threatens the survival of humanity and most species on earth and how Indigenous people are going to be key to stopping this threat, with the solidarity of social justice and environmental activists, but we need to name the economic order that drives this destruction and imagine alternatives, and what would a green economy look like and how might decentralized, renewable energy production (eg) help Indigenous communities achieve sustainable sovereignty while helping the rest of the world fight climate change.
http://enjoi.org, www.ienearth.org
• “Haudenosaunee Women and Youth Mobilization”
Jessica Yee, founder of the Native Youth Sexual Health Network and current chair of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Committee for Canadians for Choice, will facilitate a workshop on mobilization from a Haudenosaunee perspective, specifically for youth, with the emphasis on women as the land title holders in our matriarchal culture. This would speak to the violence and marginalization that women and children specifically face in our communities and the reclamation of our rights to organize and speak out to respect ourselves and Mother Earth.
• Political Prisoners
Skyler Williams, from Six Nations will talk about his experience as a political prisoner and resisting state oppression. He may be joined by others.
High Profile Programming
• This is media friendly programming that will happen at 1pm on Tuesday and Wednesday.
• Tuesday will be a presentation from several First Nations Chiefs: Grand Chief Sydney Garrioch from MKO and other Manitoba Chiefs, Chiefs from Pikangikum, Muscrat Dam, and possible others, and Cheif Simon Fobister from Grassy Narrows.
• Wednesday we are hoping to feature Church and Union leaders talking about solidarity with Indigenous communities.
Training
• Nonviolence training will be collaboratively provided by Christian Peacemaker Teams and No One is Illegal-Toronto.
Entertainment
• Studies in Non-Violent Action (SINVA) – musical performance
Formerly know as Imagine Rainbow Warriors, founded in 1981 “to address, through music, human rights and environmental issues. SINVA has done extensive work for First Nations over the years; in particular, the Oneida Nation in western Ontario, the Cree Nation at Lubicon Lake, the Mohawk Nation at Oka, The Leonard Peltier Defence Committee and the Native Canadian Centre. Currently SINVA consists of two vocals and one guitar.
http://activistmagazine.com/downloads/music/sinva, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lhctIQM3QE
• Monster Redlight – Musical Entertainment
Clayton will be performing Hip Hop which can be sampled at www.myspace.com/claythomasmonsterredlight .
News: May 21, 2008
May 11, 2008
I am writing this letter to you from the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ontario. I have been imprisoned here during the last three months for contempt of court because I said I cannot obey an injunction which conflicts with my duty under Algonquin law to protect our land.
I am writing because I believe you are honest men and women who work in the best interests of your constituents and for the betterment of Ontario. Is it to your intelligence and compassion that this letter is addressed. What I write may shock and anger you. It will certainly cause embarrassment. My hope is that what you read here will engender in you the same commitment to justice that I have felt within these prison walls and throughout my life.
On February 15th of this year, I was sentenced to six months in prison and fined $25,000. Co-Chief Paula Sherman was also fined $15,000. She is a single mother and a grandmother and the sole supporter for three dependents. She cannot and will not pay the fine and will have to report to jail on May 15 to serve a 90 day prison sentence. Our offence was declaring our intention to peacefully protect our homeland after 30,000 acres had been staked for uranium exploration. The staking had been done without our knowledge or consent and the claims were registered by Ontario’s Ministry of Mines without notification. Extensive deep core drilling was planned for last summer without consultation or accommodation.
In June of last year, the Council of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation requested the exploration company remove their personnel and equipment. When they complied, we secured the area with the help of our non-Algonquin neighbours. In July, the company, Frontenac Ventures Corporation, sued us for $77 million, and in August obtained an injunction ordering unfettered access to our lands. Since their still had not been any consultation, as required by Supreme Court decisions, we refused to remove the security barrier, and found ourselves convicted of “contempt” by your court.
Although the context behind my imprisonment is useful, this letter is not about mining or the out-dated Ontario Mining Act. There is already much public discussion now going on about toxic mining and the need to protect citizens’ rights. This letter as well is not about Aboriginal rights or the protection of our homeland, although our Indigenous rights and responsibilities contribute to the discourse. This letter is a case against colonialism, the dysfunctional heritage that we share; the colonialism that informs every aspect of our current relationship and will undo our security and undermine the future for all citizens in this province. Democracy and colonialism can not walk hand-in-hand for long before the disparity in justice, economic opportunities and morality so sickens human spirits that we will all live without hope of becoming the nations we wish to be.
For many years in my intellectual life I tried to understand why, as Indigenous people, we were destined to suffer under the oppression of colonialism. I wanted to know if some natural law at the beginning of time had proclaimed it so, or if it were an accident of conditioning, or if it were essential to social order that made such suffering a necessity. I believed that if I could only know how it had come to be then I would be satisfied with the justification, or understand how you fix the mechanics.
As the years have carved away my curiosity, I have at last concluded that it does not matter how colonialism came to be or who is at fault. I do not care if I ever know how colonialism took root in this world. Now, I just want to be free of it. I want to know that succeeding generations of First Nations children will not be looked upon as inferior, that their birthright and home will not be stolen, that they will have the advantage of dreaming their own dreams and following their own visions. And as much as I want my own children to be free, I want your children not to suffer the moral uncertainty that comes with living well because others are oppressed.
You are legislators. You have the responsibility for writing the laws and policies that frame colonialism and give it social and political structure in Ontario. Unwriting colonialism is not a political process. One party or coalition can not do it alone. Ending legal colonialism is not for partisans. It requires a consensus among law makers who regard justice and humanity above competition for popularity. Those of you who will work for just change will believe in the rightness of your laws as strongly as I believe in the rightness of Algonquin law. When you decide to erase colonialism from your laws you will be risking your future as much as I have risked mine. They are your laws that embody colonial oppression of Aboriginal people and although we can offer guidance, it will be you as legislators who will choose to be, or choose not to be, the burden of innocent generations of come.
The present and accepted course of de-colonization has failed. It has failed both in letter and in spirit. We are living an illusion that Canada and the Provinces no longer oppress First Nations. Nothing in this lie could be further from the truth. If it was so, when did this reversal take place? Was it with Confederation? No – Confederation marked the transition from an ambivalent British Crown to a purposeful extermination of everything Indian. Was it during the Canadian centre of repressive laws that alienated Aboriginal people from their lands and customs? No. Did revisions of the federal Indian Act reverse the national strategy of “taking the Indian out of the Indian child” or save thousands of Indian children from the “sixties scoop”? No.
Have decisions of the Supreme Course recognized original jurisdiction or simply redefined domination in more tolerable terms? Did the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People and hundreds of other studies inform the Nation and change public attitudes? No. Did patriating the Constitution in 1982 succeed in defining the rights and jurisdiction of Aboriginal Nations as it did for the Federal and Provincial governments? No! Please, honestly, ask yourselves, when such a historical turn around occurred and when substantial changes in legislation were written which would have allowed the transition to take place.
