Independent Media, Gentrifiers Know Government Puts Independent Funds Squat Energy into Spying The Dominion news from the grassroots

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front lines Policy Feature The Dominion is a pan- by Dominion New Restrictions to The Cornerstone of Canadian media network that 3 10 17 seeks to provide a counterpoint contributors Public Information in Gentrification in the Newfoundland and Downtown East Side to the corporate media and to Labrador by Isaac Oommen & direct attention to independent by Miles Howe murray bush critics and the work of social movements. The Dominion is published six times per year in investigative ininvvestigestigaatitivvee toronto media Canada’s Spy Groups print and on the web. 4 12 fefeaattururee 20 co-op Divulge Secret Intelligence Stop This Kind of to Energy Companies Sinking Ships Publisher by Erin Empey Violence The Dominion by Tim Groves by TMC contributors Newspaper Co-operative

Accounts vancouver media toronto media Board of Directors Maryanne Abbs (VMC) A Dead Man’s Prints co-op co-op 6 15 20 Palmira Boutillier (HMC) by Byron Christopher Many Pipelines, More Reporting as Resistance Resistance by Megan Kinch Stéfanie Clermont (CMM) by VMC contributors Crystel Hajjar (contributor) Sharmeen Khan (reader) halifax media montreal media Ideas Dru Oja Jay (editor) 8 co-op 16 co-op 22 Supporting Independent Tim McSorley (editor) Anti-Drilling Protest in Turning Around Turcot Media to Grow NS Draws Hundreds, by Dawn Paley by Greg Macdougall Editorial Collective Shuts Down Highway Sandra Cuffe by Miles Howe Roddy Doucet Koby Rogers Hall Miles Howe Tim McSorley Dawn Paley Tara-Michelle Ziniuk Editors-at-Large Hillary Lindsay Member Profile Martin Lukacs This month we profile newly elected board Dru Oja Jay Moira Peters member and long-time contributor to the Coop Média de Montréal, Stéfanie Clermont. Fact Checkers Dawn Paley Arij Riahi Stefanie is among our new board members but she is no rookie, having been an integral and long- Copy Editors time volunteer with the Montreal Media Co-op. Joel Butler Sandra Cuffe She has been an active content provider for the Ashley Fortier past year, in both French and English, and through Simon Granovsky-Larsen providing regular radio reports. She was especially David Markland focused on covering the Quebec student strike this Dawn Paley past spring, producing the Red Square report. She Moira Peters has also contributed to the community through Graphic Designer offering skill share sessions on radio production Zinta Avens Auzins and editing. Cover Artist Dave Ron In her own words: “I’m excited to be a part of the board and I aim to contribute ISSN 1710-0283 more Montreal perspectives on local and national issues.” www.dominionpaper.ca Join the growing ranks of people from all walks of life who are choosing to own their media [email protected] by becoming a member today! Each and every member in our network helps make the news PO Box 741 Station H Montreal, happen. We are the Media Co-op. Go to www.mediacoop.ca/join to join us today! QC H3G 2M7

To find new subscribers, we occasionally exchange mailing lists with like-minded or- We acknowledge the financial ganizations for one-time mailings. If you prefer not to receive such mailings, please support of the Government of email [email protected], or write to the address in the masthead. Canada through the Canada 2 The Dominion is printed on Enviro100 100 per cent post-consumer paper. Periodical Fund (CPF) for our Printed by Kata Soho Design & Printing, www.katasoho.com, in Montreal. publishing activities. Front Lines Safer Streets, Anti-Oil Actions and Harper’s Hairdo

Motion 312, which proposed to study the Criminal Code’s defi- Dozens of Northwest Territories residents attended a hearing nition of when life begins, was defeated 203 to 91 in the House of to express concerns about clean-up plans for the thousands of Commons. The motion could have opened the door for the crimi- tonnes of arsenic dust left behind by the Giant Mine. nalization of abortion. Status of Women Minister Rona Ambrose voted in favour of the motion. After a four-year assessment, the Nunavut Impact Review Board approved Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation’s plans to build a $4 Hundreds of people rallied in Christie Pits, following a string of billion project at the top of Baffin Island, including a 17,000-hect- sexual assaults against women in the Toronto neighbourhood. are open pit iron mine, railway and port.

Rallies, marches and vigils against violence against women were The new Quebec government announced that the province’s only held in cities across Canada, including Take Back the Night in nuclear power plant, Gentilly-2, will be shut down instead Sudbury and a SlutWalk protest in Winnipeg. of undergoing a $2 billion refurbishment. The Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station in New Brunswick is still not back online despite completing refurbishment, after three years of delays. NB Power refuses to provide an explanation.

Newfoundland and Labrador MHA for Lake Melville Keith Rus- sell criticized some Muskrat Falls hydro-electric mega-project opponents on CBC radio, saying, “I don’t buy into the mumbo jumbo about the trail leading to the Muskrat Falls site as being sacred ground. You can romanticize and sensationalize that par- ticular piece of land all you want, but it is a resource.”

Manitouwadge High School students held a protest march against Bill 115 and to support their teachers’ right to strike, in Ontario. Hamilton public high school teachers wore black to protest the imposition of a contract involving a wage freeze and a two-year strike ban.

After months of Musqueam protest to protect an ancient burial ground site from condo development, the BC government changed the site’s heritage value and allowed alteration permits to expire.

Lake St. Martin First Nation evacuees held a roadside camp and protest to demand solutions to their relocation and housing issues. The Manitoba reserve has been considered uninhabitable since flooding in May 2011. People hit the streets from coast to coast to attend rallies, marches and vigils against rape and sexual violence. Here, a young girl displays her sign at Take Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) representatives took Back the Night in Calgary. Photo by Tami Starlight the province and RCMP to task on policing and detention issues in the Northlands Denesuline First Nation in Lac Brochet. An internal RCMP report released through Access to Informa- The community hockey arena is being used for indiscriminate tion laws found an overwhelming perception that perpetrators detention for safety reasons, assault or drug and alcohol issues. of harassment and bullying of female officers would face no real consequences. The RCMP is facing lawsuits, including a case Mi’kmaq people set up a partial blockade of the Trans-Canada seeking class action certification, from more than 200 current Highway in Auld’s Cove, NS, the access point to Cape Breton, and former female RCMP officers and employees. in opposition to exploratory oil and gas drilling by PetroWorth Resources. Many people travelled to support the action, including Iraq war resister Kimberley Rivera was deported from Canada, an anti-fracking brigade from Halifax. A week later, an informa- separated from her family and placed in custody in the US, tion picket drew more than 200 people. despite widespread protests and organized support efforts. Posing as Stephen Harper, Quebec radio comedy duo The Masked The House of Commons Public Safety Committee recommended Avengers managed to speak with United Nations Secretary- electronic ankle bracelets for refugee claimants, in order to General Ban Ki-moon during the UN General Assembly. “Harper” reduce “the occurrence of inadmissible individuals who are not apologized for not being able to attend the meeting because he presenting themselves for removal,” according to Postmedia News. was too busy combing his hair with super glue. 3 The Dominion November/December 2012 Investigative Canada’s Spy Groups Divulge Secret Intelligence to Energy Companies by Tim Groves

TORONTO—The Canadian government cial protection. Ten critical infrastructure has been orchestrating briefings that sectors are identified including finance, provide energy companies with classified transportation, health care and energy. intelligence from the Canadian Security For each sector a government department Intelligence Service, the RCMP and other has been charged with fostering relation- agencies, raising concerns that federal offi- ships with partners, including through the cials are spying on environmentalists and sharing of information. Natural Resources First Nations in order to provide informa- Canada (NRCan) is the lead ministry for tion to the businesses they criticize. the energy sector. The secret-level briefings have taken “These forums provide excellent place twice a year since 2005, and are opportunities for energy sector stakehold- detailed in documents obtained under the ers to develop ongoing trusting relations Access to Information Act, and in publicly- which facilitate the exchange of pertinent available government files. information ‘off the record,’” writes Felix The draft agenda for one of the brief- Kwamena, a director of energy infrastruc- ings, acquired by The Dominion, shows ture security at Natural Resources, in a that the RCMP and CSIS assisted the 2010 summary of various governments’ Ministry of Natural Resources in orga- efforts to protect energy installations. nizing a daylong event on November 25, But groups protesting energy projects 2010, at CSIS headquarters in Ottawa, and such as the tar sands have misgiving about a networking reception the previous night this cozy relationship. Since 2005, the Canadian government has been at the Chateau Laurier. “I see a worrying trend of blurring the organizing secret-level meetings between federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies and The focus of the classified briefing was lines between government security appa- energy corporations to share intelligence on on “the geopolitics of the Arctic,” but there ratus and the private sector,” said Keith environmentalists’ activities. Illustration by Ryan were also presentations on topics including Stewart, Climate & Energy Campaigner James Terry cyber-security, intellectual property rights with Greenpeace Canada. “What we are and the Toronto G20 summit. Speakers at seeing is government working at the ings,” said Stewart. “The concern for me is the event were from the RCMP and CSIS, behest of these big multinational corpora- if they are doing this to hand over infor- as well as the Department of National tions, rather than seeing themselves as a mation to the private sector.” Defence and Public Safety Canada. Two regulator of those companies in the public “Natural Resources Canada does not presenters had their names and affiliations interest.” monitor these groups nor does it provide redacted from the document. “They have created this security cul- information on them to private compa- Attendees were also given the option to ture where there is no separation between nies,” Perras asserted. review selected classified reports. However, the federal government, and the fossil fuel However, the perceived threat to note-taking at the event was prohibited. sector,“ said Clayton Thomas-Muller, an energy infrastructure by organizations and Natural Resources spokesperson organizer with the Indigenous Environ- First Nations opposing energy projects Jacinthe Perras stated that the classified mental Network, a group fighting for the was revealed in an academic paper by Jeff briefings enable the owners and opera- rights of Indigenous people around the Monaghan and Kevin Walby who exposed tors of energy infrastructure, “to plan and world and a vocal opponent of tar sands a CSIS document from 2008 that claims develop measures to protect their facilities.” projects. “Multi-issue extremists [including envi- In an email to The Dominion, Perras Thomas-Muller and Stewart both told ronmental groups] and aboriginal extrem- explained that the department is man- The Dominion that they are concerned ists may pursue common causes, and both dated to “engage with partners and key that groups opposing energy projects may groups have demonstrated the intent and stakeholders” by federal policy such as be spied upon by intelligence agencies the capability to carry out attacks against the National Strategy and Action Plan for that report on their activities to energy critical infrastructure in Canada.” Critical Infrastructure. companies. “I have no doubt whatsoever that This plan is based on the concept that “We know [Greenpeace] have been there are active files on dozens and dozens some infrastructure is so vital to the func- surveilled...and we also know we have of First Nations who are quite simply tioning of the country that it deserves spe- had undercover officers attend our train- asserting their rights to title over their

