Over the past 8 years, I have had the pleasure of collaborating with Mi’kmaq and African Nova Scotian communities and their allies to create awareness about and address cases of environmental racism in Nova Scotia through research; publications; student training; legislation; legal remedies; community organizing, development and capacity building; education; public engagement events; and multi-media. 

These efforts have brought us closer to our goal of achieving environmental justice in Nova Scotia.

This year alone we have witnessed several victories – the closing down of the mill that had been contaminating Boat Harbour in Pictou Landing First Nation since 1967; the decision by the Shelburne Town Council to approve a new community well in the south end of Shelburne (a (predominantly African Nova Scotian community) paid for by Ellen Page, as well as the funding by Housing Nova Scotia of new wells in residents’ homes in that community; and the decision made by Justice Frank Edwards (released to the public yesterday) to overturn the Alton Gas approval, and ruling in favour of Sipekne’katik by reversing Margaret Miller’s (former Environment Minister) 2019 decision to uphold her industrial approval.

With the release of the film, There’s Something in the Water on Netflix this Friday, March 27, 2020, the voices of affected communities in Nova Scotia will now be elevated and amplified globally.

My hope is that the film will also help to build bridges and solidarity between affected communities in this province and other communities around the world that are on the frontlines of environmental justice struggles and movements, that are paying a disproportionate price for economic development, resource extraction, and industrialism, and that are challenging governments to re-think policies that prioritize profit over the well-being of its most marginalized citizens. 

There’s Something in the Water – The Film

The scourge of environmental racism and its devastating effects across communities in Nova Scotia, Canada, comes into sharp focus in There’s Something In the Water, a new documentary from co-directors Ellen Page and Ian Daniel.

The film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall and will become available to stream on Netflix this Friday, March 27, is inspired by a book of the same name (https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/there8217s-something-in-the-water) by the sociologist Ingrid Waldron, who also appears in the movie and was a co-producer on the film.

Both works dive into the health impacts of environmental racism — the decisions and policies brought by local governments that expose marginalized communities to environmental risks — in particular on Black and Indigenous populations in Nova Scotia.

See also: A community of widows. The Shelburne dump and environmental racism

With a special thanks to our generous donors who make publication of the Nova Scotia Advocate possible.

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KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – Some 500 or more forestry and Northern Pulp workers, worried about their jobs and their futures, rallied at Province House this morning. There were speakers from Unifor, from woodlot owners, and wood product manufacturers.  

It was quick. The rally started at 11:00, and at 11:30 people were thanked for coming out and told to go home again.

“Pictou Landing First Nation, we feel your pain,” said one of the speakers. “Boat Harbour will be cleaned up.”

Just not yet.

For the record, in 1991 the province announced that the treatment facility would be closed in 1995, but when the time arrived that commitment was extended to 2005, at which time Boat Harbour was to be remediated.

In 2001 a new deadline of 2030 was set for the removal of the entire treatment facility, with the understanding that most of Boat Harbour would be restored way before that date, first by 2005, then by 2008. It never happened.

See also: Boat Harbour victim impact statement: a story of deception and broken promises

Unifor never spoke out against any of these betrayals. Instead it exerted its own pressures on governments of all stripes, in perfect alignment with the company owners.

Now the promise should be broken once again, change the  January 31, 2020 deadline embedded in legislation, Unifor says.

Never mind the stench, the very real health risks, and the demoralizing impact of the lagoon on the Mi’kmaw community.

Workers attending the rally are right to be worried. Neither company nor union (nor government) have ever seriously prepared for this eventuality. Until now the threat of job loss and the art of the backroom deal have always worked.

Tomorrow we should know whether this time things are different. It will be a sad day no matter what McNeil decides.

See also: A message from Chief Andrea Paul: The forever argument of economy and jobs

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Let’s Stand Together
11 AM
Pictou Landing First Nation
Bring your Favourite Cookies
Please Share
Everyone Welcome

The post PSA: Stand together for closure of Boat Harbour treatment facility on schedule appeared first on Nova Scotia Advocate.

In 84 days (12 weeks) from today, the Boat Harbour effluent treatment facility is required by statute to shut down. With no alternative system in place (or even being built) it is obvious that Northern Pulp has no intention of abiding by the 2015 Boat Harbour Act.