Freedom does not come in increments. Colonialism will not give way through wishful thinking or half-measures. In the past, politicians, clergy and intellectuals argued that Aboriginal people were not ready for “civilization” and needed the guiding hand of the colonizer. This ideology is nothing more than self-serving paternalism. Freedom is not something that Aboriginal people should have to earn. If freedom were to be bought, then we have paid for it a thousand fold. Freedom comes when the gate is opened wide or broken down. If there is anyone who has not been ready for Aboriginal people to take their rightful place in Canada, it is you, the colonizer. Until you actively and explicitly make colonialism illegal then it will always be you who are not ready.
The forces that guard colonialism are large. The federal and provincial governments employ hundreds of lawyers, bureaucrats and academics to discredit Aboriginal claims and put Aboriginal people in their place. They work on land claims, court cases and public policy in an effort to limit the Crown’s obligations and liability to Aboriginal people. When have Ontario lawyers defended an Aboriginal right or vigorously advanced Aboriginal claims? They just don’t do that.
Colonialism will remain firmly entrenched as long as we work in an adversarial system in which communities that have been undermined socially, economically and politically for over two centuries must play by their opponents’ rules on a field with a precipitous incline. I have watched as a generation of great minds have been squandered on both sides of this rivalry because intransigent bureaucrats and partisan politicians have been afraid to let “the thin edge of the wedge” change public policy and institutionalize just treatment of Aboriginal citizens. It is not for want of informed and competent negotiators that Canada and Ontario have a slew of unsettled claims and associated conflicts; rather it is the law makers’ lack of political will, fairness and honesty in putting an end to the immoral advantage of colonialism.
Let me give you a clear and recent example of how Aboriginal people experience negotiations. In October of last year, Judge Cunningham of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, who presides in the suit brought by Frontenac Ventures against my community, suspended the hearing for twelve weeks in an effort to get all the parties talking. Ontario, Frontenac Ventures and the two First Nations agreed to a prioritized list of issues and to jointly choose a mediator. At that point, we removed our security barrier and permitted Frontenac Ventures to carry out unobtrusive survey work.
When the discussions began, the corporation did not attend or send a representative. Instead they installed security guards at the site.
Ontario’s representatives consistently refused to discuss the issues outlined in the predetermined agenda which included as the first item, Ontario’s legal responsibility to consult with First Nations communities before development of a resource begins. Ontario negotiators rejected out of hand three comprehensive settlement proposals put forward by Ardoch. Ontario negotiators demanded that we inventory our “values” for the staked land, but refused to accept the description of these “values” when expressed in cultural context or with their meanings in Anishnabemowin, our language.
When it was apparent that time was running out in the 12 week process, the lead Ontario negotiator, who had been a former Deputy Minister of Northern Development and Mines, conceded that Ontario’s duty to consult should be met. He agreed with Ardoch that a broad range of possible outcomes should be considered. He also agreed that the consultation process could conclude with an end to uranium exploration. Ardoch had favoured such an open consultation from the beginning of negotiations. Having arrived at an agreement that a plan of “appropriate consultation” would be submitted to Judge Cunningham we proceeded to discuss the framework for the consultation process.
A week later, after substantial collaboration on the framework, Ontario’s lead negotiator advised us that there had never been an intention to halt exploration and that exploratory drilling would be taking place during the proposed consultation process. We could either agree or face the court and charges of contempt.
This experience seems to be universal across the country. It has not changed much since the starvation tactics used by Sir John A. Macdonald in negotiating the early numbered treaties. While Aboriginal people cling to the hope that the Crown administrators will be merciful and accept some limited fashion of constitutionally protected rights, bureaucrats and their Ministerial masters do everything in their power to extinguish those rights and uphold the colonial state.
Legislators and governments are not solely responsible for maintaining the immoral practice of colonialism. Even the Supreme Court of Canada, often praised for its progressive decisions on Aboriginal rights, is a principle defender of the sovereign privilege of domination. Supreme Court decisions, while recognizing the historical and legal validity of Aboriginal rights, limit the scope and practice of those rights in favour of “larger” Canadian interests. An analogy of the dilemma is listening to the stories of an abused child in an Indian residential school, patting her on the head and then telling her not to disobey the priest. Such is the sanctimonious hypocrisy of your highest court. These same courts permit Canada’s governments to ponder for years on the policy implications reflecting these half-hearted concessions, rendering the entire legal process of protecting Aboriginal rights an exercise in “too little, too late”.
Ontario has been consistently guilty of regarding Aboriginal rights as an inconvenient demand on the moral character of a tolerant society. But Aboriginal rights are your laws, not ours. They originate in English law as the doctrine of “continuity” and find substance in such documents as the Royal Proclamation of 1763. Section 35 rights in the Canadian Constitution are an attempt to address the fundamental denial of the existing laws of Aboriginal Nations and to bring into sovereign Canada a sense of Aboriginal belonging. But we have had our own laws and governance and the Crown, through the doctrine of “continuity” has never had the right to overrule them.
Our laws do not involve a concept of “rights”. In our cultures, mutual respect and benefit are understood as imperatives for survival. Aboriginal cultures regard law as a complex set of responsibilities to the land and in human relations. The emphasis is on protecting sustainability and avoiding conflict. When Europeans first came to settle in the Ottawa valley in 1800, this is what our ancestors asked of them: to share the land and get along. Through 150 years of French and 100 years of English contact, the doctrine of “continuity” was practiced. We must be clear that recent constitutional commitments in section 35 to “recognize and affirm” Aboriginal and treaty rights are Canadian law. Our leaders at the time asked for much more.
The disparity between your laws and ours’ represents the gap between lip service and Aboriginal peoples’ ambition to restore our homelands and cultures. Without a sense of moral clarity and comprehensive entitlements, section 35 of your Constitution is almost meaningless. It gives you as legislators no standard or instruction upon which to write anti-colonial legislation. As such, it gives Canadian courts nothing with which to reconcile the past and even less with which to arbitrate the future. Courts will continue to define Aboriginal rights as subservient and Aboriginal title as third class.
As a colonized people we must accept a share of the responsibility for our condition. Like you, we have internalized colonialism. We have allowed it to inform the way we see the world and ourselves. Too often we have turned to the colonizing governments for support. Too often we expect you to solve out problems or blame you for our inadequacies. Too often we are satisfied with handouts rather than partnerships or ownership. We have come to accept colonial labels such as “status” and “non-status” as definitions of who we are. We let these labels divide our families and communities.
Our leaders have accepted foreign forms of governance which undermine our unity and foster corruption. We have come to accept that blood quantum, shades of skin colour and even levels of education determine our Indianess. Far too often we have given up, given in to self-hate, self-abuse and the abuse of others. Like you, we have to confront colonialism on our own terms, for it is just as immoral to accept victimization as it is to benefit from oppression.
Ontario’s education system is a primary instrument in ensuring that colonialism remains unchallenged. Many Ontarians know nothing of how generations of Aboriginal children were victimized by church and state. Ontarians posses only a vague understanding of how land was overrun by settlement in the 19th century and Aboriginal people were forced to sign unconscionable treaties and land sales in return for modest protection. As far as understanding the evolution of colonial laws, almost all citizens are ignorant.
