Tag Archives: Radio

Finances, Indigenous Nations, Industry

The Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwépemc Nation Says No To Ajax Mines

By Roy L Hales

The mining sector may be struggling, but it is still big business in British Columbia. According to the Northern Miner, mining is “one of the hottest sectors of the Canadian stock market.” At the beginning of this year, there were 702 British Columbia based mineral exploration and mining companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and TSXV exchanges. Some of the A BC Liberal party’s biggest campaign contributors are mining companies. Though KGHM Ajax Mines is not one of them, having forked out a mere $55,450,[1] a new mining start would definitely bolster Premier Christy Clark’s image within the industry. Only there is more at stake than money when it comes to a proposed 2,500-hectare open-pit copper and gold mine on the outskirts of the city of Kamloops. This is an area that local first nations consider sacred and after careful deliberation, the Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwépemc Nation says no to Ajax Mines.

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Environment, Indigenous Nations

Cortes Islanders Support Standing Rock

By Roy L Hales

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The Standing Rock Sioux’s struggle to halt the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline, a half mile north of their reservation, has gained international recognition. The Guardian’s coverage began on April 2, with a story of 200 Native Americans who “took to horseback” in a mounted protest. In August, Reuters reported on the tribe’s attempt to obtain an injunction against construction. As of this morning, Democracy Now has posted 154 stories. That’s just the media. Many North American communities have held demonstrations. Two events, in a relatively remote part of British Columbia, illustrate the extent to which Cortes Islanders Support Standing Rock.

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Forests

Inside One Of British Columbia’s Disappearing Old Growth Rainforests

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Most of us have seen historical photographs of the great forests that once stood in British Columbia. Though his family has worked in the forestry sector for a century, Damien Gillis’ first view of a forest like this came during a six-day-trek into the Incomappleux Valley. The award winning Campbell River documentary film maker (Fractured Land, Oil in Eden) says, “it was like nothing I’ve seen before, just the way the ecosystem is really a cycle of life, death and rebirth right before your eyes.” Some of the trees he saw had been saplings around the time of the Roman Empire. The resulting documentary, Primeval: Enter the Incomappleux offers viewers a rare glimpse inside one of BC’s disappearing old growth rainforests.

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Energy

Living With A Trump Presidency

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By Roy L Hales

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The American people have spoken. Donald Trump is not Dr Allan Hoffman’s choice for President. While it is still possible that Trump will be more reasonable than his pre-election rhetoric suggests, this is unlikely. Hoffman described Trump as a demagogue who appears to be a climate denier, whose statements about energy were “uninformed, ignorant and terrible.” Never-the-less, he has been elected and, for the next four years, “the American public is going to have to live with that.” Hoffman spoke about the realities of living with a Trump presidency.

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Environment

The Friends Of Cortes Island

By Roy L Hales

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Max Thaysen described FOCI as a support group for local inhabitants confronting the environmental challenges in the Cortes Island area.  Helen Hall described the society’s role of both monitoring and protecting, as well as educating the  public. They are the President and Executive Director of the Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI), respectively.

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