The Dominion - London

Plan to Pipe Tar Sands to East Coast Protested

dawn — Fri, 25 May 2012 09:59:40 +0000

Activists interrupt National Energy Board's hearing on Enbridge's proposal to reverse flow of Line 9 pipe

TORONTO—Environmental justice protestors temporarily shut down a hearing into a proposal to have tar sand oil piped through Ontario. The hearing took place place in London, Ontario, on Wednesday.

The three day hearing, held by the National Energy Board (NEB), is examining a proposal by Enbridge to reverse the flow of an existing pipeline (Line 9), which currently carries imported overseas oil west. Enbridge wants to instead use the pipeline to bring oil east. However activists are concerned that this will allow Enbridge to bring tar sands to the east coast for export to Europe.

After entering the hearing, protestors employed the People's Mic, where the crowd would echo back whatever was said by a spokesperson in order to project their voices. After a few minutes of the People's Mic commencing, most other attendees at the hearing exited the room. The NEB hearing was shut down for approximately an hour.

The spokesperson who led the Peoples Mic was arrested and then removed from the room. She was later released with a ticket for trespass.

The protestors raised concerns about the environmental impacts of the Alberta tar sands, the possibility of a spill in Ontario and the lack of prior and informed consent being sought from First Nations in Ontario.

"Six Nations rights already have been violated in this review process," stated Wes Elliot, a resident of Six Nations in a press release. "Free, prior, and informed consent is not a factor in these hearings."

Line 9 cuts through the Haldimand Tract, land which was deeded to Six Nations in 1784.

"We also must object to the illegitimate and anti-democratic conduct of the officials who are fast-tracking this review," said Elliot in the release.

Following the protest, demonstrators held what they dubbed an unofficial "People's Hearing on the Tar Sands Pipeline."

"The current framework of the National Energy Board hearings does not allow us to draw connections between tar sands extraction, toxic refineries and upgraders, and various other downstream consequences," said Taylor Flook a member of Occupy Toronto who attended the event in London. "The People's Hearing was arranged as a more open forum, where anyone can share any of their concerns about relevant issues."

"The tar sands industry is attempting to build as many pipelines as they can," said Flook. "We should not accept the fast-tracking of these projects," she said. "No tar sands operations should proceed without the consent of everyone who may be impacted."

As the extraction of tar sands from Alberta has increased, a series of new pipeline projects have emerged to bring the dirty oil to refineries and ports across Canada and the US.

The Harper government has loudly endorsed these projects. But following a series of protests against TransCanada's XL pipeline, which would send tar sands oil south, President Obama delayed approval for a section of the project that goes through the United States until after US elections, which will take place in November.

Opposition by First Nations and environmentalists to Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, which would bring oil from Alberta to the BC coast for shipment overseas, has garnered attention across Canada.

Protestors worry the Line 9 Reversal could be rushed through before there is time to build awareness and opposition to the pipeline. But they say many of the concerns with the Northern Gateway Pipeline also apply to the Line 9 reversal.

The Line 9 approval process is taking place in two phases. The London hearing deals with bringing oil from Sarnia, Ontario, to Westover, Ontario. The second phase regards oil transport from Westover to Montreal, Quebec.

Tim Groves is an investigative journalist and regular contributor to the Toronto Media Co-op, where the original version of this article appeared.

Protest against Line 9 reversal

The Tar Sands Oilympics

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:10:57 +0000

The London Tar Sands Network and London Rising Tide hold the inaugural Tar Sands Oilympics in Trafalgar Square, London.
Corporate contenders RBS, Shell and newcomer BP compete for the chance to wreak environmental havoc in their scramble for Canada's tar sands.
In the process they will lay waste to vast areas of boreal forest, poison First Nations communities and push the planet towards catastrophic climate change. The race for the most polluting fossil fuel resource on the planet is on. Forget the Winter Olympics in Canada, the real competition for the future of the planet is here.

Mine Your Own Business

Van Ferrier — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:56:37 +0000

Mine Your Own Business is a documentary meant to "expose the dark side of environmentalism." The film was financed in part by the mining company responsible for evicting the residents of Rosia Montana. Watch the trailer, read about Rosia Montana and decide for yourself who is hiding their true intentions.

Police Reveal 300 African Boys "Vanished" in London in 2001

Sun, 22 May 2005 20:03:18 +0000

A recent police investigation into the mysterious death of a young boy in London has revealed that 300 black African boys, aged four to seven, went missing in the city between July and September 2001.

In order to identify the boy whose torso was found in the River Thames, police asked every education authority within the London metropolitan to report how many young black boys had gone missing during the three month period.

"It is a large figure - far more than we anticipated when we started this line of inquiry," Detective Chief Inspector Will O'Reilly explained to the BBC.

Of the children found missing, 298 originated from Africa and two others from the Caribbean. Experts suggest that these children are brought to the UK for purposes of fraud, prostitution, and child labour and are often victims of physical and sexual abuse.

Police authorities fear that this case represents just a small fraction of those currently missing, estimating that thousands 'vanish' annually. CNN reports that despite the large numbers, there is still nothing to suggest that they have been murdered. A lack of immigration records does make it impossible to trace their whereabouts.

Child welfare charities and activists are reacting strongly to this discovery, claiming that the UK government is doing virtually nothing to address this problem.

"It's scandalous. I think the government is hiding from this issue. We need an effective working relationship between schools, social services, the police and immigration. That simply isn't happening," remarks Hilton Dawson, of the group Africans Unite Against Child Abuse.

CNN: 300 African boys vanish in London

The Scotsman: Missing African Boys 'May Highlight New Trafficking Trend'

The Guardian: Missing: the mystery of 300 boys who have disappeared from school

BBC: Hundreds of children 'vanishing'

The Times: Charities urge UK to sign anti-trafficking pact