Even the real suffering of their own immigrant ancestors as slaves, indentured servants, child labour and cannon fodder have been sanitized for the popular glorification of Ontario’s history. Many of these immigrants were escaping colonialism in their own homelands, just as refugees today come to Canada to find a better life. But they acquire no real history about themselves and at best only an “honourable mention” of Aboriginal realities. Without an honest and fully informed education system, your job of challenging and changing colonial laws is as difficult as our in changing the attitudes of ignorant neighbours.
Almost all of you have either publicly or privately condemned the Aboriginal people who protest and obstruct economic and civic activity. At best you have expressed complacent tolerance and an admission that Aboriginal dissatisfaction may have some merit. Ontario’s civility rests on its affluence, not on its moral intelligence or character. It is this artificial civility that Aboriginal protestors challenge. Each time a road is blocked, exploration for minerals is halted, or forestry is interrupted, Aboriginal activists are raising the prickly question of Ontario’s morality.
Each time a protest forces a political “spin” to be re-spun, law makers are confronted with the ineptitude of their own professional history. You may not like the politics of confrontation but I would rather see Shawn Brant block the 401 than Ovide Mercredi begging at the gates of Meech Lake, or Phil Fontaine writing Steven Harper’s apology for the abuse of residential schools.
The affluence of Ontario has been acquired from the sacrifice of our ancestors’ health and the wealth of our homelands. If immobilizing the power of that affluence is the only way to expose the evil of colonization then you need to brace yourselves. Aboriginal people and our thoughtful neighbours are sick and tired of colonialism. People of all races who hunger for justice, who understand the sacredness of creation and the folly of greed will find expression in tearing down colonialism. Aboriginal protests are not so much about past grievances. They are about the effects of present dispossession. Aboriginal activism is about changing the course of the future.
During the last week of May, Aboriginal people across Canada will be preparing for the National Day of Action on May 29th. Many people will come to Queen’s Park. They are coming to talk to you. Throughout that week you will have the opportunity to listen to Aboriginal people and their friends express their fears and aspirations for the future. You will also hear their complaints. If you are wise you will listen. If you are as courageous as they are, you will allow what you hear to inspire your actions. If you are thankful for the Creator’s gift of life, you will extend your hands in peace and friendship. It is up to you if you choose a partnership with Aboriginal Nations to begin the arduous task of rewriting Ontario’s laws to exclude colonial principles. But if you choose to do nothing, or to condemn us, then please do not make excuses or false promises.
In the days leading up to May 29th, the media will extol the Canadian virtue of tolerance. In the days following, the media will sensationalize the “criminality” of Aboriginal defiance. You will see large pictures of masked warriors but little honest context. As you look with trepidation into the masked faces remember that those of us who wear no masks have been faceless as well, all of our lives. The real news will be in the conversations that you will have in the midst of demonstrations and at the edge of the barricades.
As much as I would like to be with you and my brothers and sisters at Queen’s Park at the end of May, I will be here in prison. Throughout my life, I have advocated the path of non-violence as the only means of restoring our cultural integrity and our belonging within creation.
Freedom, at last, is a state of spirit. Even within the walls of this cell, my spirit can heal and grow and under the burden of oppression, all of our spirits can rise up. My spirit, like a seed, can wait throughout the long winter and come to life again when there is room to grow. Non-violence does not mean timidity. Those of us who have chosen a life of non-violence vigorously fight against the oppression and injustice that is sustained by violence. Colonialism, the laws that uphold it, the police actions that take down barricades and disrupt peaceful protests, are violence. Freedom flows around violence like water in a stream flows around a fallen log. Freedom is beautiful like the colours of the earth. Violence is ugly. My spirit will be with all of you at the end of May in peace and friendship.
My immediate thoughts are with my community and the threat of extensive deep core drilling. There is also the humiliation that Ontario is unwilling to allow our community into the decision-making process before further encroachment occurs. And there is the constant anxiety of what an open pit uranium mine will do to our land, our health and the health of our neighbours down stream. My heart aches in the memories of fishing along that river; the blueberry picking on the ridges and the winter solitudes of Arty’s trapline. For two hundred years, colonists have been taking out land. I wonder every day when it will stop.
Because I do not have that answer I will begin a fast on May 16 and I will fast until I have an answer. I will not be fasting as a political statement or to extricate some concession from Ontario. In our culture we fast to purify our bodies and free our spirits. We fast in anticipation of a vision of things to come and to prepare ourselves to accept a great challenge. If my fast over the next few weeks brings attention to the defense of our community I will welcome the growing interest. I will also be praying hard for the protection of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug and all of the communities struggling to survive. If in some small way my fast contributes to the non-violent struggle against Canadian colonialism, then all the better. I have no expectation of the Premier or his Ministers. The gun is to our head not his. I will pray that their hearts and minds become clear and that we will meet soon to work together to find solutions to the mess we are in.
When I began this letter I wrote that you might be shocked, angered and certainly embarrassed. If reading my thoughts made you uncomfortable, I am not sorry. It was my intent to shake you out of your complacency and indifference. Aboriginal people do not want your platitudes. We want change. We want an end to colonialism. We want legislation that protects our rights and recognizes our original jurisdiction. What you did yesterday in the name of justice for Aboriginal people is not enough. No matter what happens now, we will walk tomorrow’s road together; you must ask yourself how you have that journey to be.
In the spirit of Peace and Friendship, mutual respect and benefit, I wish you to be well in your work, your play and your dreams.
Migwetch,
Robert Lovelace
Retired Chief
Ardoch Algonquin First Nation
News: May 20, 2008
An Evening for Justice
Spaghetti Dinner to raise funds for Ardoch Algonquin First Nation Co-chiefs
Robert Lovelace and Paula Sherman. Wednesday, May 28th, 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, Peterborough, Corner of Water and Murray
Streets (two blocks north of Hunter Street) Requested donation $20.00 (smaller or larger donations welcome)
For more information, call Catherine at (705) 939-2592 Sponsored by the Peterborough NDP Riding Association. On February 15, Robert Lovelace and Paula Sherman were sentenced by an
Ontario court for participating in a non-violent blockade to stop uranium prospecting on
unceded First Nations territory. Bob was sentenced to six months in jail and fined $25,000
while Paula was fined $15,000 for breaking a court injunction against protesting, obtained by
Frontenac Ventures. Ontario law does not require Frontenac to ask permission of local
residents for their explorations, despite the devastating environmental
impact known to be caused by uranium mining, including arsenic and radioactive
contamination. Bob and Paula were prosecuted for upholding Algonquin law on
First Nations land. This was a political trial.
News: May 15, 2008
Hello everyone -
I wanted to take this opportunity to share the news of Bob Lovelace’s hunger strike. Please follow this link for more information on how to participate in the upcoming Toronto events at the end of this month.
