Anarchy comes to Canada

Anarchists of the Ruckus Society are part of what is being touted as “one of the largest acts of civil disobedience on the climate issue that Canada has ever seen” in Ottawa this Monday. Civil disobedience has gone continental and has been going that route ever since activists returned Egypt to the Muslim Brotherhood last February.

Training for the Ottawa sit-in will be a day long one tomorrow and training is “mandatory”. In fact, anyone who absolutely can’t make the eight-hour training stint must email the protest’s head honchos. “Because we are dealing with an arrestable situation, it is incredibly important that everyone is on the same page, understands the action, legal consequences and the basics of non-violent action,” states a message going out this weekend signed by a trio of the Council of Canadians, Greenpeace Canada and the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN). In other words, protest leaders are deliberately putting sit-in participants at risk of arrest.

---

It is not the smattering of wealthy, self-centered film and television stars, the scientists or the leaders of the environmental movement attending the mass Ottawa sit-in, who will be arrested, but members of the rank-and-file among the disaffected youth who will be handcuffed and led away by police. Only their token arrestee, scientist James Hansen, arrested when he protested the Alberta Tar Sands in Washington, DC, has been charged by police thus far. Group leaders are expanding their ‘Blueprint for Revolution’ from DC to Ottawa.

“This summer, 11 veteran U.S. and Canadian scientists and environmentalists — Maude Barlow, Wendell Berry, Tom Goldtooth, Danny Glover, James Hansen, Wes Jackson, Naomi Klein, Bill McKibben, George Poitras, David Suzuki, and Gus Speth — issued a continental call-out,” states their press release. “The call was for people right across the U.S. to come to Washington D.C. and join in two weeks of non-violent civil disobedience actions to try to stop the massive tar sands Keystone XL pipeline. The response has been overwhelming.” “Knowing the horrific impacts a mega-pipeline from the tar sands in Alberta to refineries in the U.S. gulf coast would pose to communities, waterways, ecosystems and the planet, people are signing up by the thousands. They are pledging to risk arrest to draw a line in the sand and say “no.” They'll deliver that message by daily risking arrest until the project is stopped. “On September 26th, we have a chance to match their courage and do the same in Ottawa.”

The wild claims of the activist leaders are disingenuous at best. The Washington Keystone XL pipeline protest fizzled out rather than reach the “overwhelming response” from the public at large stage. The sit-in leaders borrow from the lofty words of the activists working worldwide to bring about so-called “Arab Spring”.

"There comes a time…" “There comes a time when you need to take a stand. When sending letters and signing petitions isn't enough. When together we must say, "enough is enough — not on our watch. “That time is now. We must act together for the health of our planet, our air, our water, our climate, and our children. “On September 26th we need you to come to Ottawa to join a historic action to oppose the tar sands. In a large peaceful protest, many will be risking arrest to tell the Harper government that we don’t support his reckless agenda; that we want to turn away from the toxic tar sands industry; and that we oppose the direction he's taking this country. “In the U.S., people by the thousands are taking a stand. From Aug 20th to Sept. 3rd, thousands are pledging to risk arrest in daily acts of civil disobedience to convince President Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline that would bring dirty tar sands oil to the U.S. On September 26th, we will stand up to Prime Minister Harper to pressure him to stem the tar sands industry at its source.

It is not jobs but “Global Survival” for which activists claim to be aiming.

“Tar sands mining and other extreme forms of energy extraction like Arctic drilling, shale fracking, and nuclear power generation send us in the exact opposite direction that we, as a civilization, must go to ensure global survival. If we burn the tar sands, we blot our nation's reputation; if we leave that carbon in the ground, we'll do the world an enormous favour.”

Crafty as they are protest leaders know the “powerful day” they promise in Ottawa can only be made powerful if “you’re a part of it”. Meanwhile, film and television stars and activists enabled by government grants can afford to do 1960s-style sit-ins. Working people are trying to keep family rather than global survival at the forefront. From Their Website The Council of Canadians Greenpeace Canada Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN)

Organizational Endorsers:

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice (CUSJ) Citizens Climate Lobby (CCLC), Toronto, Sudbury, Red Lake chapters EcoSanity Équiterre Erosion, Technology & Concentration (ETC) Group Global Exchange Keepers of the Athabasca Watershed Council of the Keepers of the Water National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) Peaceful Uprising Physicians for Global Survival (PGS) Post Carbon Toronto Science for Peace The Ruckus Society The Tipping Point Toronto Climate Campaign (TCC) UK Tar Sands Network Voice of Women

First Nations Endorsers:

Assembly of First Nations Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Dene Nation Rosebud Sioux Tribe Unis’tot’en Nations Wet’suwet’en Nation Yankton Sioux Tribe Yinka Dene Alliance

Individual & Celebrity Endorsers:

Bill McKibben – Writer, Environmentalist, Founder of 350.org Bruce Cox – Executive Director, Greenpeace Canada Clayton Ruby – Criminal Lawyer and Member of the Order of Canada Dr. Danny Harvey – University of Toronto Professor and Lead Author, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Dave Bidini – Canadian Musician & Author, Rheostatics, BediniBand, DaveBedini.ca Dave Thomas – Actor, Writer, Producer, Hoser Doug Mckenzie, SCTV George Poitras – Mikisew Cree Indigenous First Nation Gordon Laxer – Professor of Political Economy Gordon Pinsent – Elder Statesman of Canadian Theatre, Away From Her, Due South Graeme Gibson – Author and Member of the Order of Canada Graham Greene – Actor, The Green Mile, Dances with Wolves, Die Hard with a Vengence Hart Bochnar – Actor, Die Hard James Biggar – Executive Director, LeadNow.ca James Hansen – Internationally renown Climate Scientist James Kamau – Director, Youth Initiative Canada (YIC) John O’Connor – Medical Doctor Joseph B. Uehlein – Labor Organizer and Environmentalist Judy Rebick – Journalist, Political Activist and Feminist. Kai Nagata – Ex-CTV Bureau Chief and journalist Kate Vernon – Actress, Battlestar Galactica Kevin Washbrook – Director, Voters Taking Action on Climate Change (VTACC) Maude Barlow – Chair, Council of Canadians Mia Kirshner – Actress, The L World, The Black Dahlia, 24, Vampire Diaries Naomi Klein – Author and Journalist Nia Vardalos – Actress, Writer, Producer, My Big Fat Greek Wedding Peter Keleghan – Actor, 18 to Life, The Newsroom, PolluterHarmony.ca Shirley Douglas – Canadian television, film and stage Actress and Activist Tahmoh Penikett – Actress, Battlestar Galactica, Smallville Tantoo Cardinal – Actress, Dances with Wolves, Member of the Order of Canada Toghestiy Wet’suwet’en – Wet’suwet’en Nation Tom Goldtooth – Director, Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) Tony Clarke – Author and Director of the Polaris Institute Tzeporah Berman – Canadian Author and Activist