4 The Dominion November/December 2012 Investigative traditional lands.” said Thomas-Muller. clearance, Canadians have a right to slides from Shoemaker’s presentation He pointed to revelations that an know.” made no direct mention of Greenpeace or RCMP unit was tasked with monitor- The names of the companies invited any other environmental or First Nations ing First Nations communities with the to attend the classified briefings have group, beyond listing “issue specific potential to engage in protests. Operating never been revealed. However, the former extremism/activism” and “aboriginal between 2007 and 2010, the unit sent Minister of Natural Resources, Gary activism” as a “public order” threat. their weekly report to roughly 450 recipi- Lunn, boasted at the 2007 International Although the presentation did not ents, including energy companies. Pipeline Security Forum that his min- deal specifically with energy infrastruc- The Mounties say they’re just doing istry had “sponsored over 200 industry ture, Perras said the “report helped their job. representatives in obtaining Secret Level inform the development of an all-hazards “The RCMP is required to produce II security clearance. This enables us to approach to critical energy infrastructure and disseminate criminal threat assess- share information with industry and their protection.” ments and other criminal intelligence associations.” Stewart doesn’t think that intelligence related to critical infrastructure protec- A 2006 report by Natural Resources agencies should be focusing their energies tion,” explained Greg Cox, a spokesperson names the industry associations with on non-violent groups like Greenpeace. for the RCMP. He maintained that “no which its energy infrastructure protec- “The only threat we pose is the threat personal information is shared,” and tion division liaised. These included to change peoples minds, and changing that “the sharing of criminal information the Canadian Association of Petroleum public opinion—and I understand why oil between law enforcement and the private Producers, which represents nearly 100 companies might be worried about that. sector is nothing new.” oil and gas companies including Shell and I understand why government might be CSIS declined to comment for this Suncor; and the Canadian Energy Pipeline worried about that, but I think that is a story. Association, which represents companies fundamental part of democracy and they However, documents released to The such as Enbridge and TransCanada and just have to learn to live with free speech,” Dominion show that a component of CSIS, the Canadian Nuclear Association. declared Stewart. the Integrated Threat Assessment Centre In addition to holding briefings, Natu- He believes the Harper government (ITAC), has been writing intelligence ral Resources also distributed reports to is trying to demonize groups that are reports on environmental groups. the energy sector that contained “unclas- opposed to energy projects. He pointed An August 2010 ITAC intelligence sified information and intelligence” and to legislation that was introduced to document on the 2010 World Energy Con- were shared with “approximately 300 increase the budget for the auditing of gress, which took place in Montreal the stakeholders three to five times every environmental organizations, a docu- following month, notes that “companies week,” according to an internal review. ment that lists “environmental NGOs” and such as Shell, Encana, Enbridge, to name The classified briefings even touched “Aboriginal Groups” as adversaries, an a few are amongst conference participants on seemingly unrelated topics such as the increased budget for the auditing of envi- who have been subject to demonstrations 2010 G20 summit in Toronto. An inter- ronmental organizations, and a commen- in the past.” nal RCMP email dated October 21, 2010, tary by Natural Resources Minister Joe It goes on to state that “pro-envi- reveals that Natural Resources requested Oliver, who warned that environmental ronmental groups...intend to stage what the RCMP provide a review of the G20 groups ”threaten to hijack our regulatory they refer to as an ‘emergency forum on summit at a briefing taking place the fol- system to achieve their radical ideological energy,’” specifically naming the group lowing month. agenda.” Mouvement Sortons le Québec du Nuclé- “This didn’t make a lot of sense to me “In terms of democracy, you need a aire, an organization challenging nuclear because of course the G20 and the protest separation of oil and state. We need to energy plans in the province. The docu- against it happened in Toronto, and the separate the private interest of corpora- ment also names Climate Action Montreal, energy companies are based in Calgary. tions from [the] interest of Canadians, and a group that held a climate camp to train There isn’t any energy infrastructure in we’re seeing a lot of blurring of that line,” activists opposed to the tar sands. downtown Toronto,” said Stewart. said Stewart. “The government seems The ITAC documents were of a lower During the classified briefing, held to be saying what is good for companies security clearance than the classified November 25, 2010, RCMP Staff Sergeant like Shell or Enbridge is good for Canada. information being provided at the Natural John Shoemaker reported to energy com- We think that is an important debate in a Resources briefings. panies on intelligence efforts to protect the democracy.” “There should be a lot more transpar- Summit. ency,” Stewart said. “We are not saying The G20 intelligence unit employed Tim Groves is an investigative researcher and journalist based in Toronto. He can be they need to be publicizing all of the surveillance, monitoring and undercover reached at [email protected]. results of their investigation, but if they infiltration of protest groups including are going to be working closely with the First Nations and environmental groups. private sector and sharing that informa- They showed a keen interest in Green- tion with them and granting them security peace’s activities. However, PowerPoint

5 The Dominion November/December 2012 Accounts A Dead Man’s Prints RCMP request to fingerprint Wiebo Ludwig’s corpse refused by Byron Christopher

HYTHE, AB—The day after controver- shops, greenhouses, barns, woodsheds and a veteran criminal defence lawyer, says it sial eco-activist Wiebo Ludwig died, the a dental office. was the first time he’s heard of police lifting RCMP wanted to open his coffin and take Richard Boonstra, Ludwig’s long-time prints off convicted criminals to close a file. his fingerprints one final time. His family friend and a resident at Trickle Creek, The request to fingerprint a dead refused. called the RCMP’s request to fingerprint and buried man came as news to recently The media-savvy reverend was seen as his corpse “odd,” “invasive” and “a terrible retired correctional officer Rick Dyhm. In an “eco-warrior” by his supporters; to his disrespect and interference” with human his 34 years as a guard at federal pris- foes he was an “eco-terrorist.” He was best remains. Boonstra suspects the Mounties ons—where numerous inmates have died— known for his run-ins with the oil and gas wanted to see for themselves that Wiebo Dyhm says police never showed up to take industry—and the police—because of his Ludwig was actually dead. The request prints off a dead inmate. objection to poisonous leaks. showed authorities’ discomfort with In 2001, an Edmonton judge handed The Dutch-born preacher died from Ludwig, according to Boonstra, because, Ludwig a 28-month prison sentence after cancer of the esophagus on April 9 at his he said, Ludwig had embarrassed the finding him guilty of oilfield vandalism. log cabin near Hythe, in northwestern “establishment.” He was found guilty of attempting to Alberta. Ludwig was 70. The ink had Doris Stapleton of RCMP Media Rela- possess explosives and “public mischief” barely dried on his death certificate when tions says “a fingerprint is the best way over $5,000 after two gas well-heads his casket was carried to a small cemetery to positively identify someone, and if that near Trickle Creek were damaged. One in woods nearby and placed in an above person has a criminal record the finger- had been dynamited; the other encased ground concrete crypt. The previous fall I’d prints are sent to Ottawa so they’re able in concrete. Ludwig was released after walked with Wiebo on a path that curves to take the record off CPIC.” CPIC is the serving two-thirds of his sentence. What through the graveyard. At one point he Canadian Police Information Center where precipitated the vandalism was a series of stopped and, pointing with his cane, said, criminal history files are kept. sour gas leaks that poisoned people and “This is where I’m going.” animals at Trickle Creek. The Ludwigs say when they complained to the authorities, nothing was done. The leaks continued and the people of Trickle Creek put duct tape around their doors and windows to try and keep the toxic gas at bay. Two years prior to his conviction, tensions reached a boiling point when a local girl, 16-year-old Karman Willis, was shot and killed at Ludwig’s farm. Willis had been riding in one of three pick-ups that tore around Trickle Creek in the dead of night. Drivers did doughnuts and tossed empty beer cans, with one truck coming to within a metre of plowing down four children sleeping in a tent. A bullet hit the radiator of one truck and ricocheted off the frame, striking Willis. No one was charged with the shooting; neither were any of the intruders charged with trespassing at night, or impaired or dangerous driving. In January 2010, about 200 RCMP Wiebo Ludwig on the Trickle Creek farm in November 2011. He was showing where a new residence would be built, explaining that his cabin would be moved. Photo by Byron Christopher officers raided Trickle Creek to search for evidence in the bombing of a gas pipeline The graveyard is a short walk from The family’s attorney, Paul Moreau near Tom’s Lake, BC, about an hour’s Trickle Creek, the small Christian commu- of Edmonton, informed the RCMP “that drive from Ludwig’s farm. Mounties told nity Ludwig founded 26 years ago. Today wouldn’t be happening.” The Mounties reporters they had proof—DNA evidence— it’s home to nearly 60 people, a sprawling dropped the matter, and the heavy top cov- that Wiebo Ludwig was connected to the complex of chalet-type homes, machine ering the crypt was never raised. Moreau, bombings. Ludwig was tricked into think-

