UNCEDED COAST SALISH TERRITORY - Citizens reacting to the federal government's approval of the Northern Gateway pipeline put their MPs on notice early this morning.
The constituency offices of Conservative MPs Andrew Saxton in North Vancouver and James Moore in Port Moody were chained shut around 6:30 am. Notices posted on the front windows of the offices call on the MPs to " vacate (their) posts as ‘public servants’". The notices say "Your services are no longer required".
Moore is the federal Minister of Employment and Social Development. His office was occupied last week by nine protesters opposed to the Enbridge decision. Four were arrested after a peaceful day-long occupation.
Today's notices were posted by an adhoc group calling itself Settlers on Stolen Land, which gave the MPs three reasons for the action:
“1) Your decision to allow the Enbridge pipeline project to go forward against the collective wisdom of those standing up for the survival of the planet.
2) Your decision to further displace people in the name of profit.
3) Your failure to respect the sovereignty of Indigenous communities impacted by this project. You do not have Free, Prior, and Informed Consent to operate on their territories."
The group says the Enbridge decision amounts to environmental racism. A release by the groups states that "Indigenous people have been continuously subjected to racist ideologies and practices since their first encounters with colonial powers, often resulting in profound devastation to the environment and resources on which they rely for survival. Settlers on Stolen Land recognizes the approval of The Northern Gateway Pipeline as a clear example of environmental racism which continues the Canadian legacy of colonization."
Settlers on Stolen Land is vowing to return during the planned July 7 Nations United Against Pipelines Day of Action if Saxton and Moore haven't vacated their offices.
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