Green Party of Nova Scotia

Building a Sustainable Future Together

Press Release – Vigilantism in the Fisheries Dispute

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

THERE IS NO PLACE IN CANADA FOR VIGILANTISM

 

The Green Party of Nova Scotia condemns in the strongest possible terms the illegal acts of vigilantism demonstrated by some Fundy shore commercial fishermen over the past 24 hours.  

Canadian civilians are not allowed to enforce regulations or interpret  laws, or deputize themselves to do so.  Governments and police are the sole authorities empowered to regulate resources and enforce laws.  

21 years of inaction towards the practical application of the Moderate Livable fishery by successive governments represents a complete dereliction of duty to both Mi’kmaq and non-native communities, leading  some to desperate and criminal acts.

 

The events of the past few days in Comeauville, Saulnierville and Metahegan are extremely dangerous, shameful, and demand immediate provincial government action to guarantee the safety of all people and protect the rule of law.  

In the past 24 hours, groups of commercial fishermen admitted, through spokesmen Colin Sproul, the president of the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermans Association, and Martin Mallet of the Maritime Fishermans Union, to taking the law into their own hands, removing lobster traps and releasing catch that did not belong to them, which Sproul contends was done under the supervision of RCMP and DFO authorities.  They also admit to cutting lines to traps, adding to the growing pile of ghost gear polluting the ocean. In Comeauville dozens of vehicles and more than 50 men identified and surrounded the home of an individual they allege purchased lobster in a manner they considered illegal. 

Under what legal jurisdiction did these fishermen operate when they confiscated property not belonging to them?  Which authority from the RCMP or DFO appointed commercial fishermen as deputies in regulatory enforcement?  Was permission or training given to everyone, or specific individuals?  The mob that assembled in Comeauville claim they were protesting, but made clear accusations offering no evidence towards an unnamed individual, while openly flaunting provincial COVID laws governing social distancing and masks. 

Canadians do not have the right to enforce regulations or interpret laws.  The acts committed over the past days are equivalent to theft, vandalism, illegal dumping, intimidation, and mob rule without any accountability or liability to the public.  If police, federal and provincial authorities tolerate this behaviour, then governments are complicit in normalizing vigilantism and exploiting those commercial fishermen to solve problems they are responsible for.

The Green Party of Nova Scotia condemns acts of vigilantism in any form. We live in a land of law and order.  The Mi’kmaq people used legal means over 21 years to have their rights ruled on in the public court system.  The commercial fishermen of Nova Scotia who participated in the events of the last week would be well served to follow the Mi’kmaq example of how to respect the laws of Canada.

Edmonds to run in Sackville-Cobequid By-election

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Anthony Edmonds, Green Party CandidateWe are pleased to announce that GPNS Past Co-President (and current Policy Co-Convener) Anthony Edmonds will be our candidate in the Sackville-Cobequid By-election.

Anthony is a young, family-oriented professional engineer with a strong sense of responsibility and a record of community involvement. He will make a fantastic MLA.

If you would like to support his campaign by volunteering, donating, hosting a lawn sign, or attending events, contact Anthony’s campaign team at SC2019@greenpartyns.ca.

UPCOMING GREEN WAVE EVENTS 

FRIDAY – 24 May, 4:45 to 5:45 – near Cobequid bus terminal (Legacy Ct, Lower Sackville)
SATURDAY – 25 May, 12:30 to 2:30 – near Saint John Vianney Church (Corner of Sackville Drive and Beaver Bank Road), to be followed by (very much optional) canvassing (including training for inexperienced canvassers)
THURSDAY – 30 May, 4:45 to 5:45 – Corner of Cobequid and Glendale (near Irving)
SATURDAY – 1 June, 12:30 to 2:30 – Beaver Bank and Glendale (near gas station)

Leader’s Rant: Roller-coasters and the way forward

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I don’t know about you, but I have been on an emotional roller-coaster. I have been worried, even frightened about our outlook with the disappearance of biomass, and I admit I was a bit angered by the ignorance of governments and media who should be there to look out for us. At the same time, I also feel excited about so many opportunities to solve poverty and build better communities.

I have now come to terms that we will have a massive increase of temperature, maybe 5 degrees C or more given our current inaction. We will certainly not sustain life as we know it. The only thing that bothers me now is not taking actions to make the necessary changes for our children. We clearly see now that we can not trust big business and current governments with our future, and we must take urgent actions to regain control for the people.

Slowing down climate change is now very important to give us some time to make life-preserving changes. The next concern must be water and food security; without water or food we will starve in a couple of days or weeks. I am particularly worried about pollution of ground water. Any fracking or plans thereof must therefore stop immediately. Guaranteeing enough food supplies will be a continuous struggle. The changing ecosystems will put a lot of pressure on farming. Disappearing insects, the assault on microorganisms with chemical warfare, and the rise of new diseases require immediate and increasing attention.