1) Gathering of Mother Earth Protectors: http://gatheringofmotherearthprotectors.blogspot.com
2) Welcome Rally: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=16866967546&ref=mf
3) Sovereignty Sleepvoer: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=16866967546&ref=mf
4) Mother Earth Protectors Walk: http://mother-earth-walk.knet.ca
Thank you for reading, learning and supporting,
Michelle Girouard.
****Jailed Algonquin Leader Begins Hunger Strike
Second Algonquin Chief Going to Jail – McGuinty Government Does Nothing
On February 15, 2008 Ardoch Algonquin First Nation (AAFN) Spokesperson
Robert Lovelace was sentenced in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in
Kingston to 6 months in maximum security, plus crippling fines, for
peacefully protesting uranium mining in the Ardoch homeland. Chief Paula
Sherman was fined $15,000 and given until today to pay the fine, failing
which she will be jailed.
On March 17, a Superior Court judge in Thunder Bay sentenced six leaders of
the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) to six months after they were found in
contempt of court in dispute which is virtually identical to that of the
Ardoch Algonquins.
The jailing of respected, law-abiding community leaders has had a
devastating impact on our communities, particularly on the families of those
incarcerated. The indifference shown by the McGuinty government towards the
rights of First Nation communities and the imposition of long jail terms and
crippling fines in the name of “the rule of law” has further eroded respect
for both the legal system and the government of Ontario in the eyes of First
Nations people in this province.
The cases of the KI Six and Robert Lovelace are strikingly similar. In both
cases Ontario gave approvals to mining companies to conduct aggressive
mineral exploration on land claimed by First Nations as their own. In both
cases this approval was given without any consultation with affected
communities, forcing the First Nations to take action to end the illegal
exploration when the government refused to act. In both cases the mining
company sought and obtained court injunctions to end the peaceful protests
of the First Nations, while lawyers representing Ontario supported the
mining industry’s legal manoeuvres at every stage.
For the first month of Bob Lovelace’s incarceration, the government of
Ontario said nothing, remaining indifferent to this travesty. Since the
jailing of the KI Six, and public outcry which followed, the Minister of
Aboriginal Affairs, Michael Bryant, has told the media that he has “bent
over backwards” to try to resolve the disputes which led to the
incarceration of seven First Nations leaders from our two communities. He
also claims that he wishes to see the incarcerated communities leaders freed
from jail.
We want to set the record straight.
In fact, there has been no response from Minister Bryant to any of our
proposals for peacefully resolving the dispute. Minister Bryant’s staff
also has not responded to several calls and emails seeking a response to our
proposals. To put it bluntly, Michael Bryant is a liar.
Bob Lovelace is now entering his fourth month in jail while the KI Six are
about to begin their third month of incarceration. They are prisoners of
conscience, jailed by the government of Ontario to send a message that the
interests of the mining industry will trump Aboriginal rights and the
environment of Ontario.
Lovelace, who turned 60 in jail, announced that he will begin a hunger
strike tomorrow to press the government to respond to Ardoch’s request for
good faith negotiations. “I do not want my children and grandchildren to
have to go through what we are going through” he said. “Starting tomorrow I
will consume only water in the hopes that our cry for justice will be heard
by Mr. McGuinty and Mr. Bryant.”
Chief Paula Sherman said: “I will soon be going to jail because I cannot and
will not pay this unjust fine. I am a single mother with three dependents
whose only crime is the defense of our land. Like Bob Lovelace and the KI
6, I would rather go to jail than take food out of my children’s mouths or
let our land be destroyed .”
Acting Co-Chief Mireille Lapointe added “We are sickened by the hypocrisy of
the McGuinty government. While honest, conscientious community leaders
languish in their jails for peacefully protecting our land from uranium
mining, all these politicians care about is their public image. They are
lying when they say they are trying to resolve these disputes. They have
done nothing at all and continue to show total indifference. They do not
even respond to our letters, calls and emails asking for negotiations,
meanwhile claiming they care about us and our land”.
Ardoch and KI remain committed to resolving these disputes peacefully,
through negotiations which lead to responsible, cooperative land use
planning. We call on all citizens of Ontario to support the unconditional
release of our leaders and negotiators by joining us at Queen’s Park on May
26 at the Gathering of Mother Earth’s Protectors.
For more information contact Paula Sherman: (613) 329-3707
Or Chris Reid, lawyer: (416) 629-3117
News: May 7, 2008
Saturday, May 31, 2008
1:30 to 3:30 pm
Bloor Street United Church
300 Bloor Street West, Toronto Ontario
Please accept this invitation to join us on the above date for a celebration of the life and work of Rosalie Bertell, Ph.D. G.N.S.H. in her Jubilee Year as a Grey Nun.
An interesting program is being developed that will celebrate the influence that Rosalie has and continues to have in environmental health issues. Speakers will include well-known figures whose work has been influenced by Rosalie such as Prof. Ursula Franklin.
Supporters are invited to send a photograph of themselves with a note telling Rosalie about her influence on their life. If you don’t want to send a photo, please send a note anyway! A selection will be read or displayed at the event. Let me know if you don’t want your picture displayed. Please send these ahead of time to Marion Odell at the address below.
Refreshments will be served.
There will be a registration fee of $10.00 or what you can afford.
RSVP to:
Marion Odell, IICPH
PO Box 80523
RPO White Shields
2300 Lawrence Ave. East
Toronto ON Canada M1P 4Z5
Phone 416-786-6128
WHEN: Saturday May 10th, Preview 7-8pm, Auction at 8pm
WHERE: IntuMotion Dance Studio, 275 Queen Street (at Barrie), lower level.
WHY: Protect Mother Earth and buy your gifts for Mother’s Day. Proceeds to AAFN/Lovelace/Sherman NO URANIUM Legal Defence Fund.
Refreshments will be available. Pay for auction items by cheque or cash.
Associate Professor
Department of English
Queen’s University
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
ss8@queensu.ca
Phone: 613-533-6000 ext. 74428
Fax: 613-533-6872
Canadian Mining Journal Poll – Take 5 seconds to vote!
Donna Dillman has forwarded the link to the Canadian Mining Journal’s poll on the recent decision in British Columbia to ban uranium mining.
Please scroll down and click on the link next to VOTE HERE and tell the Canadian Mining Journal that you want the ban enforced for all time!
The ban on uranium exploration and mining in British Columbia should:
- be scrapped immediately.
- be replaced with stiff regulations.
- be enforced for all time.
News: May 2, 2008
This is a link to a video of the April 9th rally in support of Bob Lovelace.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBHzuFSUnm0
News: April 29, 2008
CITIZENS INQUIRY SUBMISSION: ROBERT LOVELACE
(Robert submitted this handwritten presentation to the Inquiry via surface mail. Acting Ardoch Algonquin First Nation Co-Chief, Mireille LaPointe, read the presentation at the Ottawa Inquiry on Robert’s behalf. -LD)
My name is Robert Lovelace. I am a member of the Ardoch Algonquin n First Nation. Our traditional homeland is within the Ottawa River Valley among the Madawoska, Mississippi and Rideau watersheds. Our community also uses the Nation River watershed. The Ardoch Algonquin First Nation is with the greater Algonquin Nation of the Anishnabeg People.
