Silencing Opposition Of The Site C Dam
Briarpatch|March/April 2018

Protesters of the Site C dam in the Peace River Valley are facing a civil suit from bothBC Hydro and the B.C. government.

Sarah Cox
Silencing Opposition Of The Site C Dam

In January 2016, farmers and First Nations members set up a peaceful two-month winter camp in an effort to stop the $10.7 billion Site C dam on B.C.’s Peace River. The dam would flood 145 kilometres of the river and its tributaries, destroying hundreds of archeological and heritage sites – including Indigenous burial grounds – as well as some of Canada’s richest farmland and critical habitat for dozens of species vulnerable to extinction. Third-generation farmers Ken and Arlene Boon are among 70 Peace River Valley residents who will lose homes and property to the dam. Esther Pedersen will also lose her house and property.

Helen Knott and Yvonne Tupper are members of Treaty 8 First Nations whose traditional territory includes the Peace River Valley. The area slated for flooding is the last remaining stretch of valley still available to First Nations for traditional practices guaranteed to them in a treaty their ancestors signed in 1900. The rest of the valley, along with much of the surrounding region, has been taken up by industrial development.

Two weeks after the camp was established at the Rocky Mountain Fort heritage site, scientist David Suzuki and Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, the president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, visited the remote location by helicopter to support the campers.

One week after David Suzuki and Grand Chief Stewart Phillip visited the Rocky Mountain Fort camp, BC Hydro filed an injunction and enforcement order to remove the encampment and proceed with logging. The campers had fully expected an injunction, but they were unnerved when B.C.’s Liberal government, in an unprecedented turn of events, also authorized the law firm of Fasken Martineau DuMoulin (since renamed Fasken) to launch a civil suit against five of the campers and a camp supporter, all but one of them women.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March/April 2018 من Briarpatch.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March/April 2018 من Briarpatch.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من BRIARPATCH مشاهدة الكل
PLATFORMS FOR PEOPLE, NOT PROFIT
Briarpatch

PLATFORMS FOR PEOPLE, NOT PROFIT

Digital platforms boast that they’ve “democratized” cultural production. But what would truly democratic platforms look like in Canada?

time-read
10 mins  |
January/February 2020
ORGANIZING THROUGH LOSS IN THE HEART OF OIL COUNTRY
Briarpatch

ORGANIZING THROUGH LOSS IN THE HEART OF OIL COUNTRY

The story of climate justice organizing in Alberta, at the heart of the tarsands, is the story of a group of young activists learning what it means to lose, and keep on fighting

time-read
10+ mins  |
January/February 2020
GROWING THE LABOUR MOVEMENT
Briarpatch

GROWING THE LABOUR MOVEMENT

How unions are using community gardens to engage members, nourish communities, and help strikers weather the picket line

time-read
10+ mins  |
January/February 2020
A NEW ERA FOR OLD CROW
Briarpatch

A NEW ERA FOR OLD CROW

In the Yukon’s northernmost community, the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation is reckoning with how to preserve their land and culture, amid a warming climate and an influx of tourists

time-read
10+ mins  |
January/February 2020
“At Least Hookers Get Wages”
Briarpatch

“At Least Hookers Get Wages”

The risky business of sex work in the gig economy

time-read
10+ mins  |
November/December 2019
The Literal – And Literary – Futures We Build
Briarpatch

The Literal – And Literary – Futures We Build

Briarpatch editor Saima Desai talks to two judges of our Writing in the Margins contest about Idle No More and MMIWG, ethical kinship, writing queer sex, and their forthcoming work.

time-read
9 mins  |
November/December 2019
The Cost Of A T-Shirt
Briarpatch

The Cost Of A T-Shirt

In Honduras, women maquila workers are fighting back against the multinational garment companies that they say are endangering their health and safety.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November/December 2019
Milking Prison Labour
Briarpatch

Milking Prison Labour

Canada’s prison farms are being reopened. But when prisoners will be paid pennies a day, and the fruits of their labour will likely be exported for profit, there’s little to celebrate.

time-read
10+ mins  |
November/December 2019
Bringing Back The Beat
Briarpatch

Bringing Back The Beat

In mainstream media, labour journalism has been replaced by financial reporting and business sections. But journalism students are raising the labour beat from the grave.

time-read
10 mins  |
November/December 2019
There's No Journalism On A Dead Planet
Briarpatch

There's No Journalism On A Dead Planet

Corporate media owners are killing local newspapers – which is making it impossible for everyday people to understand the on-the-ground impacts of the climate crisis

time-read
10+ mins  |
September/October 2019