KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – Jacob Fillmore, the young man camping out on the Grand Parade across from Halifax city hall in support of the threatened mainland moose in Western Nova Scotia has been told by city staff to leave within a day or so.
“They said that they were worried about my safety. They said that during the day they plow the area and pile it all up, and then at night they come and remove it,” Jacob tells the Nova Scotia Advocate.
Jacob started camping out here three weeks ago, after spending time with the forest protectors deep in the woods of Digby County. When he returned to Halifax he felt that continuing the protest in downtown Halifax would be the best way to keep the threatened mainland moose in the public eye.
And it’s not just the moose, he is equally upset about what’s happening with Owls Head, and the state of Nova Scotia’s threatened species altogether, he says. On his Facebook page he talks about his support for the water protectors fighting Alton Gas.
That said, he’s happy about what he has accomplished so far. And he should be. I know that many environmentalists have felt inspired and heartened by his stubborn one-person protest action.
“I think I generated lots of lots of awareness. And lots of people saw me around here, or heard about what I was doing. So I think that that’s a start, and it’s something to be proud of,” he says.
“The support has been really incredible, and very encouraging. Every day I get people swinging by, and there’s been huge amounts of support online and via email and Facebook. I was quite unprepared for that when I arrived,” Jacob says.
Jacob tells me that he will remove his tent from the Grand Parade, but that’s really all he knows right now.
“I am moving in the direction of listening to what they asked me to do and removing myself from Grand Parade, but I don’t think this is the end of the protest,” Jacob says.
“I walked down to Province House today, just to hang around there with a sign. They were quite quick to tell me that you’re not allowed at Province House with a sign and you’re not allowed to protest. You are allowed to be there, but we’re allowed to tell you to leave. I’m not really planning on removing my body from either. I’ll be either on Grand Parade or around Province House for the next couple of nights.”
Just before publication of this article I received the following email from Jacob.
“Just thought I would update you on some decisions that I’ve now made. I plan on sleeping in front of province house, on the sidewalk, for as long as I remain comfortable. I do not know how long this will go on. I anticipate that my sleeping bag will get wet, and that will force me to leave.”
See also: “This fight isn’t over, not by a long shot” – Forest protectors face criminal charges
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Keep up all the great work Jacob, we support you wherever you go #stopaltongas