by Pieter Vorster | Jan 23, 2020 | News and Events, Newsletters, Political Activity, Social Justice
Media Release January 23, 2020 For Immediate Release NIPR GREENS STAND WITH WET’SUWET’EN Hereditary Chiefs Continue to Protect Territory in Defiance of Court Decision by Tim Larsen, Powell River Members of the North Island-Powell River (NIPR) Greens are united with all Green Party of Canada (GPC) and BC Green members in support of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs in the assertion of their hereditary rights. The chiefs oppose the building of the Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline, designed to move fracked gas to Kitimat in northern BC, through Wet’suwet’en territory. Paul Manly, the Green MP for Nanaimo-Ladysmith who visited the camp last weekend, says this dispute is a fight for Indigenous rights and climate justice. “We know that this pipeline and the LNG project in Kitimat that it serves are a climate disaster in the making,” he said. “The hereditary chiefs not only need to be consulted, they need to be heard. I stand with these chiefs who have peacefully protested to protect their land and call on the provincial and federal governments to respect the stand they have taken.” Paul Manly on his visit in support of Wet’suwet’en land protectors Although he was in the area and visited the LNG site in Kitimat, Premier Horgan did not meet as requested by the Wet’suwet’en. Horgan is quoted in this CBC article that, “I’m not going to drop everything I’m doing to come running when someone is saying they need to speak with me…I’m not being disrespectful, I’m just saying be realistic here.” “If you’re going to have decent communication with anybody, it’s best to be looking eye to eye,” said...
by Pieter Vorster | May 11, 2019 | News and Events, Newsletters
Must Reads from Last Week The Must Reads will not be publishing again for a while due to all available efforts being put into Mark de Bruijn’s election campaign. The hope is that the campaign will be able to put out a periodic newsletter, which all subscribers will get. Events around the riding Comox Valley March for Climate Two great stories on the Youth Environmental Action March for Climate on May 3: Comox Valley Students ‘Stand Up, Fight Back’ for climate action and Orca and a dinosaur join Comox Valley youth in climate march. And this piece in the Comox Valley Record, profiling Nalan Goosen, one of the student organizers.. World Community film: What is the electric car? DATE/TIME: May 14, 7 pmLOCATION: Stan Hagen Theatre, NIC, Courtenay campus This entertaining and educational film looks at some of the myths people have about electric cars (speed, range, etc.) and gives thought-provoking information to consider. Vendors, drivers, and enthusiasts share their views. People who watch this film may soon end up driving their own electric vehicle. Admission is by donation.To watch trailer – www.worldcommunity.ca Comox Valley’s first electric vehicle event DATE/TIME: Saturday, May 18, 10 am to 4 pmLOCATION: Comox Valley Sports Centre parking lot Come check out everything you need to know about electric transportation in the Comox Valley! Test drive an electric car or ebike, talk to EV owners, see a Tesla up close and find out about incentives for purchasing electric vehicles. Sign-ups for test drives will be first come, first serve. (Hosted by Watershed Sentinel) Consent Culture training DATE/TIME: May 19, 10:30-5:30LOCATION: TinTown (TBA) From Facebook:...
by Pieter Vorster | Apr 20, 2019 | News and Events, Newsletters
Must Reads from Last Week Around the riding Comox Valley: Valley government leaders meet with students to hear climate demands Students meet with elected leaders of the Comox Valley at Mark R Isfeld School on April 15th, 2019. Photo by James Wood/98.9 The Goat/Vista Radio “Secondary students concerned about the environment met with an assembly of the Valley’s municipal leaders this afternoon. The students were part of Youth Environmental Action, comprised of students from GP Vanier, Cumberland Community School, Mark R Isfeld Secondary School, and Highland Secondary. With space provided by Isfeld on Monday afternoon, the group hosted the three mayors of Courtenay, Cumberland, and Comox, along with council members from the three communities, schoolboard member Sheila McDonnell, and Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) Area B Director Arzeena Hamir. The meeting between the students and the politicians lasted about an hour, and was guided along by Nalan Goosen, a member of the Isfeld Environment Club.” Read more. Comox Valley: Comox Councillor seeks support in addressing provincial climate emergency On Wednesday, Comox Councillor Alex Bissinger read out a notice of motion that “The Town of Comox formally recognize a climate emergency, and further that, the Town of Comox take a leadership role to work towards achieving carbon neutrality in the region by 2030. “That the Town of Comox consider all projects, procurements and decisions going forward through the lens of climate change mitigation and adaptation. That staff prepare a report to council within six months, with tangible actions, the mayor, council, and town staff can take to address this emergency. And that council seek commitment and financial support from...