We can infer this because if the “Cessation of the Use of the Boat Harbour Effluent Treatment Facility for the Reception and Treatment of Effluent from the Northern Pulp Mill” (in the words of the Act) were going to take place, then, in the absence of a new system, the mill would have to shut down. If the mill were going to shut down, the Industry Closing Act requires three months advance notice be given to the Provincial Government.

No such notice has been given. In the words of the Industry Closing Act, “where an employer engaged in an industry is about to close down, discontinue or abandon the whole of the industry or any portion thereof which will or may affect fifty or more employees…he shall before the closing down…give notice thereof to the Minister.” No notice; no intention to close. The collective agreement in place at the mill and the Labour Standards Code require similar periods of notice to the workers. No notice; no intention to close.

So what will happen if the mill just defies the Boat Harbour Act and keeps on operating, using Boat Harbour for its effluent?

All the Premier has said is that he has no intention of changing the Boat Harbour Act. Well, the Fall sitting of the Legislature has come and gone, and indeed there was no legislation presented by Stephen McNeil to extend the date for cessation of use of Boat Harbour.

But all the Premier has offered is that carefully-crafted statement. What are the consequences for the mill if it disobeys the Boat Harbour Act? There are none. That statute includes no penalty clause. There are no fines set or jail terms specified. Nothing.

Which brings into play the Summary Proceedings Act. That Act has a catch-all provision: in the absence of other penalties, contravening an enactment by “willfully doing anything that it forbids or by wilfully omitting to do anything that it requires to be done” can lead to a fine of up to $2000 or to six months in jail or both.

So there you have it. The Provincial Government could prosecute Northern Pulp. If the company is found guilty, it could be fined $2000 – and keep on operating, using Boat Harbour for its effluent.

But what about an injunction? Lawyers tell me this is an area of the law about as murky as the Boat Harbour lagoon itself. Could the Government get an injunction? Could Pictou Landing First Nation? Could a group of citizens? Would the Government even try? None of this is clear.

What is needed is for an honest, full-ranging statement about the intentions of the McNeil government to be made by the Premier. But on the evidence so far, don’t hold your breath.

Betsy MacDonald

With a special thanks to our generous donors who make publication of the Nova Scotia Advocate possible.

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You have until Friday November 8 to submit your comments to the Minister of Environment. Friends of the Northumberland Strait has put together an excellent toolkit that you should check out if you are thinking about submitting your comments but need a bit of help.

The Hon. Gordon Wilson, Nova Scotia Minister of Environment

Dear Mr. Minister,

Save our Seas and Shores is a coalition of fishers, First Nations and concerned activists from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador who have advocated for protection of the Gulf of St Lawrence for decades. The Gulf of St Lawrence provides global food sources and feeds the coastal communities of 5 provinces and thousands of jobs with its multi billion dollar sustainable fishery and tourism industries.

We are writing today to comment on Northern Pulp’s Focus report which details its ill advised, unrealistic scheme to pump 92 million litres of toxic kraft bleached effluent into this exceptionally fragile body of water. This egregious proposal  lacks integrity, responsibility and a concrete grip on reality. Our coalition vehemently opposes a pipe dumping toxic pulp mill effluent adjacent to Caribou Harbour or anywhere in the Northumberland Strait and Gulf of St Lawrence. Let us explain why.

1) Six and a half times smaller than the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of St. Lawrence is a fragile, landlocked, semi-enclosed inland sea that completely exchanges its water with the Atlantic Ocean only once a year. As one of the most productive marine regions in Canada and one of the most precious ecosystems on earth, (according to Dr, David Suzuki), it should never be placed in harm’s way. Because of its circular, counter clockwise currents, any contamination will be widespread along the Gulf coastlines of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Newfoundland.This is further exacerbated by winter ice coverage that eliminates wave action that could contribute to oxygenation of the water. This freshwater effluent will raise to the surface and lay under the ice for months at a time every winter. 

For 50 years, Northern Pulp has dumped 92 million litres of kraft bleached effluent, known to be one of the most toxic marine pollutants on this earth, every single day into this fragile ecosystem where over 2,000 marine species spawn, nurse and migrate annually. Their irrational logic for the continuation of this immoral conduct is that they’ve done it for fifty years and no harm has been done… so they say.