I am writing to you from the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ontario on the 50th day of incarceration. I have been imprisoned because I refused to submit to Judge Douglas Cunningham’s order for y community to leave their peaceful protest and permit Frontenac Ventures Corporation access to our traditional homelands to carry out exploration activities, including deep core drilling for uranium. I have been sentenced to 6 months and fined $25,000. In addition, Co-Chief Paula Sherman was fined $15, 000 dollars and the community $10,000 and the community’s defence and counter claims to a $77 million dollar lawsuit was dismissed by Judge Cunningham leaving the First Nation completely vulnerable and without representation.
In my defence, and as explanation for actions taken by the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, I gave evidence about the Algonquin understanding of land and the responsibility for protecting the land with Algonquin Law. This knowledge comes to us through oral traditions: through stories, songs, principle saying and ceremony. It is shared collectively. No one person holds all the knowledge with requires people to come together and contribute what they know for the greater good. We also turn to our elders who through their long experience of living and cumulative use and understanding of knowledge can instruct with intelligence and wisdom. In this way Algonquin law continues to be profound and dynamic.
The Algonquin understanding of land begins with creation and in the context of its expressions in Anishabemowin (the Algonquin language). For Algonquins creation does not centre on human beings or on a determined plan of an all powerful god. The face of creation is shaped by vision, which gives spirit form. Mater, in its diversity and sameness dances in a whirl of changing shapes, arranged by harmony, balance and compliment. In this animate matrix all being are alive. The air, water, stone and the fires of the earth and sun are living beings. Like all the creatures who fly, walk or swim, what exist within a symbiotic reference with all life, either real imagined or symbolic is linked to spirits of a living world. If the creator directs any attention towards human being it is with benign indifference as the great spirit observes the artifice of life’s vision with equal interest. Like all creatures, humans are created whole but not in the image of the totality of life. In fact humans are understood to be one of the most dependent of all creatures lacking a fundamental understanding of purpose, which leaves them vulnerable and ignorant. Humans through like all other creatures have a will to survive, instincts to prevail, logic discipline and imagination to adopt and prosper. Like other creatures the highest achievement of human beings is successful integration into the immense complexities of the local. Failure is to be alienated to the marginal and superficial grasping and exploiting without caution anything that merits consumption. The later is what we call Windigo. Being humans is not about mitigating heaven and hell or any other godly realms. Being a human being is about activating the gifts of truth, courage, love, respect, honesty wisdom and honour the principles which allow Anishnabeg to stay true to the human purpose of protecting the land and then human purpose of protecting the land and the human family.
Our creation stories if told one after another would take days if not weeks to recite. A lifetime is not long enough to understand the cumulative wisdom and knowledge of the stories. However, it would not take a listener long to understand that it is the land that gives shape to the spirits in physical form. Each place, each watershed, each ecosystem moulds and shaves, revealing pragmatic variations. The colour of eyes, the length of limbs, the metabolic rhythms that regulate fibre and fluid, the lay and colour of hair are traded for harmony within the ecosystem. Serendipity is tested and retested, accepted and rejected in minute detail that takes ages to preserve and to be changed again and again. It is enough to know that as human beings we are appendages of the land, made of the same earth, flowing in the same waters, breathing the same wind, warmed by the same fire.
We live in a critical age. Never before has humanity faced such great peril and never before has the human conscience been so alive in its collective recognition and understanding of the way forward. As a species we have become intimate with almost every ecosystem on the planet. And beyond that we have an empirical understanding of the beginning and end of this universe. However, our human systems embrace a self-defeating dilemma through reactive resistance or acquiescence to Solomon’s lament that everything is vanity. And while the real choices seem ultimately confusing, now is the time that we must decide the fate of generations to come.
There is no mystery that as a species we have fallen from grace. There is great suffering among humans in this world because few have privilege and many do not. Even in the so called developed nations the gap between rich and poor is widening. The indigenous wealth, in economic terms called “virgin wealth”, which has been rapaciously extracted from the earth without consent or concern is now long past the point where demand exceeds supply. The great European Empires who rose in five centuries from the cheapest labour in the world to indulgent affluence are now consuming their own children with debt, unable to sustain or curtail superfluous excess. While our parents and grandparents honestly believed they were creating a better world. We know now that their dreams were not sustainable. We know that.
Politicians, guided by the power of the privileged class, promise that the dream of perpetual affluence is still possible. It is not. For millions upon millions of human beings, impoverished and separated from their indigenous relationship with the land, the proof is clear, development as defined by Colonial nations of this world is merely theft and murder and when we bring it on ourselves it is suicide. To put one stone upon another without ultimate acceptance of the consequences is to kill both the meaning and spirit of our sacred relationship with the earth. Modern leaders plead with us to accept the most obsequious forms of racism, classism, sexism and human and environmental injustice as an abeyance of our own uncontrollable decline in the hope that we will choose the inevitable, a binary of privilege and poverty as the only sustainable reality. It is in this sense that Ontario promotes uranium exploration, mining and the extension of a highly subsidized nuclear energy policy. With the current Ontario leadership there is no turning back, there are no efficient alternatives, there is no preparations for the end of social an cultural consumerism, as dependency on fossil fuels becomes too expensive. For the present government in Ontario one unachievable promise replaces another.
Along side the blind faith in continued development, political leaders continue to accept the degradation of the environment as a natural law of economics. Politicians tell us that they know best. Despite their obvious allegiance to a privileged and insulated clientele, they assure the less privileged that they alone have insight into the future, a higher standard of legal and social justice and a single-mindfulness for the welfare of humanity. They at once point to the unspoiled “wilderness” as a national treasure while over seeing its spoilage through central management. Over the past two decades environmental protection legislation has not been strengthened. In fact it has been consistently compromised through a lack of funding and abridgements to legislation. What we thought we had in Ontario by way of environmental protection while discursive of quasi-judicial levels remains at best the whimsy of the political party in power. The principles of environmental protection as a dynamic discipline are for less known among Ontario leadership than the results of their latest popularity poll or the info-advertisements of some jaded pundit in the National Post. The dependency on “virgin wealth” in their minds is confused with divine authority advance by colonial ideology. Continuing down this seeming relentless path of consumption and waste will draw humanity ever closer to a threshold where neither the lessons of the past or the promises of the future have any applicable meaning.
