Dogwood News This Week: what happened to the BC NDP?
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- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
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Hurricanes, floods, fires and drought are killing people, and destroying communities in B.C. and around the world.
Scientists and diplomats are begging rich, fossil-fuel extracting countries to stop making the situation worse. But that’s exactly what the B.C. government is doing.
The province has approved not one but four major gas export pipelines. We still give subsidies to foreign oil companies and rebates for gas appliances here at home. The industry... plans thousands of new fracking wells in B.C.
Without a major shakeup, the NDP is on track to blow B.C.’s weak climate targets – and condemn people here and around the world to deep suffering.
It begs the question: what happened to the BC NDP?
Earlier in their careers, many NDP MLAs made a name for themselves standing up to the fossil fuel industry. Nathan Cullen, Fin Donnelly and Murray Rankin once spoke with urgency and moral clarity as federal MPs. Niki Sharma was the Senior Oil & Gas campaigner at Stand.earth. The list goes on.
In opposition, John Horgan’s New Democrats voted against Premier Christy Clark’s “sweetheart deal” for Royal Dutch Shell, Petronas and Petro China’s massive gas export terminal in Kitimat. But once elected, they offered the LNG Canada consortium an even sweeter deal. Clark praised them for the flip-flop.
Grassroots members of the governing BC NDP have been pushing for a debate on oil and gas expansion. But the party establishment keeps shutting them down. Now, pundits speculate that the party is also looking for ways to shut down outsider candidate Anjali Appadurai’s bid for leader.
How far will the party go to suppress debate over fracking and pipelines? If the NDP decides to torpedo their only leadership candidate with a strong climate plan, we’ll have our answer.
Read the full blog here.
- "A group of former NDP officials-turned-lobbyists with connections to Eby and to the fossil fuel industry have been leading the attack against [Eby's competitor] Anjali Appadurai." -Breach Media
- Big Oil is gaslighting you. Recently released internal documents from Exxon, Shell and others showed companies admitting to manipulating the public with claims of going “green”, and joking they wished youth climate activists would get infested by bedbugs. -The Guardian
- How many environmental violations does it take to shut down a pipeline project? Because Coastal GasLink has 51 warnings and two fines so far… -CBC
- Instead of getting shut down for repeated environmental offences, Coastal GasLink is allowed to start drilling under the sacred headwaters of the Wedzin Kwa. -Ricochet
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Meet the fracking, fish farming and logging lobbyists who have an outsized influence over what happens in this province – and a lot of them came straight from inside the BC NDP. -The Tyee
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Speaking of lobbyists…
- There’s a gently coursing brook along the foot of Burnaby Mountain that’s essential to the salmon returning from the Pacific Ocean. It’s one of the only urban places where a person can witness the fish run for themselves. But Trans Mountain’s work in the area poses a deadly threat to this rare and fragile ecosystem. That’s why tree defenders are continuing to push back. -Burnaby Beacon
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The residential and commercial development at Sen̓áḵw is one of the ways Squamish people plan to rebuild their nation after a century and a half of Canadian policies that separated them from their land and devastated their lives. -Vancouver Sun
- Fake front groups, paid actors, accusations of harassment and bribery… sounds like a mafia operation, doesn’t it? Well, it’s actually the description of a Canada Pension Plan-owned company’s involvement in a pro-fracking campaign.
- Just launched: the Fossil Fuel Registry, an open-source database of oil, gas, and coal production and reserves globally. Its purpose is to lay out how extraction impacts our carbon budget and (ideally) help guide decision makers into properly managing the reserves.
Actions
A poll by OpenMedia and iFixit shows 3 out of 4 people in Canada support the 'right to repair' their own devices, like broken cell phones, tablets and laptops. But thanks to the immense power of lobbyists, the necessary laws still haven't been passed. It’s going to take the collective power of the public to push for a system that reduces environmental waste and destruction, and keeps the ownership and maintenance of essential devices affordable for everyday people. Will you add your name to OpenMedia's campaign to pass 'right to repair' legislation?
Events
Nuchatlaht Support Rally - Tuesday, September 27 at the B.C. Supreme Court (800 Hornby St, Vancouver) starting at 8:30 a.m. The Nuchatlaht are heading back to court for final arguments to regain title to their unceded land. This is the first title case in court under B.C.’s implementation of UNDRIP and yet the government has continued their appalling argument that Nuchatlaht abandoned their territory. Show your solidarity with the Nuchatlaht Nation on September 27 and let decision makers know the public is watching.
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