It’s local election time!

On November 15th, British Columbians will go to the polls to vote for local leaders to represent their communities.

While local elections may not generate as much attention on the airwaves or around the water cooler as provincial and federal races, they are vitally important – and not only at the local level.  Newly elected mayors, councillors and regional representatives will not only make countless decisions that will affect daily life in our communities – they can also play a major role in a much wider political arena.

For many of us concerned about the local and global impacts of pipeline projects and other fossil fuel development in BC, it increasingly feels like the provincial and federal governments are simply not listening. But communities like Burnaby (which is using all the mechanisms at the city’s disposal to prevent the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion, including a drawn-out legal battle to prevent the company from carrying out invasive surveying work on Burnaby Mountain conservation lands), or Kitimat (where last April, citizens rejected the Northern Gateway project in a plebiscite) are showing us how local governments can flex some serious political muscles and be influential players in this vital national conversation.

We need more local champions like these, and the upcoming municipal elections are an important opportunity to spark community debates about the risks and benefits of Kinder Morgan and other energy projects, and for citizens to choose representatives who will stand up for the rights of communities over fossil fuel companies.

Georgia Strait Alliance is working in strategic locations around the Strait to encourage such debates during the election period, and in particular to raise awareness among candidates and voters of the risks coastal municipalities would face in the event of an oil spill. 

If you live on the Sunshine Coast or the Nanaimo and Parksville areas,click here to find out where your candidates stand on these issues, and other useful information as you prepare to vote on November 15th.

Wherever you live, if you’d like to see your local government be a champion for the coast and the climate, here are three things you can do to make the most of the upcoming local elections

1. If you have five minutes: ready, set vote! Visit your municipality’s website and make sure you know when and how to vote.  Talk to your friends and family and make sure they’re ready to vote as well.
2.  If you have half an hour: write an email. Contact your candidates (see here for an email directory of candidates running across the province) and ask them their views on issues of concern to you (you can use our candidate survey as a guide). You could also consider writing a letter to the editor of your local paper – a great way to contribute to the debate in the wider community.
3.  If you have an evening to spare: attend an all-candidates’ meeting in your area to find out more about your candidates, and ask them questions about what matters to you (feel free to use ours). Your local newspaper or municipality’s website is the best place to find out dates for the meetings.

If you would like help with any of the above – who to contact, what to write, no question is too big or too small – we’re here to help! Contact alexandra@georgiastrait.org or call 604-633-0530.

Whether it’s pipeline and tanker projects that worry you, or other local environmental or community issues, November 15^th is too important an opportunity to miss – so mark your calendars, and get out and vote! 

Are YOU a Caring Kayaker?

As strong coastal winds whipped under a blanket of summer sunshine, our volunteer Jessie and I began our set-up at Jericho Beach for Mountain Equipment Co-op’s Vancouver Paddlefest last Saturday. While we did have our fair share of weather and equipment challenges, we were SO pleased to see so much responsible recreational activity taking place in English Bay. Jericho was teeming with new and experienced kayakers, paddleboarders, and canoers, and we are happy to say that many of them paused in their paddling to come greet us at the Georgia Strait Alliance display, taking our Caring Kayaker Pledge!

A sea of kayaks paddleboards and canoes! (Photo by R. Spencer)

We started our day with a few set-backs, but nothing the clipboard crew of MEC organizers couldn’t handle. Unable to enter our downtown Vancouver office to grab our tent, table, and chairs, Jessie called me calmly that morning to say “So…we might have a slight problem.” Not letting it throw off our game, we decided it was best for her just to come to Jericho, and we would find a way to get replacement equipment! After an hour of calling, asking, and politely standing next to MEC’s pile of extra tables and tents, one of the clipboard crew granted us with some equipment. Let the pledging and paddling begin!