I am not a scientist but I have informed myself about the nuclear industry. Not for one moment do I believe that nuclear energy is clean or cheap. I have seen the pictures from Chernobyl and Three Mile Island and read much about the devastating effects on people and the environment. I have learned that the leading industrial diseases in the United States are caused by ionizing radiation. I spent the better part of my youth listening to strategic Air Command Bomber’s take off and return with their cargos of Atomic weapons, commanded by politicians with marginally sophisticated technology and less than honourable political agendas. I understand that Canada’s “virgin wealth” in yellow cake uranium has left this country virtually untraceable and found its way into the processing plants of the likes of Saddam Hussien. This is not a clean technology when millions of tons of radioactive waste from mining is deposited into lakes and ponds with no intent on the part of industry or government to mitigate the cost and damage to future generations. There is nothing clean about open pit mining that demands the burning of exorbitant amounts of fossil fuels to extract, process and transport the raw product. Conservative estimates of the costs of fossil fuels in mining uranium are ¼ of the economic output in the life of a nuclear reactor. This estimate does not include the impact of expended carbon emissions on the environment. Spent uranium following the fission process presents even greater costs and concerns. The National Academic of Science reported in February 1958 that “the cost of story radioactive fission products temporarily to cool them, of extracting long lived isotopes and shipping waste to disposal points for ultimate disposal will have a major influence on the economics of nuclear power.” Fifty years later not one county using nuclear power generation has solved the problem and the cost of temporary storage continues to escalate.
Economically speaking if I were only concerned with return on my investment I would put my money on nuclear power. No other industry in Canada has had the level of environmental protection costs exempted than the nuclear industry. Besides the assurance that environmental protection will not encumber business, every loan-shark in the world knows that there is no greater profit than in an enterprise that is unable to pay off the initial loans. In the future the cost of nuclear energy will not only fuel inflation but it will also reap the highest rates of investment return. Ontario has reached a threshold where existing first generation nuclear reactors are some 15 billion dollars in debt and unable to draw down the debt any further. The present premier’s solution is to borrow more money to build an even costlier second generation in an era where private energy conservation due to rising prices will be the normative challenge of every household. You can bet that it will not be the McGuinty loan sharks. Those who will pay the cost will be working and retired, the poor and indigenous people.
I have come to understand that uranium and the military industrial complex that it feeds, is the forbidden fruit of our generation. It is the turtle with the ring of moss on its back. It is the glittery box on which Pandora speculates. My investment in the future will not be in uranium nor its allied industries. I chose the morality of Algonquin Law and I will let posterity be my judge. I have never been reconciled with Solomon’s view that all is vanity. The beauty of a frozen swamp in the middle of winter is not a self-absorbed pretension. The beauty of a rainbow, a sunset, a fungus growing in layers along a fallen tree, a world independent of human comings and goings, all in all, never less than any which may be contrived. The goal of living is not in attaining beauty but in accepting it. Desire is what blinds us to invent beauty, to invent confections for the heart and mind. And in doing so we live our lives out as caricatures on Vanity’s stage. As an Anishnabeg person I am not long our of the forest and I know that water in its natural form is beautifully clean, the wind is warm and full of song or cold and clear, the earth after a billion years still smells fresh and clean, one see will produce ten, a hundred, even a thousand fold. I know that the earth is a quiet place as though listening to itself. When it speaks it does so in an immense diversity of voices, some cautious, some cautioning, all beautifully distant but urgent to be heard. It is such a world that vanity seeks to erase.
I believe that at not other time in history have humans collectively had such a clear view of the whole frame. At once it is possible to see our beginnings and the possible futures a head of us. This perspective however will not last. As we advance further a history of over consumption and unmanageable waste the opportunities for sustainability and the perceptible choices become fewer and fewer. Social change does not come easily. The defences against colonialism have had only marginal success and more often than not have resulted in violence and counter revolution. However when we look at the natural world we can see their powerful forces with which human beings ally. Within our human nature are forces with which we can endure through the harshest challenges. Collectively, the bonds of family, clan and community are far stronger than the deceptions that divide us. In pursuit of positive social change we need to activate within ourselves the gifts endowed upon us through creation. Perception, logic, discipline, imagination, courage and insight are only a few of the powerful gifts within us. We need to activate ourselves to ask less and give more so our local communities become stronger. We need to embrace silence so when we do speak the clarity of our voice will be unmistakable.
Changing the intentions of governments can be even more difficult than effecting social change. I have no doubt that more people will have to go to prison before Ontario becomes nuclear free and we embrace a society that undertakes real sustainability. The whole basis of sustainability is local communities meeting local needs. Big government simply does not fit into this picture and neither does corporate construction of need fulfilment. Sustainability is not about turning back the clock but rather the long overdue evolution of rationalizing real human needs with real earthy processes. As a society in change Ontario will need every bit of the wealth now destined for nuclear development to effect the transitions that are required. Urban structures need to be reinvented. The meaning of labour will need to be redefined. Eco-cartography will reshape political boundaries. And most of all people will change culturally. The present energy crisis and the need for sustainable economies necessitate a renaissance of humanity but present governments resist such change because the old means of governance; repression, false promises and popularity contests are not sufficient to control populations through emergent creativity. For today’s governments it will seem easier to deny, pretend, punish and finally abdicate responsibility. People need to take initiative on there won and they need to do so now. There is a great need to defend the earth and our relatives in creation. Stopping uranium exploitation is definitely an important action in defending the earth. The coalitions that are created are nexus of shared knowledge and mutual concern. But simply shutting down the machines, turning off the taps and extinguishing the lights is not enough to meet the challenges of an over consumptive society. We need to reinvent ourselves.
Last year when I learned that 30,000 acres of our homeland had been staked for uranium exploration with the potential for an open pit mine, my first thoughts were how to protect Algonquin rights and interests. Since then my knowledge and understanding has grown beyond parochial interests to include my non-Algonquin neighbours and a struggle that goes further than mere resistance to colonialism. However my core understanding of what is to be Anishnabeg (human being), my knowledge of the land (aki) and my acceptance of the meaning of creation still inform who I am and what I believe. Going to prison is a small price to pay for one’s integrity and even a smaller price to pay for the right to care for the earth, our mother and home to all of our relations. Sacrifice is the work that binds us with the rest of humanity who struggles to preserve their homelands, sustainable cultures and natural justice. As each day passes I believe more and more that to live free, active, intelligent, compassionate lives is our inheritance. Imprisonment is never the end of the struggle for change. It is the beginning of conviction. To be a human being is to find peace and good will taking only what you need and giving back everything.
I am humbled to be able to share my thoughts with the Citizens’ Inquiry and I commend all of you for your hard work and sacrifices bringing this forum to the people.
Robert Lovelace
April 7, 2008
KINGSTON AREA ARTISTS ART AND GIFT AUCTION,
Saturday 3 May, 8 pm (preview 7-8)
IntuMotion Dance Studio, 275 Queen Street (at Barrie), lower level.
Protect Mother Earth and buy your gifts for
Mother’s Day.
Refreshments. Payment by cheque or cash.
News: April, 25, 2008
McGuinty vows changes for natives in mining law
KAREN HOWLETT
April 24, 2008
Native leaders in Ontario have been pushing the government to change the
province’s mining laws to better protect their interests when companies
explore for minerals on their traditional lands.
Yesterday – the same day native leaders from across the province held a
rally in front of the legislature over the jailing of six members of a
remote reserve who opposed mining on their land – they got their wish.
Premier Dalton McGuinty vowed to reform the province’s 135-year-old
mining act to strike a better balance between the competing interests of
mining companies and native communities.
“We’ve got a problem with the mining act,” Mr. McGuinty told reporters.