6 The Dominion November/December 2012 Accounts ing he was just meeting with Mounties in nearby Grande Prairie, but was arrested and locked up for 24 hours. He was never charged with the Tom’s Lake bombings. Boonstra finds it odd the Mounties didn’t get around to meet with Ludwig in his final days. If police believed Ludwig shot Willis—or was behind the BC bomb- ings—Boonstra wonders why investigators wouldn’t want to see him in the hope they might get a deathbed confession. Ludwig, a carpenter, built his own coffin in February when he realized his battle with cancer was going south. In his final media interview, pub- lished in The Dominion, a weakened Ludwig revealed he was looking forward to what he called crossing over. “[Death] doesn’t bother me,” he offered. “It is apparent to everyone there is an afterlife, even though we repress that in our anxiet- Wiebo Ludwig’s crypt at the Trickle Creek farm. A plaque is being made for it. Shortly after Ludwig’s death, ies. I am eager for redemption, eager to the RCMP asked his family to open to his tomb so they could fingerprint his body. The request was refused. Photo by Byron Christopher see what’s there. I just hope I die without too much pain.” Family members wept openly when But a few changes have taken place. He got his wish, thanks to a combina- I played back recordings of the final Wiebo’s log cabin was moved closer to the tion of herbal medicine, oxycontin and interviews with Wiebo. I had called Trickle forest. The inside is now being refur- morphine. Right up to the day he died, Creek on April 2 for an update on his bished and a second floor added. Plans are Ludwig went for walks, often arm-in-arm condition. Ludwig managed to get to the underway to build another multiple-story with Maime, his wife of 43 years. phone. “Why are you calling?” he queried. house, complete with a turret and an aerial I joked I was curious to see if he’d died on walkway; the idea is that in cold weather Richard Boonstra, Ludwig’s April Fools Day. Ludwig chuckled. It was people can travel between buildings with- the last time we spoke. out having to don extra clothes. A huge long-time friend and a What has changed at Trickle Creek barn was recently constructed to store five resident at Trickle Creek, since Wiebo Ludwig’s death? Plenty, but thousand bales of hay and to give livestock called the RCMP’s request to much remains the same. Trickle Creek shelter on cold winter days. fingerprint his corpse “odd,” continues to be managed by a council of Before I pulled out of Trickle Creek “invasive” and “a terrible eight family members, its spiritual core I chatted with beekeeper Fritz Ludwig. disrespect and interference” much the way it was when Wiebo was alive. “Sorry if I seem out of place here,” I Trickle Creek remains a strong explained, “I don’t go to church.” Hold- with human remains. Christian community, bordering on Old ing a young child in his arms and swaying Testament-like values. Meals are followed from side to side, the bearded Fritz smiled In his last hours, family members by readings from the Scriptures. No one and replied, “neither do we.” made their way to the log cabin where is addicted to cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, their leader, frail and lying on a couch, gambling, or television. The adults work Wiebo Ludwig’s last interview was published in The Dominion on March 16, 2012. See Wiebo’s blessed them one by one. Wiebo Arienes every day except Sundays. Food and herbs Final Battle. Ludwig took his final breath at 11:30 am are home-grown and no one in the com- on Easter Monday. On his last day he said munity suffers from obesity. The children Byron Christopher is an award-winning freelance journalist based in Edmonton, “...Think I’m afraid of dying? Hardly.” have chores; they pick berries, help with Alberta. His last words were a request: that family the harvest, feed the chickens and milk the members not quarrel and that they keep goats and cows. For kicks, they ride bikes, the faith. collect cattails, learn pottery and play vol- No outsiders were permitted at the leyball, soccer and hop-scotch. funeral service, held in the family’s large There are no video games at Trickle dining hall. I first learned of Wiebo’s death Creek. Put it this way: the apple products when Josh, one of his sons, phoned late they admire hang on trees and the twitter that afternoon. comes from birds.

7 The Dominion November/December 2012 Halifax Media Co-op Anti-Drilling Protest in NS Draws Hundreds, Shuts Down Highway Native and non-native residents vow to protect Lake Ainslie text & photos by Miles Howe

Responding to the imminent threat of exploratory oil and gas drilling on the shores of Cape Breton’s Lake Ainslie, the largest freshwater lake in Nova Scotia, upwards of 200 people, coming from all corners of the province, staged an information picket outside the town of Auld’s Cove on September 22—Global Anti-Fracking Day. During the third hour of the action, in deference to a Mi’kmaq water ceremony, the RCMP fully blockaded the highway—the only roadway in or out of the island of Cape Breton—for about 20 minutes.

“We’re not going to give up, because we love our ancestors, we love our future generations, and we love our children and grandchildren. And we know that water is sacred,” said Elizabeth Marshall of the Treaty Beneficiary Association (not pictured here). “I’d like [Nova Scotia premier] Darrell Dexter to tell me how much I should charge for a sacred spirit.”

Although PetroWorth Resources Inc, the Toronto-based company to which the Government of Nova Scotia has issued only one exploratory well permit, has promised that no fracking will occur at the drill site, residents are not convinced. “There are three other terms that I’ve come across—well stimulation, well cleaning and well completion—which all fall under the heading of well alteration, which hydraulic fracturing also falls under,” said Robert Parkins, closest neighbour to the potential drill site. “They all use the same processes and the same chemicals.”

8 The Dominion November/December 2012 Halifax Media Co-op

Despite the slow-down, motorists responded in an overwhelmingly positive manner to the action; thousands of pamphlets were distributed and the afternoon resonated with the emphatic staccato of fists pumped to passing car horns.

Local Mi’kmaq chiefs appeared to sign off on PetroWorth’s exploratory well permit after being consulted by the provincial government. But the recent unrest, coupled with the effort of a group of local Mi’kmaq organizers who forced their way into a meeting of the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs (ANSMC) on September 20, has caused the chiefs to do something of a public about-face. A press release, issued on September 21, notes that the ANSMC are “in support of the community’s concerns on hydraulic fracturing in the Lake Ainslie area of Cape Breton.” The press release, while cause for some degree of hope, does not demand that PetroWorth’s exploratory well permit be rescinded.

“I thought this was just going to be a bunch of raggedy-assed Indians,” said Marshall (not pictured here), conjuring the memory of Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash. “And you showed us that the raggedy-assed Indians have a bunch of raggedy-assed residents backing us up.” Natives and non-Natives united in their vow to protect the pristine waters of the Margaree-Lake Ainslie watershed.

