This paper looks at the growing concerns that First Nations in British Columbia have with the fossil fuel industry’s increasing need for large volumes of water for natural gas fracking operations.
Indigenous issues
Our latest report looks at the growing concerns that First Nations in British Columbia have with the fossil fuel industry’s increasing need for large volumes of water for natural gas fracking operations. Learn more at: policyalternatives.ca/protect-shared-waters
VANCOUVER – Coming on the heels of an investigation that revealed fossil fuel companies have built dozens of unauthorized dams in BC’s northeast, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has released a study drawing attention to larger problems with water management practices in that region.
The study finds that a sharp increase in water-intensive, natural gas industry fracking operations is underway, yet First Nations who are the most directly impacted by such activities have little say in shaping how, when and where fossil fuel companies operate on their traditional lands.
First published in the Winnipeg Free Press, Thursday June 8th.
On Friday May 26, I attended an impromptu event organized by supporters of the North Point Douglas Women’s Centre. The event was held to show support for the Centre, which was reeling from the news that it would not receive an expected $120,000 required for its operations. This represents one third of the Centre’s budget and losing it means that North Point Douglas Women’s Centre will be forced to cut important programs that are serving the community well. It got me thinking about reconciliation.
First published in the Winnipeg Free Press June 15, 2017 Inter-Agency effort to support inner-city women's centre
There is an important difference between celebration and commemoration. In considering Canada 150, the government tagline for this year’s sesquicentennial festivities, the contributors to this special issue of the Monitor argue too little of what we are seeing can, or is even intended to, lead the country to a fuller understanding of its history. To truly commemorate—whether it is Canada’s Confederation or any other moment—we need to address those things we find distasteful and disappointing, as well as those things that make us proud.
“Bloodvein 3” (2008) by Anishinabe artist Scott Benesiinaabandan.
The trope of the vanishing Indian has been around since Europeans realized Indians existed. In the colonial imagination, then, we began to disappear at the exact moment we were first seen.
Several small non-profit organizations (NPOs) are nervously awaiting Manitoba’s 2017 budget. Funding sources they’ve come to rely on have been ‘on pause’ for months and its beginning to affect the services they provide. Many organizations have been unable to confirm that multi-year agreements signed through the government’s Non-Profit Organization (NPO) Strategy will remain in place—they are told they must wait until the budget is released.
This winter, a 53 year-old woman died overnight in minus 32-degree temperatures, frozen to death on the streets of downtown Winnipeg. This tragic and preventable loss serves as a reminder of how Winnipeg is failing to support people who need it the most and that the homelessness crisis affects women. A new study released today renews calls to action to deal with this tremendously unjust situation.
This winter, a 53 year-old woman died overnight in minus 32-degree temperatures, frozen to death on the streets of downtown Winnipeg. This tragic and preventable loss serves as a reminder of how Winnipeg is failing to support people who need it the most and that the homelessness crisis affects women. This study renews calls to action to deal with this tremendously unjust situation—so that we need not have even another year of women’s homelessness in Winnipeg and Manitoba.