by Pieter Vorster | Apr 13, 2019 | News and Events, Newsletters
Must Reads from Last Week Locally Courtenay: BC-wide March to Save our Forests On Saturday, April 6, a cold and windy day, the Comox Valley held a march as part of the BC-wide effort to highlight the fact that BC’s old-growth forests are fast disappearing everywhere. Watch this video from Courtenay. (This is a Facebook post.) Campbell River: Water “The clock is ticking to provide your comments to the Ministry of Environment re: proposed contaminated soil storage near Campbell River’s drinking water supply. See CREC’s list of concerns and supporting scientific evidence – and how to make your voice heard – here: bit.ly/2FMZBNr” Watch Sonia Furstenau in the BC Legislature on this issue. DATE/TIME: April 18, 7-9:30 pmLOCATION: Sportsplex, Room #1, Campbell River Powell River: Earth Day Powell River has LOTS of events for Earth Month. Check them out here. Mark de Bruijn, NIPR’s Green Party 2019 candidate, is going to be in attendance at the Powell River Earth Day festivities, as a guest of We are Climate Action Powell River. Mark will be there from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and will be speaking from 12:45 to 1 pm. If you’re heading over to Powell River, make sure you stop by and say “Hey” to Mark! Campbell River: Earth Week Film Festival DATE/TIME: April 23, 7-9 pmLOCATION:Tidemark Theatre, 1220 Shoppers Row ,Campbell River, + Google Map Show your support for Campbell River youth and local environmental initiatives by attending this year’s Earth Week Film Festival! Admission is by donation at the door, and proceeds from the event will support a post-secondary environmental bursary for a graduating School District...
by Pieter Vorster | Apr 6, 2019 | News and Events, Newsletters
Must Reads from Last Week Editor’s Note: There wasn’t meant to be a Must Reads this week. I am still navigating my way through 500 emails since my partner and I returned from taking our granddaughter to the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon and Sedona. (Yes, we bought carbon offsets, which was a very interesting exploration in itself.) But, having returned to very fast-moving news cycles I decided that I simply couldn’t impose a blog that would be approaching 30 pages long! (Megan Ardyche) Locally Comox Valley: Initiative strengthens role of nature in protecting drinking water This is really good news for the Comox Valley. The Town of Gibsons has already instituted this method of incorporating and valuing natural assets in maintaining healthy drinking water. “Several communities in the Comox Valley and the K’ómoks First Nation launched a $367,500 multi-year initiative with the Municipal Natural Assets Initiative (MNAI) this week to help better understand, measure and manage critical drinking water services provided by nature…The Municipal Natural Assets Initiative was originally a partnership between the David Suzuki Foundation, Smart Prosperity Institute, the Town of Gibsons and Brooke and Associates Consulting, and now operates as a not-for-profit society. It offers solutions to the problems of aging infrastructure and ecosystems decline facing Canadian municipalities. It does so by supporting municipalities to integrate natural assets (e.g. floodplains) into core asset management and financial processes. This means that natural assets are understood, managed and valued by municipalities in terms of the services that they can provide (e.g. flood management).” Read more. Provincially Glyphosate: BC Liberal MLA calling for ban on glyphosate in BC forests...
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