9 Policy New Restrictions to Public Information in Newfoundland and Labrador Province passes amendment that limits access to information and protects the privacy of its goverment by Miles Howe HALIFAX—Despite a four-day, record- interests. Section 24 relates to the pre- tive government’s rushed passing of Bill breaking filibuster in mid-June, the rogative of the “public body,” in this case 29, just before parliament took its summer provincial Conservative party of New- the Privacy Commissioner, to poten- break. foundland and Labrador passed a bill that tially refuse to disclose the release of any “We asked a number of times during will radically reduce public access to gov- information that could relate to economic, the filibuster: ‘Why?’” Rogers told The ernment information in the province. Bill technical or scientific information that Dominion. “We had a very good act as it 29 has drawn widespread criticism from is determined to have monetary value. stood. And particularly during this time legal experts, opposition politicians and Within this lies the potential to refuse when we have huge decisions to make— working journalists alike, who have called disclosure of information related to public- why they would do this? And there was no the bill regressive and draconian. private partnerships. answer.” “It’s more of a piece of legislation that Section 27 applies to the disclosure Rogers suspects, however, that the sets rules on how not to release things,” of information that would impact busi- potential of the Muskrat Falls hydroelec- Russell Wangersky, an editor and colum- ness interests of a third party (like labour tric facility and the interests of numerous nist with the St. John’s Telegram, told The relations or trade secrets). In these cases, companies—including Alderon Iron Ore Dominion. the public body has the duty to refuse to Corp, the Quebec-based mining company The amendment to the province’s disclose; in the cases applicable to section looking to develop thousands of hectares Access To Information and Protection of 24, the body may also choose to do so. in Labrador—loomed large in the Conser- Privacy Act (ATIPPA) has the potential to vatives’ decision to rush through Bill 29. drastically reduce the need of the New- “The intent is obviously to On March 28th, 2012, Alderon pro- foundland government to respond to, well, keep information from ever vided former provincial Progressive Con- anything. reaching the public eye.” servative premier Danny Williams with Requests that Cabinet determines are Hugo Rodrigues a stock option for 1,125,000 shares—the “vexatious, frivolous [or] trivial” can now same day that Alderon appointed Williams be disregarded. The definition of “Cabi- When coupled with the new, wide- to its Board of Directors. Representatives net confidences” has also been expanded sweeping re-definition of Cabinet con- from Alderon have argued publicly for to include documents that have been fidences, suddenly the avenues towards Muskrat Falls, and Williams, now at least prepared for Cabinet, but which Cabinet accessing information stand to narrow officially out of the political sphere since doesn’t need to have ever seen or used. significantly. 2010, has gone so far as to publicly chas- What won’t be released under Bill 29 Hugo Rodrigues, president of the tise the Public Utilities Board (the arm’s is substantial and subjective: no definition Canadian Association of Journalists, sees length body responsible for sifting through of vexatious, frivolous or trivial were pro- this as a step away from governmental the data around—and ultimately approv- vided in the amendment. Newfoundland transparency. ing—Muskrat Falls) for requesting more and Labrador Minister of Services Paul “When you’re creating new classes data from the provincial government and Davis justified the addition of these terms of information for documents and brief- more time to complete it’s review. into the Act by claiming that “countless” ings prepared for Cabinet that extend to Political pundits agree that current requests for information were swamping not just what hit the Cabinet table, but to premier Kathy Dunderdale and the pro- the Office of the Information and Privacy what is prepared for Cabinet but is never vincial Conservative government rode into Commissioner. The CBC subsequently actually considered by Cabinet, then you’re another majority in 2011 on the coattails of weakened this argument when they excluding that entire class of information Williams’ local popularity. revealed that the Information and Privacy from ever being accessible,” Rodrigues The interests of Altius Minerals Commissioner received an average of 11 told The Dominion. “The intent there is Corporation, the Newfoundland-based requests per week from across the prov- obviously to keep information from ever company, add more shades of grey to a ince. reaching the public eye.” picture whose lines stand to become even Sections 24 and 27 of the bill are of To Gerry Rogers, Member of the less discernable under Bill 29. special concern and could be potentially Newfoundland and Labrador House of Altius is one of several companies problematic, especially when considered in Assembly for St. John’s Centre and NDP whose proposals concerning the Lower a political climate of increasingly blurred Justice Critic, there’s more than control for Churchill Project—of which Muskrat Falls lines between commercial and political the sake of control behind the Conserva- is but a part—was selected by the Williams

10 The Dominion November/December 2012 Policy government in 2005 for “more substantive is a massive undertaking and partners New- Williams and Alderon, but maintains that evaluation and discussion.” foundland and Labrador’s Crown corpora- the public in Newfoundland and Labra- Altius Investments Holdings owns tion Nalcor Energy with Emera Inc, Nova dor, and Nova Scotia, are being fleeced if 32,285,006 common shares in Alderon, Scotia’s private monopoly energy provider. they think that Muskrat Falls is in any way while Altius Minerals Corporation, under While 13 contracts have been signed about them or so-called “green” energy. the name 2260761 Ontario Inc, owns on the deal and clear-cutting has begun 584,000 common shares in Alderon. near the proposed svite, Muskrat Falls is “It’s more of a piece of Alderon, whose need for a source of power awaiting federal loan guarantees to begin legislation that sets rules is one of the few missing puzzle pieces construction. on how not to release between themselves and Labrador mineral “Muskrat Falls...is perhaps the biggest things.” Russell Wangersky development riches, would arguably be one project this province has ever undertaken of Altius’—and Muskrat Falls’—main cli- aside from whether or anot to join Con- “There’s upwards of 13 mining ents. This only becomes more complicated federation,” says Rogers. “It will be very developments going on in Labrador right with Danny Williams on the Alderon board. expensive. It may have a number of players. now. And even Muskrat Falls couldn’t Muskrat Falls, which has not yet And this government ran on a platform of possibly [power] all of that,” Cabana told begun construction, has a 2010 estimated accountability and greater transparency. The Dominion. “It’s illogical...it makes cost of $6.2 billion and an estimated This amendment (Bill 29) came out of the no business sense to send power to Nova generating capacity of 824 megawatts. It is blue and it’s so contrary to the platform that Scotia, to Emera. I propose that [former publicly being touted by the governments they ran on. The other thing is that there’s premier Danny] Williams used that strat- of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia as a key huge mining and resource projects in Lab- egy to hook in [federal MP] Peter McKay component towards shifting their respec- rador. And there’s a lot of decisions that will and company to try and get [federal] loan tive grids to “renewable” energy. have to be made in that area.” guarantees for Muskrat Falls...[Williams] has been trying to get the feds in and get a loan guarantee since the 2006 [provincial] election. “I think the only way they could do it was to hook up with Emera and get that power to Nova Scotia, and I don’t think it’s going to happen. I think Williams is just using it as a ruse to get a loan guarantee and then they’re going to find a way to get out of it. It just doesn’t make any sense on any level. It doesn’t send enough mega- watts to earn any money for Newfound- land—400-500 megawatts is nothing in the market. I don’t even know if it replaces one coal plant down in Nova Scotia.” Whether or not Muskrat Falls is meant to serve the potentially lucrative Labrador mines, or is truly a “renewable” energy source, will become increasingly difficult to determine under Bill 29. It essentially ensures that the public will have to take at face value the provin- cial government of Newfoundland and corporate spokespeople, and guarantees that whatever happens in Newfoundland Marie Zahradnik and Labrador, stays in Newfoundland and The scope of the proposed project Brad Cabana, who maintains the blog Labrador. is vast, and involves linking the dam via rocksolidpolitics.blogspot.ca, was the first undersea cable from the Lower Churchill to publicly write about the potentially Miles Howe is an editor with The Dominion and a member of the Halifax Media Co-op. River in Labrador to Newfoundland. It will troublesome links between the current Follow him @MilesHowe. then be linked to Nova Scotia via another provincial government, Williams, mining undersea cable and will feed the Nova interests, financing and Bill 29. Cabana is Scotia grid approximately 170 megawatts. It currently in a suit/counter-suit with Danny

11 The Dominion November/December 2012 Investigative Feature Sinking Ships Shipwrecks, shellfish and the future of the BC coast by Erin Empey

HARTLEY BAY, BC—The two ex-lovers who were at the helm of the BC “If the Queen of the North had sunk Ferries ship Queen of the North during a routine overnight sailing anywhere near Vancouver or Victoria, it from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy six years ago probably didn’t would still not be sitting at the bottom of expect their first reunion after a two-week separation to end the the ocean, leaking contaminants,” said way it did. Years later, despite a lengthy investigation into what Cameron Hill, a Hartley Bay Band Council happened that night (with which the ex-lovers refused to co-oper- member. “There’s no way that would have ate), only the bridge crew on staff know the specific details of the happened anywhere else. But it’s happen- human error that caused a 700-passenger ferry to collide with Gil ing right outside Hartley Bay.” Hill claims that two days after the Island and sink in the early hours of March 22, 2006. sinking, former BC Premier Gordon Camp- Soon the jagged rocks and narrow diesel, oil and hydraulic fluid down with bell and former BC Ferries CEO David channels that consumed the ferry may be it. First responders on the scene that night Hahn promised the ship would be raised. an obstacle course for much larger ships reported that the entire surface of Wright “At the very least, [they said] they will take and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Sound was covered in a film of diesel. out all of the contaminants,” said Hill. If the Northern Gateway pipeline Hartley Bay residents as far as 11 “The technology is there to do that. That proposal is accepted, tankers will cross kilometres away reported that they could never happened either. And still to this day the ferry route at Wright Sound, passing smell the accident from their homes. The it leaks.” the sunken ship as they start up Douglas 2007 Queen of the North Monitoring Sum- Following analysis from the Cana- Channel. mary Review, an environmental report dian Coast Guard and London Offshore The tankers would carry hundreds of commissioned by BC Ferries, found that Consultants, BC Ferries determined that millions of litres of bitumen from Kitimat following the sinking, patches of diesel it was not worth raising the wreck or to China, making the 250,000 litres of dotted several hundred square kilometres attempting to remove the diesel. Nobody diesel on the Queen of the North seem of ocean surface and may have contacted knows for certain whether all of the diesel paltry by comparison. 100 kilometres of shoreline. was dispersed in the incident or if some Each tanker is three times the length Six years later, community members is still trapped in the hull. The Queen of of the ferry, requiring two kilometres to from Hartley Bay are still dealing with the the North remains 430 metres under the stop completely. There is far less room for impacts of the sinking. The ship remains ocean. human or technical error. With growing on the ocean floor. Even today, they say, Removing the diesel floating on the opposition to the gas and oil pipelines diesel patches are visible when the weather ocean surface also proved to be an insur- proposed to cross BC, a closer look at the is calm. mountable task. Queen of the North incident sheds new light on the dangers of tanker traffic on the wild, rocky coast. The passengers and crew stranded in the dark, isolated sound on that fateful March night in 2006 were fortunate to be in Gitga’at Nation Territory. Upon hearing the radioed distress signals, nearly all of the 200 Gitga’at resi- dents of the nearby Hartley Bay leapt out of bed, mobilized every boat in the village and prepared the community centre to accommodate 99 exhausted and trauma- tized survivors. Their life-saving efforts came well in advance of the arrival of the Coast Guard. Even with this effort, two of the passengers aboard the Queen of the North, Shirley Rosette and Gerald Foisy, were never found and are presumed dead. When it sank, the Queen of the North brought hundreds of thousands of litres of A wall of mussels in Hartley Bay, British Columbia. Photo by Erin Empey