A steady stream of folks decked out in wet suits, life jackets and beach attire stopped by our display on the sand to see what Georgia Strait Alliance was all about. We took the opportunity to promote our eight Stewards of the Strait Pledges -simple but effective ways you can ensure your recreational and living activities are more respectful of the marine environment. As this was a day of water sports, Jessie and I greeted passers-by with our Caring Kayaker Pledge.

Did you know that Caring Kayakers keep 100m from marine mammals and bird colonies?

Or that they keep their garbage contained, respect other paddlers, and report environmental problems to the proper authorities?

Take our Caring Kayaker Pledge, or other Stewards of the Strait Pledges today!

Jessie shows off the Stewards of the Strait Pledge Card
(Photo by M. Spencer)

As we tackled our windswept tent and packed up after another successful MEC Paddlefest, we reflected on our conversations with kayakers, boaters, and outdoor enthusiasts. Ultimately, many of them had the same interests as Georgia Strait Alliance -to promote the sustainability of Georgia Strait, its adjoining waters and communities. As recreational users of this exquisite water body, we agreed it is our responsibility as Stewards of the Strait to give back what we take from our marine experiences. Whether this is participating in a shoreline clean-up, or being a respectful kayaker, there are endless ways to show our adoration of the ocean and preserve it for future generations. Want to share why you love the Georgia Strait? Submit a comment or video clip to our Communities Atlas, or perhaps find us on Facebook and Twitter, we would love to hear from you!

Keep on kayaking :)

~Megan

Holding the torch high - together

On December 26, 2012, Rebecca Tarbotton died in a freak accident while on holiday with her family in Mexico. From everything I've read about Rebecca in the media reports that followed, she was a passionate, intelligent, committed and funny person, loved by those who knew her and respected by many more – even those against whom she battled. The Vancouver native’s passing at the age of 39 was tragic and as Executive Director of the Rainforest Action Network, her loss reverberated beyond her organization to the worldwide environmental movement. We lost one of our brightest leaders, someone who had made an incredible difference in our world. One can only imagine what other great things she would have done had she had the chance.

I didn't know Rebecca, but her passing has been on my mind a lot in the last few months. Like so many of us who have chosen environmental advocacy and social change as our professions, Rebecca struck me as someone who believed that her hard work today was going to create a better, healthier world for everyone. The motivation of an ‘environmental activist’ is unselfish: to speak for those who cannot take action, against those who are driven by self-interest.

Photo: Bryan Nichols

Just before I sat down to write this, I read a Guardian article on how the Canadian government is now using taxpayers’ money – yours and mine – to spy on organizations they describe as “enemies of the state”. These groups only want to ensure that the health of future generations is factored into government decision making, yet their peaceful marches and expressions of opposition are labelled “terrorism”. How exactly did we get to this point?

Somehow the PR machine of our democratically elected federal government has decided that the same groups whose work resulted in the banning of toxins such as DDT and PCBs and the protection of waters and lands across this country – all of which benefit individuals in the government as well as other Canadians – are now to be viewed as impeding what is best­­­­­ for our citizenry.

This is scary enough, but what concerns me more is the power and influence of the vocal minority who openly agree with this assessment. When did ensuring we had clean air and water become a negative? At one not-so-distant time in history, Presidents, Prime Ministers and even industry leaders stood up for the protection of forests and rivers and oceans – and they were lauded for it. Today, in Canada, these are deemed as impediments to “progress” and those that want their protection are “the enemy”.

Our country is at an important crossroad. The damage that the energy and mining sectors, with the help of our federal government, are doing to our environment will have heavy ramifications for generations to come. The vilification of environmental advocates, along with efforts to silence them through media attacks and threats to their charitable status, will give added strength to those efforts to destroy what we citizens have spent decades trying to protect.

In the face of these forces, silence is not an option, and the great news is you haven’t been silent at all.  You have signed petitions, attended events and made what you value clear to our leaders. Beyond this, many of you have made the important decision to support groups like GSA, so that we can be an even stronger voice for you. In 2012, GSA’s membership jumped by an incredible 36%, at a time when so many people’s budgets are tight. We can’t thank you enough for your support, as it tells us we’re on the right track - and puts us in a great position to do even more.