In reality, as it stands now, the Right whale, Blue whale, leatherback turtle, piping plover and harlequin duck are endangered; while Atlantic salmon, cod, fin whale, humpback whale are in trouble; bass are in sharp decline, as are mackerel and herring; Bluefin tuna are starving and flocking to fishing boats for food – these are just some examples of the disgraceful indicator that in only fifty years, our generation has taken for granted and degraded our Gulf’s natural, renewable resources. We have allowed unfettered industrial development and pollution with little regard for the precautionary principle and ecosystem approaches demanded by the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity, supported by Canada in 1992.

In October of 2018, international scientists noted that the Gulf of St Lawrence is one of the most deoxygenating bodies of water on this earth.

The authors of this study also note that protection of the Gulf needs to happen via governments at regional and local levels.

How does NSDOE reconcile this international science with Northern Pulp’s irrational logic that a half a century of toxic effluent dumped into spawning waters determines that they should continue to violate our oceans? Northern Pulp’s focus report reads as if they are dumping into pristine waters, rather than the deeply degraded fragile ecosystem the Northumberland Strait and Gulf of St Lawrence have now become in 2019.

There is no mention in Northern Pulp’s focus report of the current state of de-oxygenation in this body of water. Hence the entire focus report is a farce, not grounded in truth or reality.

2) Northern Pulp plans to build its treatment facility on top of mercury that was buried by previous owners. Any individual is aware that disturbing buried mercury could lead to irrevocable consequences.The linked article by investigative journalist Joan Baxter explains this mercury problem in great detail. Yet it is being all but ignored by the NS Dept of Environment. It is disgraceful conduct for a department mandated to protect Nova Scotia’s renewable resources to simply ignore and pretend that this monster of a mercury problem does not exist. Our children deserve better scrutiny and oversight of proposed industrial developments in 2019 when their very future is in peril.

3) Perhaps NSDOE is ignoring this frightening mercury problem because of the conflict of interest you are in, as both owner, operator of the Boat Harbour treatment facility and alleged environmental protector of Nova Scotia’s resources. For this reason, our coalition does not have any faith or believe your department can ethically determine this environmental assessment. We believe there should be a full federal assessment under CEAA.

Whatever your reasons for ignoring this looming mercury crisis, and the current de-oxygenation of our precious Gulf and its ongoing decline of marine resources, Save our Seas and Shores reiterates that we are vehemently opposed to any further effluent being dumped by this antiquated mill into the Northumberland Strait. 

We are grateful to the Nova Scotia government for its leadership in establishing the Boat Harbour Act. But you must finish what you have started. Re-routing the toxic effluent from Boat Harbour to Caribou Harbour is MOVING the problem. Not solving it. 

It is our responsibility as adults to protect the ecosystems that enable resource development for future generations. Up until now, we have failed our children. This must stop. Now. There must be #NOPIPE in the Northumberland Strait.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Gorman and Percy Hayne

Merigomish, NS  B0K 1G0

The post Save our Seas and Shores Coalition: Moving toxic effluent from Boat Harbour to Caribou Harbour is not solving the problem appeared first on Nova Scotia Advocate.

A sea of people in red shirts emblazoned with #31January2020, the planned closure of the Boat Harbour Treatment Facility, marched from the Pictou Landing Band office to the bridge that stands near the outfall of A’Se’k into the Northumberland Strait. Those who marched, both Mi’kmaq and settler, demand that the harbour be returned to its former state – A’Se’k, the tidal estuary that was a key part of Mi’kmaw life in Pictou County.

This is not the first time that the Mi’kmaq of Pictou Landing have protested the destruction of their land by toxic waste. In 2014, residents of Pictou Landing First Nation created a blockade near Indian Cross Point, the site of a major effluent leak from the pipe that carries millions of litres of effluent-laden water to Boat Harbour each day. These recent protests in Pictou Landing show how a community can stand up and successfully challenge governments and industrial giants.

See also: Boat Harbour victim impact statement: a story of deception and broken promises

The Mill has been an important part of the economic grid of Pictou County for decades, but the financial stability brought to some by smashing pulp into paper has come at the sacrifice of others. The Mi’kmaq, who live within a stone’s throw of the treatment facility, are reminded daily of the environmental and biological costs of pulp and paper in Pictou County. They have mobilized to change this for future generations of Mi’kmaq and settlers in Pictou County.