12 The Dominion November/December 2012 Investigative Feature

for contamination. BC Ferries paid for monitoring until March 2011, when the company decided it was no longer effective at detecting pol- lution. The decision to axe the monitoring program occurred the same year that BC Ferries was facing a $20 million budget shortfall, following years of controversy surrounding high executive compensation. The company considers the monitoring unreliable at detecting spills because of factors such as weather conditions, timing of the upwelling, underwater currents and limited time spent on the water. “The result of this monitoring dis- closed extremely minor leakage from the wreck of approximately half a litre of fuel per day or less, which spread and dissi- pated quickly on the surface without any identified environmental impact,” wrote Deborah Marshall, Executive Director of Public Affairs for BC Ferries, in an email to The Dominion. “Upwelling monitoring did not provide any useful data other than to establish that, over the five-year period, the wreck appeared to be very stable with decreased residual leakage,” she wrote. The Queen of the North Monitoring Summary Review suggests that the effects of the Queen of the North were short lived. “Local residents have indicated that their food resources are still contaminated, but the science indicates that resources closest to the wreck site were ‘recovered’ by June of 2006 and contaminant levels reached Map of routes of Queen of the North and proposed Northern Gateway. Image by Erin Empey the same level as sites that had not been affected by the spill,” wrote John Harper, Diesel is a very light fuel that spreads “Unfortunately there were really big who coordinated the monitoring program to less than one millimetre of depth. With- tides,” said Hill. “Our major clam beds for BC Ferries, in an email to The Dominion. out a very calm surface it is difficult to were just totally below it. We looked at the extract. “There was not a heck of a lot that clams the following year and they were “Any oil spill, anywhere in you could do,” said Ernie Hill, one of three just not good. You know, dark inside and our territory, that’s the end Hereditary Chiefs of the Gitga’at. “They not very much of it. And it drifts up to the for us. ” Ernie Hill, Hereditary had booms out there, but all they could do high water mark and it affected a lot of our Chief of the Gitga’at was redirect it. I think somebody said they plants there too.” collected, maybe ten gallons or something, BC Ferries, a private corporation Hartley Bay residents, believing there of actual diesel fuel. But the rest went to contracted and legislated by the BC gov- are lingering impacts from the vessel, are the beaches.” ernment, promised the region would be now paying for their own visual monitor- Western Canada Marine Response restored to a pristine condition and that ing. Many residents still won’t eat from Corporation, the company contracted it would fund a yearly contribution to the certain shellfish beds. by BC Ferries for the cleanup, did not Hartley Bay Band to pay for monitoring Health Canada has done shellfish respond to interview requests before this and testing of marine life in the area. The testing since BC Ferries ceased doing it, article went to press. monitoring included visually inspecting although residents are uncertain how long Ernie Hill and others think the diesel the wreck area to check for leaking fuel as that will continue. Even if the toxins are at is already taking a toll on marine life. well as sending shellfish to a lab to check low levels now, without daily monitoring,

13 The Dominion November/December 2012 Investigative Feature

residents have no way of knowing if an “The Queen of the North spilled thou- “We’ve been trained by Burrard underwater “burp” has unleashed a fresh sands of litres of diesel that impacted our Clean, that’s an oil cleanup company,” said batch of diesel onto the clam beds. territory,” said Cameron Hill. “In the over- Marven Robinson, a Hartley Bay Band Ernie Hill takes this contamination all scheme of oil spills, diesel is a pretty Council member and part of the marine very seriously. His peoples’ traditional light material compared to the crude that’s guardianship program. “They told us, ‘See harvesting grounds hold centuries of going to be in these tankers.” what you guys did the night the ferries cultural significance, and are also a major Members of Indigenous communi- sank? Don’t do it with any of those ships food source. Their territory is remote; the ties from Alaska have visited Hartley Bay going up to Kitimat.’ The guy said they’re nearest grocery store is in Prince Rupert, to share their experiences of the Exxon being paid, for dangerous pay. They said a four-hour ferry ride away. Since goods Valdez. One such community was so badly ‘Don’t you guys ever go out to one of these shipped to the region are expensive, access hit that the people had to be permanently boats. If it’s condensate, don’t go out at to local seafood is a matter of survival. relocated. “Everybody involved knew that all. If anything you might have to move all “Any oil spill, anywhere in our terri- there was no way that their territory was of the people in the community.’ We said tory, that’s the end for us,” said Hill. “Our ever going to rebound for these people,” ‘Why?’ and he said ‘Well the condensate people would cease to exist, really. We’ll said Hill. “They moved them off of every is under pressure. And it’s safe while it’s have to move out.” bit of passed-down knowledge that they under pressure. But as soon as you take The Queen of the North isn’t the only had ever known about the territory that that pressure away it starts to evaporate.’ abandoned shipwreck in Gitga’at Territory. they were in.” They said ‘If you guys go to one of these In 2003, the Coast Guard noticed a myste- If industry gets its way, Northern accidents your outboard motors will ignite rious crude oil slick in Grenville Channel Gateway tankers will carry diluted bitu- the condensate.’” that polluted five kilometres of shoreline. men, which is much more expensive and Unlike BC Ferries, which is controlled Shortly after the discovery, an under- difficult to clean up than crude oil. Unlike by the province, Northern Gateway tank- water robot determined it was the Briga- diesel, bitumen does not evaporate, and ers will be owned by a variety of foreign dier General MG Zalinksi, a long-forgotten unlike diesel or crude, it doesn’t really entities who would be liable for costs of US armament ship that sank in 1946, float. Once it is spilled in water, it sepa- cleanup in the eventuality of an ocean approximately 30 kilometres northwest rates into a poisonous gas condensate and spill. Enbridge is promising to extend its of the ferry’s shipwreck. The Canadian a dense sticky resin that is too heavy to be spill response plan to the ocean, though it government sent divers down to plug the caught by surface skimmers. It coats the isn’t legally responsible for the oil once it corroded rivet holes. The quick fix was surrounding wilderness with a persistent has left the pipeline. Spill costs that exceed repeated this spring when more bunker oil toxic sludge. $1.3 billion will be on Canadian taxpayers. was discovered to be leaking. The 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker accident Although the Zalinski sits under only Experienced crews on resulted in $3.5 billion in cleanup costs 27 metres of water, a long-term solution established routes with and $5 billion in legal and financial settle- is complicated by the fact that the ship ments. contains at least a dozen 500-pound aerial sophisticated technology The historical precedents set by past bombs. The United States government has remain vulnerable to wrecks have the Gitga’at apprehensive absolved itself of any responsibility, and human error. about the future of their territory. Once the Canadian government has been delib- a ship goes down, it appears it does not erating on a solution for years. According to a Canadian Press report, come back up. Once a contaminant is For now, other ships have simply been the head of the Department of Fisheries in the water, it can’t easily be removed. warned not to anchor near the site. and Oceans’ Centre for Offshore Oil, Gas Long-forgotten wrecks can come back to The Gitga’at are left hoping for a and Energy Research, Dr. Kenneth Lee, haunt the living. Parties liable for cleanup, solution before the 93-year-old ship rusts believes that Enbridge has done insuffi- if they accept accountability at all, can away, releasing whatever remains of the cient research on the differences between unilaterally decide when the work is done. 700 tonnes of bunker C fuel the ship was crude oil and bitumen spills. Experienced crews on established routes carrying. Bunker C is a much denser and While the Enbridge bitumen pipeline with sophisticated technology remain more persistent toxin than the diesel is heavily contested, construction has vulnerable to human error. released by the ferry. Its consistency and already begun to accommodate tankers effects are more like the crude that was carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG). Hart- Erin Empey is a Vancouver-based writer. carried by the Exxon Valdez tanker that ley Bay residents are more or less resigned crashed in Alaska in 1989. to the LNG tankers, which are slightly As unhappy as the Gitga’at are about smaller than the bitumen tankers and the abandonment of either shipwreck in carry different risks. An LNG spill would their territory, they know they still aren’t not coat sea life in a heavy toxic slick, but it dealing with the worst-case scenario. can become flammable as it evaporates.

14 The Dominion November/December 2012 Vancouver Media Co-op Many Pipelines, More Resistance by Vancouver Media Co-op contributors

VANCOUVER—Enbridge's Northern Gateway Project isn't the only game in town. From a ceremonial First Nations canoe trip to street theatre to a grassroots action camp, resistance to other oil and gas pipeline plans continues to mount. Check out vancouver.mediacoop.ca for the full text of the excerpted articles below and for more VMC coverage of ongoing resistance struggles.

The Bridge Over Wedzin Kwah—From Camp to Community text and photo by Julien Lalonde In early August, grassroots community members of the Wet’suwet’en people hosted an environmental action camp in unceded Wet’suwet’en territory, in the area known by its colonial name as northwest British Columbia. The camp was held to raise support for and awareness of the ongoing resistance to a planned “energy corridor” that would see the Pacific Trails Pipeline (PTP) run 463 kilome- tres from Summit Lake and the Horn River Basin, through Wet’suwet’en territory, all the way to the port town of Kitimat on the west coast. The energy corridor, which could end up being as wide as three kilometres, threatens to force its way through wetlands, waterways, forests and farming and First Nations communities alike, carrying natural gas from fracking fields in eastern and northeastern BC. The action camp across the bridge over Wedzin Kwah (Morice River) has come and gone, but for several weeks now the Unis’tot’en and their friends and allies have transformed the site to the point where it can no longer simply be called a camp. With projects, ideas and organizing abounding, the site has transitioned from temporary installation to permanent community.

