From reconciliation to redress
- Details
- Published on Friday, 14 December 2018 04:18
- Written by editor
It’s serious business we’re up against. Lobbyists for industry think nothing of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to influence policymakers in Ottawa and in provincial capitals.
RAVEN has found an ingenious way to pull the other way: our work also brings about lasting change by setting precedents in the courts that have real impact on the peoples, the air, the water and the land which we all care about so deeply.
As a citizen who cares about Indigenous rights and environmental values, too often you’re a bystander : how many times have you watched in frustration as election promises fall and reckless projects rise? But with RAVEN you can actually play a part in retooling this country, reshaping it in a way that acknowledges and learns from the laws and practices that Indigenous Peoples have applied for thousands of years to steward and keep this beautiful land.
With RAVEN you can take the fuzzy idea of “reconciliation” and chisel it into a much more useful tool: redress.
"Canada’s constitution has a Section 35, which says the existing Aboriginal and Treaty Rights of the Aboriginal People's of Canada are hereby recognized and affirmed.
For many Indigenous Peoples, the idea is that our constitution is actually a verb. It's to "constitute": it's to put our relationships together. And so ...what are the actions that we take to create relationships? And that's something that isn't just what the court does or what parliaments legislatures do. That's something that you and I do."
— John Borrows, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Law, RAVEN Legal Advisory Panel Member
Here at RAVEN, we know solidarity is a verb. So is love. Here's how we're re-constituting our relationships with the land, with one another and with the powers-that-be:
•The lawsuit over the Nathan E. Stewart that is another plank in the bighouse the Heiltsuk are building for future generations, and another chink in the armour of Big Oil that wants to turn this coast into a fossil fuel export superhighway.
• A new Secwepemc title case has the potential of repatriating to the Secwepemc a large portion of their traditional territory, the deepest form of redress possible under Canadian law at this time
• Legal actions backed by RAVEN have prevented two major tar sands pipelines from transforming the Pacific coast into a fossil fuel export superhighway — Enbridge and Kinder Morgan's Transmountain expansion.
• Sometimes, we win without even getting to court: the chilling effect of Indigenous legal action sent LNG giant Petronas packing from their intended north coast gas pipeline and liquefaction plant.
John Borrows: "We are the legal agents in this world. We all have an opportunity to practice law. And sometimes that's done by standing side by side with Indigenous Peoples and listening to them and working with them in direct ways, but also would mean that in some instances providing resources to help Indigenous Peoples as they're raising their voice. And so providing resources is actually a practice of law, it’s a custom that can be used to put us in relationship with one another."
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Thank your for your passion, your support and your perseverance.
The RAVEN Team
Laurie, Susan, Ana, Leah, Josie, Michelle and Andrea
p.s. Donating is not the only way to support RAVEN. Join our Amplifier Network and spread the word about our work through your social networks. Visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/ravenamplifiers/ to join.
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