02) 5,000 RALLY AGAINST TAR SANDS EXPORTS

By Kimball Cariou

     October 22 saw a powerful show of opposition to the expansion of tar sands pipelines and tankers along the British Columbia coast. About 5,000 people gathered on the lawn of the Legislature in Victoria, including hundreds trained in non-violent civil disobedience. In the end, police did not make arrests, an indication that the B.C. government prefers to avoid a direct confrontation with the movement against exports of diluted bitumen dug out of the tar sands in northern Alberta.

     Held on a Monday (rather than a weekend when travel might have been easier), the rally was remarkable for its diversity. Hundreds arrived from communities in the northern interior and along the coast. Busloads of First Nations people joined activists from across Vancouver Island and the Vancouver area, and from many other places across North America. Flags of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union (CEP) and the CAW, which have just voted to form a new union, flew prominently in the centre of the rally. Every major environmental group was represented, along with a host of groups based in smaller cities and towns.

     The rally also united a wide range of political beliefs. Many participants were NDP or Green Party members, but others were Liberals or even Conservatives concerned about protection of the west coast. Communist Party members distributed hundreds of leaflets and copies of People's Voice, and took part in civil disobedience workshops held the previous day. And of course many demonstrators came from non-partisan or anarchist outlooks.

     The rally was opened by First Nations leaders who led a march to the Legislature along the Victoria harbour. For several hours, speakers from organizing groups were interspersed with songs and First Nations drummers, as the civil disobedience unfolded. Over 300 volunteers risked arrest, erecting a black banner 235 metres in length, to show the size of an oil supertanker. Stakes to hold up the fabric were hammered into the lawn, in violation of the law, and the banner was extended across Belleville Street, also an illegal direct action. Police simply watched, and some even quietly agreed with the aims of the protest.

     Far behind in the polls, Premier Christy Clark is trying to ride the wave of anti-Enbridge sentiment. On the morning of the rally, the Globe and Mail reported that Clark calls the dispute over potential revenues from the pipeline a "national crisis." But few in the crowd took Clark's posturing seriously, and the movement is increasingly united against any expansion of bitumen exports, for any price.

     The strength of that opposition was seen again on Oct. 24, when thousands of people took part in over 60 local actions across the province against pipelines and tankers.

     For more reports on the Oct. 22 action, including coverage of speakers and performers, visit www.defendourcoast.ca.

(The above article is from the November 1-15, 2012, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)