This most recent battle for A’Se’k needs to be understood in the much longer history of Mi’kmaw efforts to protect their land rights in Pictou County. Many different groups have challenged Mi’kmaw sovereignty over A’Se’k and the area around it, and for centuries, the Mi’kmaq have resisted and protected their homeland. I will outline a few examples of these efforts in an attempt to show that these modern battles over A’Se’k are just the most recent examples of long-standing Mi’kmaw protection of their land and rights. Those of us who are new to the area (even if our ancestors have lived here for a few centuries) need to understand the complex history of A’Se’k in order to fully appreciate the efforts being made by the Mi’kmaq today.

Local Historian John Ashton reminds us that as far back as the 17th century, the Mi’kmaq battled Mohawk warriors invading what is now Pictou County, and stories about foreign Indigenous invaders being drowned by Mi’kmaq warriors near Caribou Island still circulate in the community.[1]

Beginning in the late 18th century, the Mi’kmaq faced a new threat- colonial settlement – as Scottish Highlanders began to settle the region. When these settlers arrived, the Mi’kmaq had a key village site located on the land between A’Se’k and the entrance to Pictou Harbour. The Mi’kmaq used the region for hunting, fishing, farming, and for protection from the brutal North Atlantic winds that blew down the Northumberland during winter. Regardless of those settled on the ground at Pictou seeing the sizable Mi’kmaw village at A’Se’k, hapless colonialists an ocean away signed away this key part of Mi’kma’ki to a disbanding regiment of soldiers from the American Revolutionary War, the 82nd Regiment of Foot. While the surveying of Mi’kmaw land to these soldiers had long-lasting political implications, few of these soldiers showed up to claim their land in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. As a result, the Mi’kmaq were mostly able to live in the region as they had for thousands of years, only now with a new market for their labour and goods in the village of Pictou.

In the years leading up to the War of 1812, the British colonial government of Nova Scotia (who had only ousted their French rivals in Mi’kma’ki half a century earlier) attempted to solidify their relationship with the Mi’kmaq in the likely case of an American invasion. They sent a representative of the Crown to Pictou to meet with the Mi’kmaq living at A’Se’k. After meeting with the Mi’kmaq and discussing colonial politics at length, the Crown’s man left with a troubling message. The Mi’kmaq refused to accept any gifts from him and told him that they would remain neutral in the prospective war until “they could form an opinion on the strength of the enemy.”[2] The Mi’kmaq expected that the colony would be invaded and that the invaders would conquer the British. When this came to pass, one Mi’kmaw man warned, “in the case of war, he, and a few others, could scalp all of the inhabitants [of the village of Pictou] in two nights.”[3] The relationship between the Mi’kmaq in Pictou County and the Colonial Government was tenuous, at best. The Mi’kmaq negotiated from a position of power. Pictou, in the early years of the 19th century, was a small outpost of colonial settlement. It was a long way from Halifax, the center of colonial power in Nova Scotia. The small, isolated, and still-forming settler population at Pictou had little impact on the Mi’kmaq living at A’Se’k.

But battles for recognition of Mi’kmaw land rights at A’Se’k were not always potentially violent. Many came in the form of letters and petitions to the colonial government, and, as I will discuss below, the Mi’kmaw refusal to vacate their lands when settlers began to build their homes on them. In 1829, Chief James Lulan, a “sober, honest, and industrious…Chief of the Indians at Pictou” petitioned the government to recognize Mi’kmaw occupation and land rights between Moodie Point and A’Se’k, where they had been planting for “upwards of fifty years.”[4] Lulan complained that the settler who had pre-empted the land, Thomas Moodie, had prevented them from planting corn and wheat in the considerable clearing they had maintained for at least the past fifty years. Without the ability to plant crops, in addition to decreasing access to hunting grounds and fisheries due to increasing settlement, Lulan feared that his community would be destitute without a land base. Chief Lulan and his community pushed for their land to be surveyed as settlement increased in the early-to-mid 19th century, but the government had already surveyed the land to settlers, causing friction between the government’s settlement plans, and the Mi’kmaq refusal to uproot from lands they had occupied for centuries.

