I raise my hands to the Indigenous leaders and community members who shaped the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (Declaration Act) Action Plan. 1/ #bcpoli#Reconciliation#DRIPA
While the framing of the Action Plan is fine, the metric for success is not what we hear, but what we see. 28 months after the Declaration Act was unanimously passed in the Legislature, this government is only just moving forward. 2/ #bcpoli#DRIPA#Reconciliation
This plan outlines goals for reconciliation, but not the metrics for achieving them. Already the Action Plan lays the groundwork for excuse making. 3/ #bcpoli#DRIPA#Reconciliation
Will the actions in the plan meet the objectives of the UN Declaration? Self-determination, self-government, title, rights, ending Indigenous-specific racism and discrimination, and improving the social, cultural and economic well-being of Indigenous peoples. 4/ #bcpoli#DRIPA
I sincerely hope that this government will not use the Action Plan as a shield from meaningful steps towards Indigenous self-determination, as they have used the Declaration Act. 5/5 #bcpoli#DRIPA#Reconciliation
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Tomorrow a land management plan will be enacted that will allow the spraying of #glyphosate – a toxic, carcinogenic chemical – broadly across the unceded territory of Stó:lō, St’át’imc, Nlaka’pamux, Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh. 1/ #bcpoli#DRIPA
This is where food and medicines are harvested .
The plan will allow BC Timber Sales to spray #glyphosate for 5 years. These poisons will be used to kill berries, salal, mushrooms, hellebore, and other plants. 2/ #bcpoli#DRIPA
Angelina Hopkins Rose, from St’át’imc First Nation, has been calling for gov't to pause the plan - arguing they were not consulted and asking for a 60-day extension, at a minimum, before spraying begins, so that they may raise their concerns with gov't. 3/ #bcpoli#glyphosate
Today the entire @bcndp caucus clapped and hollered as Minister @BruceRalston boasted about being the gov't to welcome the largest #LNG investment in BC's history.
Shocking behavior for “climate leaders”, and shameful given the context of my question. 1/ #bcpoli#ClimateCrisis
They did this just after being told the following:
The national inquiry into #MMIWG found that man camps and resource extractive industries directly cause increased violence against Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2 Spirit People. 2/ #bcpoli#Reconciliation
2) Scientific studies have demonstrated birth defects, cancers, and asthma in communities near fracking.
3) Methane is 28 times more potent by weight than carbon dioxide meaning gases leaked from #LNG production are as highly polluting as coal.
Today I asked @AdrianDix if he believed in the equitable delivery of health care services to all British Columbians. Under the watch of the @bcndp gov't there is growing inequity in access to primary health care. 1/ #bcpoli#healthcare#UniversalHealthcare
Doctor's clinics in my riding are beginning to introduce fees for services that should be free. Even worse under the watch of the @bcndp multi billion-dollar corporations are getting into the business – an example is Telus Health. 2/ #bcpoli#healthcare#UniversalHealthcare
Telus Health MyCare provides a virtual walk-in clinic billed under MSP, but if you want so-called premium services like annual screenings, preventative health, and advanced diagnostics, you'd have to pay sometimes thousands of dollars out of pocket. 3/ #bcpoli#healthcare
The @bcndp understands the conflict over land title, @MurrayRankinNDP himself referenced the SCC’s #Delgamuukw decision. Despite that they made a choice to work with some and not others. 2/ #bcpoli#wetsuweten
By the time everyone was invited to the table the pipeline was already deeply entrenched as the focal point of conflict. The @bcndp wanted #LNGCanada & #CGL pipeline and they chose to ignore the complex governance issues created by successive Crown gov’ts. 3/ #bcpoli#wetsuweten
This @bcndp gov't knew of the fierce opposition to the CGL pipeline. The blockades caused by this pipeline have shut down highways, ferries, railroads, & this legislature. @jjhorgan's CoS @geoffmeggs told me personally that this situation would be resolved. 1/ #bcpoli#Wetsuweten
I guess the @bcndp’s version of “resolved” means Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan people being violently arrested by fully armed RCMP and having two journalists arrested last week, sitting in jail all weekend. So much for the freedom of the press. 2/ #bcpoli#Wetsuweten
Our Minister of Public Safety @mikefarnworthbc has consistently hidden behind the Court injunctions and police enforcement. The Court's message is clear, get them out from the middle of these political conflicts. 3/ #bcpoli#Wetsuweten
While the @bcndp gov’t struggles with the severe impacts of flooding that are a result of the worsening #ClimateCrisis they are diverting critical #RCMP resources into #Wetsuweten territory again to protect the gov’ts #frackedgas pipeline 1/ #bcpoli#LNG
When @geoffmeggs delivered the news to the @bcgreencaucus that the @bcndp were going to support the #CGL#frackedgas pipeline I asked him how they would deal with the long-established blockades on #Wetsuweten territory. He said it was under control. Clearly not! 2/ #bcpoli
The chaos in Crown-Indigenous relations has been created by a @bcndp gov’t whose words and actions are not aligned. Say one thing, do another. @MurrayRankinNDP was on the #Wetsuweten file since early 2020 when he was brought in to mop up the mess gov’t created. #FAIL 3/ #bcpoli