The next problem to tackle is the massive change around labour and energy. Our historical development brought us from the age of human and animal labour to farm land, via the use of energy and labour in the industrial age, to the emerging age of automation in which energy will be central. Energy will represent the wealth of our society, and energy must thus belong to the people. At the same time, we must shift energy rapidly away from carbon. There is not a single solution to the energy problem, but there is a host of possibilities. Local solar farms in our communities, wind, geothermal and micro-hydro can be employed where appropriate. Distributing the wealth from these facilities must belong to all of us. The most direct way to achieve this now is a guaranteed livable income.

We will have a wild ride in front of us, and it’s time to take it. Bring honest and ethical people in a room who really care about our children and grandchildren, and we can do this. I am going to PEI today to see a historical change in the making. Sitting on the sidelines is no longer an option.

Leader’s Rant: On Grandmothers and Neighbors

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Another frustrating day. Warning, this is a bit of a rant.

It is so heartwarming to see how three Mi’kmaq grandmothers rushed to save our livelihood to protect our water. After their release they came to the province house to fight on. The fight against Alton Gas is becoming for me a symbol for our choice, a future for our children or giving in to oil and greed.

I had again some internal battles I want to share. I didn’t want to speak because I really want to listen to our First Nations who have all the right to shame us (and they didn’t, they were encouraging all of us). Do we really need another politician who tells everyone what we need to do? On the other hand, if we do not speak we will never be heard. So, I said only a few words even though there is so much I should talk about.

I admire the courage and commitment of the people who again stood on the streets in the cold. It feels good to stand with them. However, I am getting worried and sad thinking what does it change at the end? Of course, it is the absolutely necessary as the beginning to wake us up, but do we really believe by now that the politicians inside this House are changing anything because we are there?

So here is my problem. There are so many good people demonstrating, but I think most of such engaged minds find politics dirty and do not participate. Then there is this large fraction of the population which just don’t seem to care anymore, and who could blame them. But with these attitudes, and also with this devastating strategic voting, what will ever change?

We really need another government, and likely a different governance model. I actually think that parties are mostly detrimental at this time. But to change within the system we need to elect people who are really there because of the issues. The Greens are not paid by big oil and are here because of climate change and social injustice. We need to get people active on this front, even so its politics. If we have people who can talk to the neighbors we can make a real change. This is how revolutions happen, not by discussions in the parliament. Interestingly, this was also the message of the Mi’kmaq elders. We need to get active and do this by talking to our neighbors.

Tick tock… building urgency

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by Thomas Trappenberg
In Korea, last week, the IPCC released a Special Report for Policy Makers which has set the world abuzz.
They identified that a lack of urgency is hampering efforts to keep climate change in check: the effects of climate change are outrunning us.
Here in Nova Scotia, our government has expressed the attitude, “we’re already doing our share” as a way of sidestepping the federal government’s proposed carbon tax. In this race, meeting an already soft target is not an excuse to rest and let others catch up. This is not competition among provinces or countries — this is everyone racing to survive. We have achieved a significant reduction in GHGs, it’s true, and the efforts of Efficiency Nova Scotia / EfficiencyOne can’t be overstated. But as Dr. Larry Hughes points out,
“about half of the (30% target) reduction was achieved by accident rather than design with the closures of paper mills and the Dartmouth refinery, a decline in transportation emissions, and an over 60% increase in residential electricity rates between 2005 and 2015.”
Much of Nova Scotia’s GHG reductions are from loss of industry, not from strong government action switching us to renewable energy. We cannot smugly tell the rest of the country to catch up when we are resting on laurels of industry closing or going elsewhere.
The Green Party of Nova Scotia has some solid ideas of how we can continue to fight the effects of climate change locally, and set an example for others to follow globally.
  • Nova Scotia needs to engage in full cost accounting. We can’t let “externalities” be an excuse. For instance, we have agreed to BP drilling offshore. This may not count toward our GHG totals due to accounting magic, but we have a moral obligation for the climate effect that is ultimately produced because of this.
  • Build resilient communities. Strong, resilient communities where people care for one another and share resources are needed to help us be able to adapt to the changes that face us.
  • Get rid of coal. 100%. Coal causes air pollution in our province, releases mercury into our atmosphere, and affects the health of Nova Scotians on top of climate change concerns. Mining it has caused some of our greatest disasters. Even if it weren’t an imperative for climate change, getting coal out of our energy mix makes good sense for our health and the safety of our workers. Think it can’t be done, that getting rid of coal is too drastic? Scotland and Ontario have done it.
Green Party of Canada Leader Elizabeth May has called for immediate discussion federally on this report. Governments at all levels should be doing the same.
Perhaps this is part of the reason why our neighbors in PEI and New Brunswick (and our countrymen in BC) are voting Green. With so much coastline, the effects of climate change are more immediate and apparent.
I encourage you to join us. The world needs action, and it needs to start now.