By 1831 the Mi’kmaq had maintained their presence at A’Se’k, despite attempts to remove them from the vicinity. Hugh Denoon, a Pictou merchant, wrote to Sir Rupert George, the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, to request one hundred acres of land “adjoining Boat Harbour, about three miles to the entrance of the Town of Pictou and on the southern side of the entrance to the Harbour.”[5] Denoon, a Scottish settler who had developed a friendly relationship with the Mi’kmaq, reported that the land could be purchased for £100, and that the failure to purchase it would result in tensions between the Mi’kmaq and settlers. Denoon stated that anything less than one hundred acres would be insufficient to provide a land base for the Mi’kmaq, and he hoped that the government would grant land to help relieve the pressure on “these unfortunate Indians.”[6] Denoon understood that the Mi’kmaq would not give up their land at A’Se’k, and he pushed for the government to act early to avoid conflict between settlers and the Mi’kmaq.

Four months later, George Smith, a settler living in Pictou, repeated Denoon’s calls for the government to recognize the Mi’kmaq claim to the land at A’Se’k. Smith reported that he found the “Indians so attached to their personal possession at the entrance of the Harbour that no other [place] would satisfy them” and that Moodie had agreed to sell the land to the Mi’kmaq.[7] Smith stated that the land was “very convenient and desirable for these poor people” and that if the land was not granted to them it would be difficult to find any other suitable land in the region that would meet their needs.[8] The Government, however, failed to secure the land for the Mi’kmaq, resulting in constant complaints by settlers and pushes by the Mi’kmaq for rights to their village site for the next several decades.

The Colonial Government began more concerted efforts to survey and reserve Mi’kmaw lands in Nova Scotia in the 1840s. Led by Sir Joseph Howe, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for the Province of Nova Scotia and later Premier of the Colony, the Commission was tasked with visiting the various Mi’kmaw communities in Nova Scotia and ascertaining their land and property rights. For some, the Commission secured previously surveyed land and made them part of the colonial gridwork. For others, like the Mi’kmaq living around A’Se’k, the Commission was to listen to land issues and find suitable holdings that would provide them with ample space to build houses and develop agriculture.

Howe himself was unable to travel to Pictou due to other commitments in Halifax. In his stead, he appointed James Dawson, a merchant in the town of Pictou, as a government agent. His task was to “represent [Howe], and do with the Pictou Indians whatever your own judgement dictates concerning your attention within the scope of the Act, and having in mind that a permanent settlement and education of these people, not one based on relief, are the primary objects.”[9] Howe asked Dawson to gain a better understanding of the land situation at Moodie Cove and A’Se’k, and to decipher who owned the current title to the land.

Dawson had built a relationship with the Mi’kmaq over a period of twenty years, driven mostly by his self-confessed interest in the “civilization of the Indians.”[10] He was sympathetic to the Mi’kmaq land crisis, and reported that he had “long and deeply regretted that he could do little for them.”[11] Dawson believed that ‘civilization’ required education and religion, but he also believed that settlers and Mi’kmaq alike needed to live closely, as Mi’kmaq goods were “necessary for the settlers.”[12] Dawson also understood that all of these were of little utility if the Mi’kmaq were not provided with a sufficient land base that they could use to harvest timber, produce goods, obtain consistent wage labour, and educational and religious instruction. Dawson told Howe that religion, labour, and education efforts would remain “but preliminary to their settling in a piece of land and ultimately adopting regular civilized habits.”[13]

Dawson knew that the land around A’Se’k was the most desirable for encouraging the Mi’kmaq to engage with these new societal structures. But the Mi’kmaq themselves had many reasons for securing their land holdings at A’Se’k. They and their ancestors had used the land in this area as a village for centuries. They had also cleared a significant portion of land for agriculture, despite the government giving the title to settlers. Dawson maintained that even without Government title and surveys, the Mi’kmaq would always maintain “adverse possession”[14] of A’Se’k. In a report on the history of the title to the tract of land at Moodie Point, Dawson stated to Howe that, despite the title having changed hands several times since the original grant in 1783,

…no one claiming it has ever had anything like possession of it until a few years ago, when it began to be sold in small lots…and the parties in doing so have had to drive the Indians from their clearings where they grow potatoes etc. The Indians are so passionately fond of this lot, as it affords them great facilities for the fishery.[15]

Increasing settlement resulted in a situation where the Mi’kmaq were “driven from one place to another till they have not a foothold left they can call their own. Their very burying grounds have in some instances been desecrated by the plough.”[16] As more settlers came to Mi’kma’ki in the mid 19th century, the land holdings that the Mi’kmaq had maintained through the early settlement period became contested and increasingly tenuous. The Mi’kmaq, however, never stopped battling to have their land rights recognized at A’Se’k.