“I don’t think it’s in keeping with our values and expectations at the
beginning of the 21st century.”
News: April 24, 2008
Bob Lovelace and the ‘KI 6′ will have their appeal heard in court on May 28th in Toronto. This date coincides with the scheduling of tent city in Queen’s Park. Hope to see lots of people in attendance.
News: April 22, 2008
The Canadian Press
Author Margaret Atwood, actor Cathy Jones and musician Sarah Harmer are among 20 prominent Canadians calling on Premier Dalton McGuinty to immediately free seven jailed aboriginal leaders and stop controversial mineral exploration across the province.
In a letter being sent to McGuinty on Tuesday, the group — which also includes former UN ambassador Stephen Lewis — pleads the case of jailed aboriginals trying to stop mining in their traditional northern territory, and says mining shouldn’t take precedence over people’s homes and health.
Six members of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nation, including Chief Donny Morris and Deputy Chief Jack MacKay, were sentenced to six months in jail last December after ignoring an injunction allowing Platinex to start drilling on traditional aboriginal territory 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont.
Retired Algonquin chief Bob Lovelace was also sentenced to six months in jail for his role in opposing a uranium project in eastern Ontario.
“We support the right of a community to say ‘no’ to mineral exploration and mining projects that threaten the health of people and ecosystems in Ontario,” states the letter, which also notes a grandmother will spend her 60th birthday behind bars for protesting mineral exploration on her traditional land.
“These are fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, grandfathers and grandmothers.”
To read more of this article go to,
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/04/21/ot-celebrities-protest-080421.html
News: April 21, 2008
You are invited to attend the final and broadest session of the Citizens’ Inquiry into the Impacts of the Uranium Cycle. The Inquiry will be held on April 22nd from 1:00 pm until 9:00 (with a break 5:00 pm to 6:00) at the Rideau Park United Church, 2203 Alta Vista Dr. Come and witness all or a part of this historic event.
As we all know, the uranium cycle has huge impacts on us all and this Citizens’ Inquiry, in Ottawa, on Earth Day presents the perfect opportunity and timing for citizens to come forward and have their say, regardless of whether they are for or against the various aspects.
There are over 50 presentations scheduled, from people wanting to be heard, including Bob Lovelace ‘in absentia.’ As well as individuals, various organizations will be represented, including: The David Suzuki Foundation, The Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, First Six Years, NDP, Inter- Church Uranium Committee Educational Cooperative, The Coalition for a Clean Green Saskatchewan, Midwest Uranium, MiningWatch Canada, United Church of Canada, Sierra Club Canada, Paradigm Shift Environmental Alliance, Ardoch Algonquins, the Green Party, Pembina Institute, and The National Farmers Union of ON, Local 1.
Marion Dewar, former Mayor of Ottawa, will sit on the four-person panel.
Several NGO’s, including many of those presenting, encouraged Donna Dillman to eat again after she had refused food for 68 days in protest over the devastating effects that uranium exploration and mining have on the environment and on future generations. Donna will be acting as facilitator of the day. Sharbot Lake, Kingston and Peterborough have hosted the popular event with over 500 having presented or observed to date.
http://www.uraniumcitizensinquiry.com/
This will be an interesting day. Hoping to see you there.
News: April 18, 2008
Toronto Citizens’ Inquiry on Uranium Mining
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Hart House, East Common Room
7 Hart House Circle, University of Toronto
Southwest of Museum subway station
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Open to the public. Refreshments served.
Scheduled presentations include:
· Chief Paula Sherman, Ardoch Algonquin First Nation
· Donna Dillman, Community Coalition Against Mining Uranium
· Dr. Gordon Edwards, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility
· Marion Odell, International Institute of Concern for Public Health
· Rosalia Paiva, International Campaign for Indigenous Dignity
· Lorraine Rekmans, author of This is my Home (re: Eliot Lake uranium mine)
· Rev. Ralph Carl Wushke, Ecumenical Chaplain, University of Toronto
· Mining Watch Canada
· Greenpeace
· … and many more
The issues on the table include (but are not limited to):
· The social, health and environmental costs of uranium mining
· Water issues: tailings dam disasters, water use in mining, tritium
· The use of uranium in weapons, both nuclear and conventional
· Aboriginal land claims, colonialism, and mining on native land
· The Ontario Mining Act and local community opposition to it
· Global criticism of Canadian mining companies and current legislation
· Nuclear energy waste disposal problems and renewable energy alternatives
This Citizens’ Inquiry is organized by Students Against Climate Change in cooperation with the Community Coalition Against Uranium Mining and the Social Justice Committee of the Graduate Students Union of the University of Toronto.
For more information or to register to speak go to www.uraniumcitizensinquiry.com
News: April 14, 2008
WRITE TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL ABOUT ROBERT LOVELACE
Wendy Laut of Perth suggests letters be written to the Attorney General requesting a review of the Robert Lovelace’s sentencing. Feel free to use the sample letter below.
To the Honourable Christopher Bentley
Minister of Attorney General
McMurtry-Scott Building
720 Bay Street, 11th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M5G 2K1
cbentley.mpp@liberal.ola.org
800-518-7901
To the Honourable Christopher Bentley:
Algonquin Elder Robert Lovelace has been sentenced to 6 months incarceration and crippling fines for Contempt of Court for his attempt to bring attention to the issue of uranium exploration and mining in Frontenac County, while the native land claims remain unresolved. This sentence seems extremely excessive for this type of charge. In addition, the charges against non-native supporters charged at the same time were dropped.
I would urge the Attorney General’s office to review the sentencing and fines in this case, as they not only appear unjustly punitive, but could also smack of racism.
Sincerely,
Copy your letter to:
Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, Michael Byrant
720 Bay Street, 4th floor
Toronto Ontario M5G2K1
mbryant.mpp@liberal.ola.org
Randy Hillier MPP Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington
105 Dufferin Street Unit 1
Perth, Ontario K7H3A5
info@randyhillier.com
Premier Dalton McGuinty
Queen’s Park
Room 281 Main Legislative Building
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A4
dmcguinty.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
News: April 10, 2008 (Posted by Uranium News/CCAMU)
KINGSTON SESSION OF THE CITIZENS’ INQUIRY INTO THE IMPACT OF THE URANIUM CYCLE
To see photos by Garth Gullekson of this event go to, http://www.darlingtonmediaworks.com/garth/2008/CitizensInquiryKingston/
The Kingston session of the Citizens’ Inquiry into the Impacts of the Uranium Cycle was a success. Once again, almost 200 people came out to hear what presenters had to say about uranium.
The panel, which consisted of Janet Gutowski, Central Frontenac Mayor; Fraser McVie, retired civil servant; Laurie McKnight Walker, United Church Minister; Jamie Swift, writer and Cameron Smith, Toronto Star writer, heard 40 presenters in a packed hall at Queen St. United Church in Kingston during the afternoon and evening.