First Nations Paddle to Protect Salish Sea from Pipeline Plan text and photo by murray bush/flux photo

A dozen First Nations canoes paddled past the the Kinder Morgan crude oil pipeline facility in Burrard Inlet on September 1, 2012. Tsleil Waututh and Squamish paddlers were joined by other First Nations from as far away as Wash- ington State and Vancouver Island in the ceremonial trip to Whey-Ah-Wichen (Cates Park, North Vancouver). The Nations later signed a declaration to protect the Salish Sea from Kinder Morgan's proposal to double its pipeline capacity to the facility. Leader after leader called for a united effort to protect the coast under the banner of "Many People—One Canoe." The proposed $5-billion project would push crude oil capacity to 850,000 barrels a day from the current 300,000, bringing more and bigger tankers to Vancouver waters.

Pipeline Activists Pay Surprise Visit to Kinder Morgan Open House by Brett Rhyno

It was a sunny fall afternoon in downtown Victoria at the intersection of Douglas and Fort on September 27, 2012. At 1:00 pm, most people passing by were probably unaware that upstairs the Kinder Morgan office was having an open house. By 1:30 pm the scene was very different. A supertanker had pulled up and was spilling oil all over the place. Luckily, the oil in question was a concoction of vegetable oil, corn starch and molasses, and the tanker was made of cardboard. This wasn't a nightmare Valdez-comes-to-Victoria scenario; it was grassroots 15 activists performing street theatre to remind us of a very real possibility. Montreal Media Co-op West Island to downtown.” Opponents of the expansion say it’s not that the interchange needs to disap- pear, but that there are alternatives to spending $3 billion to expand the towering highway system. Proposals include a dedi- cated bus corridor for commuters, speedier investment in commuter train service, and reviewing the design of the highway to reduce its capacity. Montreal has already demolished one urban interchange, on Parc Avenue, with great success. “They decided that it was more than what was necessary in the city and so they dismantled that interchange, there’s no tunnels there, and it is a good example of how we could be building The Turcot interchange. Photo by Hobbes vs Boyle things better, and how it has happened before in Montreal,” said Franssen. Turning Around Turcot St. Henri, where Franssen works, is New hope for highways on a human scale in Montreal a traditionally working class, Québécois by Dawn Paley neighbourhood that has been impacted MONTREAL—After a surprise request to the PQ government by the mega-highway for decades. It isn’t the months of protests to go back to the drawing board and re- only the daily nuisances of traffic jams and sparked by a college design the Turcot Interchange so that it noise, but very real health impacts. student-led rejection is on a human scale and prioritizes public “The public health department has of proposed tuition transit. identified it as a risk to one’s health to live increases that captured The Turcot Interchange highway com- within 200 metres of a highway where the imagination of the world, things have plex is Montreal’s (and perhaps Canada’s) there are so many cars going through,” said quieted down on Montreal streets. But the most famous spaghetti junction, made Franssen. “We hear stories about parents impacts of the mobilizations are still echo- up of three separate interchanges that bringing their newborns into the hospital ing throughout Quebec. Environmental- tower above cyclists and pedestrians in the and saying, ‘well they’re having breathing ists, anti-highway activists and community streets below. Since 1967, a steady stream problems’ and this kind of thing, and the associations are but a few of the groups of cars and trucks have rolled up, around hospital, when [the hospital workers] find whose organizing is currently riding the and back down onto the roadways below. out that they live where they live, basically upshot of successful community organiz- “Part of the idea of building this say ‘well, this is an effect of living there, so ing across the province. interchange was that people would be that’s just the way it is.’” “The Liberals had a reign of about transporting themselves by car in the Although public hearings about the nine years and we’ve seen pretty much the city, so it’s to provide better car transport highway received over 400 submissions worst things that we’ve seen environment infrastructure,” said Shannon Franssen, from locals and concerned groups–95 per wise,” said Bruno Massé, the coordina- an organizer with Solidarité St. Henri and cent of which were against the government tor of the Réseau Québécois des Groupes spokesperson for Mobilisation Turcot, a plan, says Franssen–they were largely Écologistes, a Quebec-wide network group formed to organize for transit and ignored by the Quebec government until comprising 60 grassroots environmental against highway expansion. “In the 60s the city’s announcement last week. groups. “Since the [Parti Québécois] took that made sense as a vision...Nowadays we In the face of government indifference, power [on Sept. 4], there’s been a lot of know that’s not an efficient way to move local organizers conducted various cam- optimism, but mostly people [are] holding around the city,” she said. paigns, articulating their own vision for the their breath,” he said. The provincial government’s proposal highway, handing out information, holding Massé said that two big victories are would mean billions of dollars spent on occupations and marching in the streets. on the horizon for environmental orga- highway expansion, without meaningful These constant mobilizations, together nizers: he expects the Gentilly-2 nuclear plans for public transit. with an increasing awareness even among power plant to be shut down, and a “We have this opportunity here to the political class that highway expansion moratorium to be achieved on fracking to make this smaller, more efficient highway is a road to nowhere, may result in another extract shale gas. interchange that has alternatives,” said important victory in the struggle for live- But another victory could be on its Franssen in an interview in Montreal. able cities and a healthy planet. way, this time resulting from years of An estimated 70 per cent of the 290,000 Dawn Paley is a freelance journalist based in community organizing against freeway vehicles that travel on the interchange Montreal and Mexico. This piece was written expansion. In late September, every day are commuters. “There are way with support from Stop the Pave and was originally published on the Media Co-op’s 16 Montreal’s city council issued better ways to transport folks from the website. The Dominion November/December 2012 Feature The Cornerstone of Gentrification in the Downtown East Side text by Isaac Oommen, photos by murray bush/flux photo

VANCOUVER—Towering 43 storeys social housing, but only 15 per at the corner of Abbott and Hastings cent is actual welfare-rate social Streets, in the poorest neighbourhood housing that were part of the in Vancouver—the Downtown East Side original demands,” said Ivan (DTES)—sits the new Woodwards. Drury, a researcher for CCAP. The $400 million project, launched “A good part of the project by the City of Vancouver, is a mixture of is supportive social housing, market and social housing, commercial which is not in accordance with stores, offices, a public atrium, part of the Residential Tenancy Act and Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) down- so can be run with immunity.” town campus and a community space. It Commercial space in takes up three quarters of the block, or Woodwards was offered 1,222,230 square feet. a ten-year tax break as an The block looked very different on encouragement to set up in September 14, 2002, when a number of the neighbourhood, which was people from the DTES and their allies deemed to be a high-crime area. occupied the then-abandoned Woodwards Shops such as Nester’s Market department store in a bid to have the site and London Drugs changed the made into social housing. space by policing it with private “There was gentrification happen- security. ing all around the world and we saw it coming,” said Shawn Millar, who broke into the Woodwards building with around 60 other people to begin the occupation. “The saying was, ‘As Woodwards goes, so goes the neighbourhood.’” A new luxury condo tower On September 21, police arrested 54 complete with W-shaped hot tub squatters and sealed the building, only to in the penthouse see them return the next day and set up a tent city on the sidewalk. Their numbers “[When you go in there] swelled to 150 as homeless people and you’re treated like a thief,” their allies set up camp. said Millar. “They have a Police later arrested tenters and city sign: ‘Where The Commu- workers disposed of their belongings in nity Shops.’ It’s not where garbage trucks. The city promised tempo- the community shops. The rary housing for squatters, as well as room community is not welcome in the future Woodwards social housing there.” project. The September 15 According to Carnegie Community sixth annual Women’s Action Project (CCAP, an organization that Housing March, organized advocates on DTES housing, income and by the DTES-based Power land issues), co-ordinator Jean Swanson, of Women group, called out there was no mention at that time of many high-end cafes and having condominiums at the site. other shops that are now “At the last minute developers put in taking over the DTES for two condo towers,” said Swanson. “They making the neighbourhood said the rich needed to be there in order unwelcome to low-income to make the project pay. Instead the area people. This pattern of around Woodwards became a zone of gentrification began with exclusion.” the stores situated in “Thirty per cent of the Woodwards is The original Woodwards department store tower Woodwards.

17 The Dominion November/December 2012 Feature

Tents arrived and stayed for three months after arrests inside the building.

The first Vancouver cop on the scene about one hour after community activists used ladders to climb onto the boarded-up Woodwards building.

Outrage at public money being used for the highway to Whistler for the 2010 Olympics.