Regardless of these consistent pleas over the first half of the 19th century, the Mi’kmaw land rights at A’Se’k were not properly recognized, and the Government continued to fail to secure any holdings for the Mi’kmaq in Pictou County. It is unclear why the government failed to do so, but the lack of responses by Howe to these several requests suggests that the Commission was understaffed and unable to handle the amount of correspondence and requests. Alternatively, they may have suffered from a lack of funds and were consequently unable to purchase any land. Perhaps it was both. Either way, the Government failed to make its intentions clear.

By 1863, the continual Mi’kmaw resistance and push for government recognition of their land rights finally resulted in an effort to secure land at A’Se’k. A special committee was struck by the House of Assembly to purchase land between A’Se’k and Moodie Cove out of proceeds from the sale of Indian lands elsewhere in Nova Scotia. [17] After nearly a hundred years of doing so, the Mi’kmaq finally received a small portion of their land at A’Se’k. The purchase was carried out in February of 1864. The 50-acre plot became known as the Fisher’s Grant Indian Reserve. It cost the Nova Scotia government $401.25.[18]

The survey and creation of the Fisher’s Grant Indian Reserve, between A’Se’k and the mouth of Pictou Harbour, was the starting point for decades of expansion of the boundaries of this postage stamp sized land grant. Indeed, from a meager fifty acres of land in 1864, the reserve grew to over 400 acres in 1928. This transformation over roughly sixty years was based on continual and consistent Mi’kmaw pressure to regain more of their land around A’Se’K. Transfers, exchanges, and outright government land purchases occurred in 1874, 1889, 1903, 1907, and 1928. Each of these changes to the Mi’kmaw land holdings at A’Se’k are detailed, important, and complicated. I will not attempt to describe them in short shrift here. Rather, what follows is a summary of the Mi’kmaw actions that led to an expansion of their reserve at A’Se’k.

It is important to understand that the changes to the boundaries of the Fisher’s Grant Reserve were not solely based on direct Mi’kmaw protest. That is, there were few petitions or direct letters sent by the Mi’kmaq to the government that asked for more land at A’Se’k in this time period. Indeed, much of the impetus for growth of the reserve came from settler complaints that the Mi’kmaq refused to stop using the land and resources in and around A’Se’k, regardless if they were on reserve or settler land.

The Mi’kmaq understood this territory as their own space, and they protested settler encroachment by simply refusing to stop using the space and resources around A’Se’k. The result was that settler land tenure was compromised, and rather than attempt to penalize the Mi’kmaq (which local officials and Indian Agents repeatedly stated was impossible), the local government and the Department of Indian Affairs chose rather to purchase or exchange lands to allow the Mi’kmaq to avoid offending settlers. The Department of Indian Affairs, and local settlers and officials knew that the Mi’kmaq would use the land and resources regardless of the presence of settlers, so instead they incorporated more of A’Se’k into the reserve boundaries.

Since the beginnings of European settlement, the Mi’kmaq of Pictou County maintained a village between A’Se’k and the mouth of Pictou Harbour. Even when it was signed away by British officials, the Mi’kmaq were not directly (or immediately) impeded in using their land in the ways they and their ancestors had for centuries. From this important Mi’kmaw land base, the Mi’kmaq expanded their usual uses of A’Se’k to now include a settler-market and a wage-labour economy. However, once settlers began to take up their land in the early years of the 19th century, conflict with the Mi’kmaq, who continued to use the land as their own, increased. The government failed to survey Mi’kmaw land in the early colonial period, and continued to do so until they finally purchased a small parcel of land at A’Se’k for the Mi’kmaq, which came after decades of consistent Mi’kmaw protest and resistance. This small parcel of land became the nucleus for Mi’kmaw efforts to regain control of the land around A’Se’k.