Since there is “strength in numbers” – and the challenges facing us require a great deal of strength - we hope you will help us build our community of donors even more in the coming year. You have made the decision to support GSA because you believe in what we do. We’re certain there are many in your network who feel the same, so why not invite a friend or colleague to become part of the GSA family? They can make a donation online or by mail and when they do, they will be helping us grow even stronger. 

The coming year promises to be very exciting and in the coming months we look forward to sharing more ways for you to be involved. Being a part of this great and growing community is inspiring.

Now, whenever I read about another attack on our environment or on environmental groups, I will think about Rebecca Tarbotton – and about how more and more of us are coming together to build on the amazing work she did.  We are growing, and we will hold high the torch she handed us.

The year of the radical

If at the beginning of 2012 you had asked me to list a few words to describe myself, I might have chosen words like “wife”, “aunt”, “godmother”, “environmental advocate”, “news junkie” and “theatre lover”, to name a few.  But I can tell you that nowhere on this list would you ever have seen this one word – “radical”.

But come the end of January that was the word being attached to my work as an environmental advocate, and to all those who work tirelessly to ensure that protection of our air and water isn’t an afterthought, but is a foundation of our social and economic health.  We were also being called “enemies of the state” for our views, another descriptor you would not have found on my list.

As I look back on this year and see the devastation left behind by a federal government that sees the environment – and its protection – as an impediment to an economy they believe should be solely built on resource extraction, I’m left wondering – who exactly are the radicals here?

Canadians have consistently indicated that they place a high priority on the protection of our environment.  From a commitment to parks to tackling climate change, Canadians value a healthy environment and see it as fundamental to our identity.  Most recently, an Ipsos Reid poll found that over 4 in 5 Canadians (85%) say federal laws protecting species at risk are crucial to the diversity and abundance of wildlife.

Yet today, environmental assessment has been weakened and our oceans and rivers – and all the creatures that call them home – have less protection than ever before.  And we all know the carnage isn’t over.  It seems that our government is out of sync with Canadians and it is they who are acting in a radical way.

Now, the de-regulation of environmental protection in Canada is frightening enough, but that those who would disagree with government policy become the target of inflammatory attacks from a democratically elected government should all give us pause.  The government's decision to provide Canada Revenue Agency with additional funding to audit charities at a time when cuts to scientific research and environmental monitoring have been slashed underscores this strange reality we live in.  The current environment is so concerning that Pen Canada, an organization who works with others to defend freedom of expression as a basic human right, at home and abroad, has voiced its concerns.  This is an organization that is often flagging human rights violations in countries with few democratic rights, which says a lot about what they see happening in Canada.

Through all this, what I have found even more mind-boggling is the accusation that environmental groups have a secret agenda.  That sounds scary until you realize that our agenda is quite transparent, it’s just that it is beyond the understanding of our government and its supporters.  What we want is to build a different world than the one the oil and gas industry has decided we should live in.  We care about our communities and strongly believe we can have strong environmental health and a strong economy – we just have to start doing things differently.

This has been a year like no other in my time at Georgia Strait Alliance, but I’m actually feeling quite hopeful because I see a lot of good has come out of this “annus horribilis”.  What heartens me most is that these attacks have resulted in a more galvanized and cohesive social justice community.  Charities of all types have come out in support of environmental groups and voiced loudly their concern about a government that believes disagreement should be quashed.  In effect, the results have been not a quieting of opposition but a more thoughtful and emboldened movement because when you are being attacked for your right to speak out, this is not time to be silent.  And I can assure you as we go into 2013, we will not be.

Thanks to all of you who have supported Georgia Strait Alliance and other environmental groups during this past year.  We are your voice in these terrible times and by making a charitable donation, you allow our voice to be stronger – as we will need to be in the year ahead.