Windsor Causeway Action
WE ARE ALL TREATY PEOPLE
Come stand up and demand Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan do her job. Monday, November 16, 10AM at the Treaty Truckhouse 2
–District WarChief/Grandmothers and Allies–
The highway expansion project along the Avon River in Windsor is already harming fish populations and obstructing their migration to the Bay of Fundy. It is not only damaging the environment but will have the potential to kill off large populations of fish, along with impacting the rights of the Mi’kmaq People.
Water Protectors have been calling for an immediate halt in construction of the twinning Windsor Causeway and have been camped out at the Treaty Truckhouse 2 since late spring. They have been demanding that the Department of Agriculture open the gateways of the Avon River to allow fish to pass. Water Protectors have documented on numerous occasions that the fish passage gate is only opened for a maximum of five minutes a day. Members of the Sipekne’katik, Bear River, Annapolis and Glooscap First Nations have all been part of an ongoing protest against the causeway and aboiteau that have been blocking passage of numerous fish species to spawn since their construction a half-century ago.
Although the province has promised to design the causeway in a way that allows greater fish passage, it has failed to provide this plan in any concrete form, nor did it respond to the request from the Sipekne’katik First Nation. In April, Justice Frank Edwards found that the province did not fulfil its duty to consult with first Nations for the approval of Alton Gas’s underground natural gas storage facility. Again, they have failed to consult with First Nations regarding the environmental impact of the causeway.
The Minister of Fisheries, Bernadette Jordan, has failed to ensure the free passage of the endangered Atlantic Salmon. This breaks the “Fish and fish Habitat Protection Policy” issued August of 2019 that stated: “Fish need suitable places to live, feed, and reproduce. They also need unobstructed corridors to migrate between these places. Without productive habitat, it is recognized that species run the risk of becoming extirpated or extinct.”
While negotiations have been stagnant, it is reported that the RCMP are planning on breaking up the Treaty Truckhouse 2 encampment on Monday November 16th. This is NOT an Extinction Rebellion event, however, XRNS has been asked by the Water Protectors to show support en mass if possible. There is a planned blockade of highway 101 around the noon hour with RCMP already being informed. How long this blockade will last, and if protectors will leave when instructed to, is not known. Any and all support will be greatly appreciated.
With Love and Rage,
XRNS