The Fisher’s Grant Reserve grew eight-fold over the next half century – a testament to the Mi’kmaw ability to maintain and increase their territory even in the most unlikely colonial odds. A’Se’k has been a staple part of Mi’kmaw life for centuries, and they have maintained their presence on the land despite being challenged by a series of formidable opponents: Mohawk Warriors, the British Empire, settlers, the Government of Nova Scotia, Canada, the Department of Indian Affairs, and most recently, industrial giants like Paper Excellence (the owners of Northern Pulp). Through all of this history, the Mi’kmaq have fought for their land, and today they to continue the fight to protect A’Se’k. They walk in the footsteps and shadows of generations of Mi’kmaq who have done the same.

We are only a few short months from the planned closure of the Boat Harbour treatment facility- January 31st, 2020. In the unstable and precarious political climate in which we live, especially given that we are currently in the throes of one of the most crucial elections in recent Canadian history, the future of A’Se’k remains uncertain. It is unclear whether the politicians will keep their promises for #January312020. What is undeniably clear, however, is that the Mi’kmaq will continue to fight to turn toxic Boat Harbour back to bountiful A’Se’k.

Colin Osmond is a PhD Candidate at the University of Saskatchewan, where he conducts community-engaged historical research with the Pictou Landing First Nation. Colin is from Nova Scotia, and is the descendant of Scottish settlers who occupied Mi’kmaw land near A’Se’k.

This article was originally published on ActiveHistory.ca, a website that connects the work of historians with the wider public and the importance of the past to current events. Republished with the author’s kind permission.  

Small editorial changes were made to this essay on Oct 18 2019.

[1] John Ashton, “The Battle of Fitzpatrick Mountain (Part 1)”, The New Glasgow News, March 30 2018. https://www.ngnews.ca/news/local/the-battle-of-fitzpatrick-mountain-part-1-197976/

[2] George Henry Monk to Sir George Provost, April 23 1808, Nova Scotia Archives, RG 1, vol. 430, Doc 145.

[3] George Henry Monk to Sir George Provost, April 23 1808, Nova Scotia Archives, RG 1, vol. 430, Doc 145.

[4] James Lulan, Chief of Pictou, to Sir Peregrine, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, March 2 1829, Nova Scotia Archives, Vol 430 (Indian Commissioner Series), File 168.

[5] Hugh Denoon and M. Dickason, to Sir Rupert George, March 8 1831, Nova Scotia Archives, Vol. 430, File 186A.

[6] Hugh Denoon and M. Dickason, to Sir Rupert George, March 8 1831, Nova Scotia Archives, Vol. 430, File 186A.

[7] George Smith, to Sir R. George, June 10 1831, Nova Scotia Archives, Vol. 430 (Indian Commissioner Series), File 186B.

[8] George Smith, to Sir R. George, June 10 1831, Nova Scotia Archives, Vol. 430 (Indian Commissioner Series), File 186B.

[9] Joseph Howe, Indian Commissioner, to James Dawson, Merchant, May 6 1842, Nova Scotia Archives, Indian Commissioner Series, Vol. 432, File 57.

[10] James Dawson to Joseph Howe, January 24 1842, Nova Scotia Archives, Indian Commissioner Series, Vol. 432, file 57.

[11] James Dawson to Joseph Howe, January 24 1842, Nova Scotia Archives, Indian Commissioner Series, Vol. 432, file 57.

[12] James Dawson to Joseph Howe, January 24 1842, Nova Scotia Archives, Indian Commissioner Series, Vol. 432, file 57.

[13] James Dawson to Joseph Howe, January 24 1842, Nova Scotia Archives, Indian Commissioner Series, Vol. 432, file 57.

[14] James Dawson to Joseph Howe, January 24 1842, Nova Scotia Archives, Indian Commissioner Series, Vol. 432, file 57. Emphasis Added.

[15] James Dawson to Joseph Howe, January 24 1842, Nova Scotia Archives, Indian Commissioner Series, Vol. 432, file 57.

[16] James Dawson to Joseph Howe, January 24 1842, Nova Scotia Archives, Indian Commissioner Series, Vol. 432, file 57.

