A 40 foot banner reading “Solidarity- No Coal!” will once again stretch across the railway bridge over the Buckley Bay connector on Sunday, February 10th, according to the Water Snake Alliance.
The action is timed to coincide with the 2013 Chinese New Year of the Snake, says Fireweed, a spokesperson for the adhoc group. "We will be commemorating a rally held in the same location on the 2012 Chinese New Year", she added.
Last January the Year of the Dragon was ushered in with hundreds of BC residents gathered together in Buckley Bay to both protest the proposed underground Raven Coal Mine in nearby Fanny Bay and to stand in solidarity with the thousands of demonstrators marching in the streets of Haimen, China against the expansion of coal-fired plants in that country.
“Our need to protect land, air and water for present and future generations and to respond pro-actively to global climate change has inspired allegiance building here in the Comox Valley", says Mike Nestor, another member of the Water Snake Alliance. “Today our solidarity also extends to the Idle No More movement.”
“Over the past year we have seen environmental protection gutted by the Federal Government”, adds the Denman Island resident, who plans to attend the banner drop dressed in a 'ravens against coal' costume.
"Prime Minister Stephen Harper has even paved the way for a massive natural resource buyout and for foreign corporations to sue the Canadian government in secret tribunals", explains Nestor. The Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPPA) between Canada and China, will restrict Canadians from making democratic decisions about our economy, environment and energy- further compromising human rights.”
On hand for the short banner unfurling on Sunday in Buckley Bay will also be activists united through the newly launched Raven Mine Action initiative (RMA)- Delores Broten of Comox Valley Water Watch, John Snyder of CoalWatch Comox Valley, and Mike Bell of the Sierra Club Comox Valley. Members of Denman Opposes Coal (DOC) will also attend for a small group photo documenting the occasion.
The Water Snake Alliance supports the RMA initiative to highlight (and encourage public participation where applicable) the following events taking place consecutively in 2013. These three milestones will influence whether the Raven project will get the go-ahead from government, or not.
1) the 50 day public comment period in the Environmental Assessment of the proposed mine, expected in early 2013;
2) the BC Provincial Election, scheduled for Tuesday, May 14th; and
3) the Ministerial Review stage of the Environmental Assessment, anticipated in the summer, 2013.
Allies of the Raven Mine Action initiative and Idle No More are welcome to attend the unfurling of the banner “Solidarity- No Coal!” on Sunday, at 2:00 in Buckley Bay. For further information, please contact the Water Snake Alliance at 335-1209.
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