Saturday, November 22, 2014

And Now, A Word From David Suzuki's Grandson

Tamo Campos, David Suzuki's 24-year-old grandson, was arrested Thursday for defying an injunction granted to Kinder Morgan, which is currently conducting drilling tests in preparation for the much-contested proposed Trans Mountain pipeline.

Back at the site on Friday, at the base of Burnaby Mountain Campos gave an impromptu speech, the highlights of which follow:
“This is insane, why are we putting our economic system – the market – above the very ecology that we all depend upon? We’re more dependent on clean water, fresh air and clean soil, than the market! It’s the thing that keeps us alive!”

“We have to stand up to unjust laws – to make those the laws, because those are the laws that have always governed our lives. And indigenous people have had natural laws that pre-date colonial laws by thousands of years, and we need to respect that.”

David Susuki is undoubtedly proud of his grandson, writing a letter to and about him. Here is a brief excerpt:
All over the world, local citizens and communities are standing up to protect their ecological, social and economic interests against these invading entities that behave like thugs, intimidating with SLAPP suits and using every legal tool, anything to keep on their destructive path while avoiding the important issues like climate change and threat of spills being raised by protesters.

I say all this to set the action of Tamo and others in context. Tamo is fighting for the world that will be left to his generation in the future. I believe what Kinder Morgan and companies like it are doing is an intergenerational crime but there are no legal precedents to pursue criminal charges on that basis.
The following video contains Campos' speech:

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2 comments:

  1. The Mound of SoundNovember 22, 2014 at 2:52 PM

    I wish I was back on the Lower Mainland, Lorne. What we're witnessing on Burnaby Mountain may be a harbinger of a greater protest and campaign of civil disobedience to come. There are a lot of us who are recognizing the limits to our willingness to submit to authority. The state is on the wrong side of this one. The cops are also on the wrong side of this. Burnaby Mountain is a skirmish in what could come to be a protracted campaign of civil unrest across British Columbia.

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    1. LorneNovember 22, 2014 at 3:56 PM

      I was thinking of you, Mound, when I read the piece. The kind of leadership and momentum that seems to be developing in the West is something we sorely need in the east, although I was pleased to read that for the Energy East project, the respective premiers of Ontario and Quebec are calling for some serious stipulations, although I am not sure how much power they have in the matter:
      http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2014/11/21/ontario_quebec_jointly_flex_political_muscle_at_toronto_meeting_of_ministers.html

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