In September 2010, SFU moved its the rest through private donations. School for Contemporary Arts from its Half of Goldcorp’s donation went Burnaby campus to Woodwards, into what towards paying for the construction became the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts. of the Centre, while the rest was ear- “We were concerned about the marked for cultural programs. SFU naming of the building because it’s alleged Woodwards hosts events and talks that Goldcorp mining in Latin America is as part of its community mandate. pursuing an environmentally and socially “It’s disgusting because destructive policy,” said Dr. Ian Angus, a Goldcorp has demonstrated itself Professor of Humanities at SFU who was to be abusive,” said Christopher part of a faculty group that took these con- Pavsek, Assistant Professor of Film cerns to the university president. “Naming with the School for Contemporary the school this way connects SFU to Arts. “It puts to lie anything SFU corporate practices that have come under has said about caring about human widespread criticism.” rights.” Despite student protests that called Woodwards developers’ major for an end to the association between SFU concession with regard to the and the mining company, SFU has yet to DTES neighbourhood, other than address concerns about Goldcorp’s $10 fractional social housing, was a community the space. The group, known at the time million donation to the university. space. A call was put out to community as Creative Technology, became W2 After the City of Vancouver paid $50 groups to create this space. Of four main Community Media Arts. million of the $70 million price tag on the groups that attended these consultations, “The place was designed to fool,” said Centre for the Arts, SFU was left to raise three pulled out and left just one to take Jim Carrico, who represented one of the

18 The Dominion November/December 2012 Feature

Campers took to the sidewalk after Vancouver Police shut down the occupation inside.

Ivan Drury (then with the Anti-Poverty Committee) addresses the crowd.

tion in the DTES...They’re so eager and willing to participate in that and be at the forefront of its community acceptance.” Ten years after the squat, the Woodwards building has lived up to its promise of mixing in a different way. It combines housing, commercial space and education, under the guise of community many smaller organizations making up space because of its existence in the DTES. benefit via social housing and a media the community groups involved with the “We had fundraising events to keep space. consultations. “The whole building was W2 running,” said Donna Chen, the orga- “What we really need is for the social designed to not have real mixing. It was nization’s former Volunteer Co-ordinator. housing programs to be restored,” said built into the architecture. For us, the “We had majority middle-class white Swanson. “We need self-contained hous- main floor was off-limits. We were given a males partying in the DTES. How much is ing with enough space to think that is smaller space. It was not about helping the this befitting of W2’s mission and man- resident-controlled. The city needs to slow groups involved. [The groups] had to come date?” down gentrification and stop pushing low- up with the money to finish the space.” Strategies like this have led to critical income people out of the DTES.” As a result of this perceived exclusion, responses from the DTES community. Carrico left the consultations. “I don’t trust [W2’s] motives,” said Isaac K. Oommen is a freelance journal- ist and academic researcher based in the W2 has burgeoned into a number of Lyn Highway, who has worked with a Unceded Coast Salish Territories. projects including a cafe, meeting space, number of social services organizations in arts society and radio show on Co-op the DTES. “I still to this day boycott them. murray bush is a Vancouver-based pho- tographer and regular contributor to the Radio. It has also become a controversial They’re in the cornerstone of gentrifica- Vancouver Media Co-op.

19 The Dominion November/December 2012 Toronto Media C0-op Stop this Kind of Violence An interview with Liz Brockest, organizer of an anti-sexual assault rally By the Toronto Media Co-op

TORONTO—Editor’s For example, making responses to assault create spaces for one another to challenge note: A string of sexual visible, empowering the local community the systems that promote and normalize assaults has occurred to be more on the lookout, building collec- gender-based violence. Men absolutely in a number of areas in tive safety, etc.? need to do more to fight this kind of Toronto over the past violence. I don’t think it is problematic to few weeks. A series of Liz Brockest: I think there are a lot of have men in attendance at the rally; my assaults in the Bloor/Christie area led resi- benefits in large groups of people coming concern would be surrounding the kind of dents to rally on September 3, 2012 (and together to show their resistance around space they feel entitled to take up at this also prompted comments from Mayor Rob particular issues. I think collective resis- kind of event. Ford’s niece). The Toronto Media Co-op tance and community-based initiatives contacted one of the organizers of the are an important site for educating one This interview was done with the Toronto Media Co-op. rally, Liz Brockest, to talk about the com- another, and mobilizing around gender- munity response. based violence. Even the FB event page became an interesting site for dialogue, Toronto Media Co-op: Why was a education and creating connections. I rally held (as opposed to something else) think the sheer number of individuals who Reporting as and who organized it? attended on such short notice demonstrate that individuals recognize that only collec- Resistance Liz Brockest: The idea for the rally tive and community-based resistance will Prisoners shed light on conditions was created as a very spur of the moment, stop this kind of violence. We all need to by blogging from the inside participate in educating and challenging gut response to continually reading that By Megan Kinch sexual assaults are taking place in neigh- one another around the systemic sys- bourhoods across the city. When I read tems of oppression and domination that TORONTO—Across about the numerous assaults in my own perpetuate both covert and overt kinds of Canada people with neighbourhood I wanted to create a site violence everywhere. mundane, everyday for collective resistance. I really had no risk factors for police clue the response would be as voluminous TMC: How would you characterize the repression—poverty, or positive. The rally was really a com- police response to the assaults? race, being Indigenous, munity effort. Numerous individuals came working as a sex worker—face criminaliza- forward to contribute skills, ideas and Liz Brockest: Police response in tion as part of their daily lives. solidarity. regards to this issue is not my priority. My Prisoners’ Justice Day is held annually interest is in community resistance and in August, but the struggle for solidarity TMC: Why do you think turnout was high education. with prisoners goes on every day. On the for this rally? inside, Prisoners’ Justice Day was recog- TMC: It was noted that there wasn’t a nized with one-day hunger strikes by pris- Liz Brockest: I think people need heavy male turnout to the rally, though oners themselves, and 150 prisoners from outlets for resistance. Rallies and other there were some there. Do you think that’s Joyceville Institution, a federal prison in public space initiatives are often somewhat problematic? Should men be doing more Kingston, have since filed suit for the right accessible outlets for individuals to take to fight this? to wear Prisoners’ Justice Day T-shirts. up space and reclaim the streets where On August 10, 2012 in Toronto, about violence is taking place. I think the atten- Liz Brockest: This rally was used to 100 people gathered outside The Don dance was so high because people oppose create resistance around gender-based Jail(formally The Toronto Jail, a provincial violence both in their homes and in the violence, meaning violence committed prison) to read a statement that had been streets and need outlets to express their by men against women and trans people. written by prisoners themselves. Many anger as a collective. I think men need to come together to in the crowd were directly affected by the educate one another and challenge one prison system through their own personal TMC: The press has mostly focussed on another around this very important issue. encounters or through the imprisonment the symbolic benefit of the rally - people Men cannot be left out of this dialogue of those they cared about. Last Friday in standing up for each other. Do you think as we all need to work together to stop Hamilton 50 protesters marched against there’s a practical benefit to this as well? gender-based violence. Men need to lockdowns and poor conditions at the

20 The Dominion November/December 2012 Toronto Media Co-op

Barton Street Jail (formally the Hamil- been helping make prison life seem less and the women are not allowed to refuse ton Wentworth Detention Centre) as a obscure. this. During labour she’s handcuffed to the result of a work-to-rule action on the part Hundert has been writing on condi- bed.” of the guards. Early in the morning of tions inside jail, as well as recounting She also has written about the fate Wednesday September 12, only hours after untold older stories fellow prisoners have of those in immigration detention. One correctional officers returned to work, a shared with him, such as what is now woman applied for political asylum at 42-year-old inmate was found dead. known as the “Ramadan Riot” of 2010 at the airport, thinking she would be able to In such conditions, simply commu- the Maplehurst Correctional Complex. buy a ticket back if necessary and instead nicating about conditions on the inside to During the Ramadan fast, meals are sup- found herself in handcuffs. Mandy wrote: people on the outside becomes a form of posed to be served before sunrise and “I once asked her if she’d be in danger if resistance. again following sunset. Evening meals she went back. ‘Yes. But danger is better If the Conservative government has and breakfast were being served cold or than jail.’ So what will she do? ‘I’m looking their way, conditions in prison will get late and were not providing enough food for another country now. Because I can’t much worse. US-style mega-prisons are to fasting prisoners. Many of the inmates stay in Latvia.’” coming to Canada. The Conservative complained to the guards that they were While it’s generally assumed that government’s recent omnibus crime bill being starved and their official complaint jail is a good time to catch up on reading, introduced mandatory minimums for pot forms were ignored. A peaceful protest Hundert and Hiscocks have both writ- growing and other drug offences and is was planned where prisoners would refuse ten about issues with access to books and widely expected to increase the number to go back to their cells but on one of the newspapers. Currently in some men’s jails of prisoners in Canada. Twenty-two new blocks a riot started as prisoners there said books are almost impossible to access, provincial and territorial prisons and 17 that they were too upset to protest peace- cannot be mailed to prisoners (officially prison expansions are being built across fully. Non-Muslim prisoners also joined in they can but most are censored) and the country. Federal prisons are expected a show of solidarity. Hundert writes, “One library programs are either inadequate to absorb cuts while adding more people— of the things that stands out for me [was or non-existent. Three of Hundert’s a situation that will increase crowding and that] it was not just Muslims who were blogs entitled “No books in prisons” have make prisons even more dangerous. rioting...guards were beating people who resulted in media attention that has led This is all part of an austerity agenda weren’t themselves actually participating, to some attempts to rectify the situation, that was protested in Toronto during the as well as those who were. When I ask [my but the situation with access to books G20, when over a thousand people were fellow prisoner] about this further, he tells in many men’s prisons is still abysmal. suddenly acquainted with some of the me that ‘people were rioting because jail is The provincial women’s jail has a limited realities of imprisonment. Some of those bullshit; people understood that Muslims selection of books and highly gendered who are currently doing time related to were getting mistreated.’” magazine choices. Although the quality of G20 protest organizing or participation the books has improved since 2010, when have been keeping blogs—serving as a Many people who are not only romance novels were available, books connection between inside and outside of directly affected by the can’t be mailed to inmates unless they are the prison system in order to demystify the prison system have no for specific educational courses. prison experience. Mandy Hiscocks has For many, Prisoners’ Justice Day been writing from inside the Vanier Centre idea what goes on inside. is a reminder that for people pushed to for Women; Alex Hundert was writing Together, these blogs have the margins of society, simply living and from Toronto West Detention Centre and been helping make prison surviving can be an illegal act. As Kelly now the Central North Correctional Centre life seem less obscure. Plug-Back reminds us, “Every prisoner is a in Penetanguishene and Kelly Pflug-Back, political prisoner.” also at Vanier, has recently started her From women’s prison, Mandy His- prison blog. cocks writes that for many women prison- To read more about life in Canadian prisons visit Alex Hundert’s blog at alexhundert.word- Prisons are total institutions and ers, being separated from their families, press.com, Mandy Hiscocks’ blog at boredbut- they control not only the minute details of even newborn babies, is one of the most notbroken.tao.ca and Kelly Pflug-Back’s blog at daily life but also communication inside painful parts of their incarceration. “While supportkellypfl.wordpress.com. and out. Combined with social stigma, they’re here they can’t hug, hold or kiss Megan Kinch is a writer and editor with the the marginal social position of prison- them because the visits are ‘secure.’ Toronto Media Co-op. Follow her on twitter ers and fantastical television portrayals, Prisoners and visitors are divided by glass @meganysta. many people who are not directly affected and speak through the phone...I’ve been A version of this article was first published in by the prison system have no idea what told by people who’ve experienced it that The Ryerson Free Press. goes on inside. Together, these blogs have labour is induced on a pre-determined day