McVie, Smith and Gutowski were a part of the panel at the Sharbot Lake event. The bios for McKnight-Walker and Swift are as follows:Rev. Laurie McKnight-Walker: served in the United Church ministry for 24 years; 4 years Queen St. United Church and other ministries mostly in rural communities in Ontario where agriculture/lumber/nuclear industry/military were the key economic realities. Served on several community boards in Kingston- Kingston Community Chaplaincy, Social Issues Networking Group and Hospice Palliative Kingston.Jamie Swift: has worked independently, writing books, magazine and newspaper articles and reviews for over twenty-five years. He has been a regular contributor to CBC-Radio’s Ideas and a lecturer at Queen’s University School of Business.
It was a very musical event in Kingston with songs sung by The Three Sisters, Ellen Hamilton, Jan Laurey and Michelle Girouard.
Presentations were also made by: Bert Horwood, Joan Rose, Ross Sutherland, Sandra Willard, George Miklos, Marilyn Crawford, David Morrison, Bridget Doherty, Eric Walton, Wolfe Erhlicman, Ivan Stoiljkovic, Maya Thau-Elef, Coreen Covet, Peter & Ann Burbidge, Courtney Kirkby on behalf of Stefan Seum’s, Jeff Colden, Jo/Anne Antoine, Molly Wallace, Mike Nickerson, Mireille LaPointe, Susan DeLisle, Tim Sietz, Karen Raddon, Jean Gower, Charles Ficner, Andy Hill, Kate Maddigan, Kathryn Langley, Jan Lorry, Jerry Stein, William Payne, Peter Dundas, David Gill, Anne Joss, Art Lay, Tara Bowen and Rob Matheson.Media was present at this event and included CKWS TV and CBC radio.
Many people took exception to the police presence, stating that the event was not a protest and therefore did not require police. One speaker asked the panel to note that the police presence intimidated people and was not appropriate. Another person stated that the Inquiry did not go against the injunction, so the second reason did not make sense. The officers were also asked if they would be taking notes on presenters and they confirmed that they would be. those present were informed that the police reports can be obtained under the “Freedom to Information” act. CCAMU would like to thank our Kingston team:
Cathy Wills for acting as our host. Many hours of preparation went into the Kingston event. Susan DeLisle for all of her help in organizing food, media and much, much more. Anne and Eric Joss for providing dinner for the organizers and panelists. Once again CCAMU thanks Donna Dillman, Marilyn Crawford and Wolfe Erlichman for their hard work on the Inquiry Committee.
———
News: April 9, 2008
The Citizens Inquiry was a huge success last night! Thank you thank you to everyone who sent words and messages of support for the Inquiry and the Postcard Project. I shared the story of the Postcard Project and brought all of your energy into the room with those of us who could physically be there. It was a wonderful experience. Please take a look at this weblinks on the left side of this page and you will find the link to the Citizens Inquiry website – the website will tell you the dates and times of upcoming Inquiries in your area.
In the mean time, keep your words flowing and I’ll keep the music flowing, and we’ll be able to bring the urgency of this situation to more and more people around Canada and the world. Remember, there is strength in education and in numbers….
News: April 8, 2008
The Citizens Inquiry into the Uranium cycle is happening here in Kingston today – it is also the first public sharing of the fruits of The Postcard Project. Thank you to everyone who has shown their support for the project and contributed to this collective activist creation. I will share the tune on behalf of all of us this evening at 7:20pm when I address the commission, and it will be dedicated to Bob Lovelace. The song has evolved as a sort of call or chant, and I will invite everyone to sing the refrain with me at the end of the song. Here are the lyrics to the first Postcard Project tune: ‘Movement Number One: Change’
“To all the elders of the world being pressed behind fences: we’re sending this song to you. To all the children of the world pressing up against fences: we’re sending this song to you. ‘Cause we can hear you calling for the change that’s bound to come, and we can see you standing for the change that’s bound to come, and we want to meet you in the change that’s bound to come, so we’re going to sing for the change, for the change that’s bound to come. We carry the water on our backs and we carry the Earth in our wombs. We are the people of this Earth and we are the children of the Moon. Even if we walked alone, we’d still raise our voices, but as we do not walk alone we must raise our voices, up, up, up. Because we’re calling for the change that’s bound to come, and we’re standing for the change that’s bound to come, and we’re singing for the change that’s bound to come, let us hear you sing for the change that’s bound to come (the last line will be repeated by everyone who chooses to sing along).
News: April 4, 2008
1) Last night’s letter-writing-athon was superb! We had 70 handwritten letters gathered by the end of the night and 50$ to add to Bob’s fund. There was also a great performance of a anti-uranium spoken word piece by a student on top of the Postcard Project performance. Thanks to everyone who made it out.
2) There will be a rally in support of Bob Lovelace and the KI people who were jailed for peacefully protesting the uranium mining. Rally information: Land Rights Not Mining Rights:Free Robert Lovelace and the KI 6, Wednesday April 9th, 6 pm Ryerson Student’s Union 55 Gould St (between Victoria and Church). Featuring Ovide Mercredi, former Grand Chief of the Assembly of FirstNations, and members of the KI and Ardoch communities
News: April 1, 2008
There will be a letter-writing-athon in support of Bob Lovelace on the Queen’s Campus in the Donald Sutherland Room (upstairs JDUC) from 8pm to 11pm on April 3rd. There will be music, snacks, pens, paper and envelopes. There will also be a Postcard Project performance of the first song to be shared at the Citizens Inquiry on April 8th.
News: March 21, 2008
If you’d like to upgrade the prison library and improve the reading list for Bob Lovelace, this is what you can do:
Put your books in a box. Write ATTENTION LIBRARIAN on the top.
You must include your RETURN ADDRESS. Put a note inside that says, “FROM A FRIEND OF PROFESSOR BOB LOVELACE.” Letters to Bob can also be sent to this address.
Mail to:
Central East Correctional Centre
ATTENTION LIBRARIAN
541 Highway 36
Lindsay Ontario K9V 4S6
The rules must be followed or your parcel will be rejected. All books must be SOFT COVER except current bestseller fiction.
These are a few examples of the kinds of books that are often requested:
1. No violent topics, especially no violence toward women or children. No serial killers, no true crime, no gore and mayhem.
2. CURRENT BEST SELLERS. May be hardcover; Tom Clancy, Grisham and other best selling current FICTION.
3. CLASSIC NOVELS and CURRENT FICTION novels or poetry. Bob is likely to enjoy these. e.g. Dickens, T.S. Eliot, Twain, Browning, Woolf. and new authors.
4. ADVENTURE. Jack London, mountain climbers, etc.
5. TEEN books. The Little Prince, Jonathon Livingston Seagull and other uplifting or inspiring FICTION stories.
7. FANTASY. Harry Potter, dragons, Camelot, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
8. No romance, no non-fiction, no science fiction, dark and gloomy, or westerns needed.
Fiction novels by or about people of color would be excellent. So keep those in mind. Bob has done a lot of volunteer work to improve prisons. He will be very pleased that your donations will improve the library for everyone. Many prisoners, but not all, have limited education so consider donating a wide reading range if you can.
Thank you.