21 The Dominion November/December 2012 Ideas Supporting Independent Media to Grow Innovative financial models along with public policy support are key By Greg Macdougall

OTTAWA—If independent and alterna- ation in the US because it is a co-operative or maybe eventually a co-op of co-ops, tive media are important to the success of model, something akin to The Dominion/ to provide the sophisticated software social movements, then finding ways to Media Co-op. The Banyan Project seeks to infrastructure for both the journalism and fund that media is something that needs to be the first community-level journalism community engagement website features be taken seriously. co-operative in the United States. and for what is needed to successfully run This is a subject of vital discus- The first place they will try out this and administer a co-operative. sion, and there are people in Canada and model is Haverhill, Massachusetts, a city “The Internet culture is changing; for a abroad working on suitable approaches to of 61,000 that last had a newspaper 14 long time, the idea was start your thing up, this problem, both in terms of structural years ago. The aim is for this model to be get a lot of people engaged in it, and then models and also supportive public policy. used in many different cities experienc- we’ll figure out how to monetize that,” says Viable media projects are able to ing a journalism deficit, across the US and Stites. “There are not very many [journal- sustain themselves over the longer term eventually elsewhere. ism] places where it has worked. So I do as well as allowing a more diverse set of Stites explains the starting idea was think that the kind of deliberate work that media-makers to take part, especially a value proposition to “deliver journal- my colleagues and I have been doing for those who aren’t able to pour so much ism that people experienced as relevant three-and-a-half years now seriously, to of themselves into a (low-to-no-paying) to their lives, respectful of them as people build this model and shape it and start to “labour of love.” and worthy of their trust.” The co-opera- test it and do it with real care, is crucial.” Christine Crowther, a PhD student tive model was deemed to be the best way Another person who’s been looking in Communication Studies at McGill to deliver this service even prior to the at how different types of media projects and part-time Journalism lecturer at recent collapsing of traditional journalism can finance themselves is David Skinner, Concordia in Montreal, sees a need for business models which didn’t necessarily a professor of Communication Studies at broad support networks to get involved deliver on those three vital aspects. York University in Toronto. in advocating for public policy supporting The Banyan business model will rely He’s co-editor of the newly released responsible journalism. almost entirely on financing from inside book, Alternative Media in Canada (UBC “We’re talking about people who the community, not only in the form of Press, 2012). A few of the book’s chapters care about journalism and public policy regular memberships, but also through look at this issue, including Skinner’s, taking responsibility to put these issues community advertising, “extra” member- entitled “Sustaining Independent and on the public agenda in various circles: ships specific to businesses or institutions, Alternative Media.” in community journalism organizations, crowd-sourcing, foundation funding and He looks at three main alternative in professional journalism organizations, ancillary sales. Content will be free to view media outlets: rabble.ca, The Tyee, and through professional associations, through online, but a provisional membership will The Dominion/Media Co-op. “[The] unions,” Crowther told The Dominion. be required to engage in the interactive people that do run these organizations are “There is a history of public policy sup- portions of the site. very entrepreneurial, so they often cobble porting journalism in this country. It’s together different kinds of financing to a matter of making sure that Canadians “There is a history of keep the organization going,” he told The understand that.” public policy supporting Dominion in an interview. “They may Along with a need for public policy journalism in this country. have some sort of membership dimen- support, independent media-makers are It’s a matter of making sure sion, where people provide even a small also confronting immediate funding chal- that Canadians understand monthly amount; they may also solicit lenges to keep their media outlets and donations from unions or other kinds of Christine Crowther projects afloat and sustainable. that.” organizations; or look to philanthropists to One inspiring model is led by Tom “Think of it as a food co-op,” Stites help support them through different times. Stites, Founder and Director of the Banyan told The Dominion. “We are operating at Some of them even have different kinds of Project in the US. The Banyan idea won a the community level where civic engage- advertising.” Game Changer award from the We Media ment happens and the idea is that these While Skinner describes the three Conference in 2010, which paved the way news co-ops are going to be generators alternative media outlets as extremely val- for Stites’ fellowship to work on the project of civic adhesion and engagement. That’s iant and creative efforts, he also highlights at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet where you get a really rich democracy the role of federal policy. and Society. and...you can have a healthy co-operative.” “It’s not as though we’re talking The project is also heavily backed by There will also be the Banyan Publish- about these being unsuccessful organiza- the National Cooperative Business Associ- ing Corporation, a non-profit organization tions that need a hand out of some sort,

22 The Dominion November/December 2012 Ideas

site’s concept: “If we started from scratch journalism, like we weren’t shifting from a newspaper model to digital, and we were just working in digital, what would we do? And we’d say, ‘Well, social media is con- necting everyone, why don’t we hear from people what they want to see reported, what’s important to them?’” Dinnick told The Dominion. Dinnick explains that there is less overhead to OpenFile than a traditional news organization due to the user-gener- ated portion of the process that doesn’t require comprehensive news coverage, but more of a selective approach. There is also a different market to sell the content to; they work with news, media and market- ing organizations that pay for some of what the OpenFile journalists produce. The notion of new or alternate journalism as “social entrepreneurship” is something Tom Stites of the Banyan Project welcomes as a label. He notes that public policy could help journalism, but he’s not waiting for anyone to take up his Jadis Dumas suggestions: “The most important support that’s not the case at all. Historically in on to say public policy not only refers to government could offer journalism would Canada, almost all media fields have had the federal government, but also municipal be to absolutely insist on net neutrality, some kind of policy help from the federal and provincial governments, as well as edu- and then subsidize the net so that broad- government simply because the econom- cational institutions such as universities. band access is ubiquitous.” ics of media production in Canada make The conference was meant to gener- David Skinner noted that one “self- it much more difficult to produce media ate ongoing networking and discussion starting” concept that can help alterna- than say in the United States, and as such around public policy advocacy. Crowther tive media outlets in becoming more Canadian media fields simply get filled up noted that OpenMedia.ca, which does sustainable and successful is the model of with American product,” he says. “It’s only advocacy work on net neutrality in The Media Consortium in the US, which at this time, in this historical moment, that Canada, was featured prominently at the provides its member organizations col- really the government is retreating from Journalism Strategies conference as an lective public policy advocacy, along with that role. And it’s at a moment where it’s organization to look to and work with on offering up economies of scale for develop- particularly important, I think, for them to public policy advocacy. ing and distributing content and support maintain or even step up that effort.” “Community-powered” news organiza- for technical infrastructure. This model of Crowther agrees that government tion OpenFile.ca was represented on the collaboration could also be something that has an important role in supporting a conference panel, “Paying the Bills,” by would work in Canada. strong and healthy media environment. their CEO Wilf Dinnick. “Community-pow- There is no shortage of discussion She was the lead co-ordinator of and part ered” means that users suggest stories they about the many available possibilities for a of a diverse volunteer team that put on would like to see covered, suggestions get better future for independent media in this the Journalism Strategies conference in voted on and leading suggestions are added country. Perhaps, as Crowther notes, it is Montreal last spring. to the “file.” Journalists are assigned to time for people who care about journalism “The framework of the conference cover the stories that are voted the highest. and public policy to put these issues on the was based from the outset in the notion Both the cost structure and revenue public agenda. that public policy has a key role to play in streams are non-traditional, stemming Greg Macdougall is a media activist, orga- journalism in Canada,” she says. She went from the fundamental idea behind the nizer and learning coach based in Ottawa on Algonquin Territory. Find more of his work online at EquitableEducation.ca. 23 The Dominion November/December 2012 Working towards a more A Natural Place for Meeting and Learning sustainable future for all Canadians! Offering over 60 leadership and educational pro grams each year, including:

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