[17] Samuel P. Fairbanks, Indian Commissioner, to Hon. Joseph Howe, Provincial Secretary, February 9 1863, Journal and Proceedings of the House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia (Halifax: W. Compton & Co., 1863), Appendix No. 15, Pg. 2.

[18] Samuel P. Fairbanks, Indian Commissioner, “Cash Paid for Indian Reserves, and Interest Thereon, to 31st December, 1864,” Journal and Proceedings of the House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia (Halifax: W. Compton & Co., 1865), Appendix No. 19, Pg. 4.

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KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – In this federal election Chris Frazer is running for the Communist Party in the large and mostly rural district of Central Nova. 

Frazer is a history professor at St. Francis Xavier (StFX) University in Antigonish, where since his arrival in 2004 he has fought homophobia in the town and in the university, and engaged in union work as well. 

Frazer is also an accomplished drag performer, and was instrumental in establishing Priscilla, Queen of the Highlands, the biggest Canadian drag show east of Montreal, filled with local and nationally recognized drag performers.  

We talked about climate justice, how to turn things around in rural Nova Scotia, poverty, housing, public transportation, anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism, homophobia, Northern Pulp (of course), and much more. 

We talked quite a bit, actually. What follows is an abbreviated version of the interview. Reluctantly, I left out some very interesting stuff, particularly around some of the major fights against homophobia Frazer got involved in when he first arrived in Antigonish.

This link will get you the full transcript of the interview.  

Let’s talk about communism and how it informs what you are doing. And, related to that, are you in this campaign to win? Or for another reason?

I have never campaigned on anything not to win. Winning could mean getting elected, or pushing a political agenda further. Mostly I’m trying to add some depth to political conversations that are happening in this constituency. 

Most of the candidates are following a strategy that I see as being unconscionably safe. Especially in a time like the one we’re living in, where if we don’t do something bold and meaningful it may end up being too late for us. We have a climate crisis above all else, which really has to be addressed. It is now no longer a matter of trying to save the polar bears, this is about saving humanity, period. 

The question also is, what kind of a future do we want? Are we ready to just settle for anything, just for being saved? Or do we want to take this opportunity to make the world into a better place. That’s my  message. 

We can do something to slow down, and at least stabilize the climate situation. We need to do so in a way that’s not only going to be effective, but that will also set the stage for a world where life is equitable, and where people don’t experience oppression and exploitation. 

What has brought us to this point is the capacity of capitalism to generate profit from the misery of others. It is as if the ruling class has learned to turn off their empathy for the suffering of others. They extract resources as much as they can, and sell them for as much as they can, while exploiting the labor of others as much as they can. And all of it is a wasteful process. It’s almost as if it’s ingrained in the system. 

Now, I mentioned this, because I keep hearing from the Liberals and the Conservatives that really nothing has to change. Our Prime Minister actually just proposed that you can buy a pipeline and take oil out of the ground, and then use the proceeds to plant two billion trees and save the earth. It’s lunacy. It tells me they do not have a firm grasp on the reality of the issues confronting us. 

I’m personally quite frightened by that, if they really believe that, then we’re in a much worse place than I ever would have thought. 

My ideas are informed by communism, which means that we have resources that absolutely need to be shared equitably, and not to be exploited, but used to sustain people as they grow.

From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs”, that’s a fundamental premise in my approach. That is what distinguishes me from other candidates. And perhaps it’s just that I somehow see fairly clearly that we live in a class based society where a very small group profits from our resources and the rest of us are left to scramble as best we can. And we don’t have to do it that way, you know, a better world is possible.

The problem I see is that we just have very little time left. We’ve tinkered with the system as it is, I think, as much as we can. We have exhausted possibilities under capitalism, and this is why we’re plunging into crisis. 

If I have any advantage it is that I’m a historian. I’m always looking at these things as a historian. It astounds me that in 150 years, such a short period of time, we’ve moved from the beginning of industrial production based on mass extraction and mass production, and how quickly that has run its course. 

And if you were to chart the correlation between the increase in  production and increasing profits, and the damage that is being done to the climate, it tracks almost completely. There is no question that  this is a function of industrial production, and more specifically, of capitalism

We have at least one example of a of a socialist state that actually has confronted this kind of a crisis and survived it. And this was Cuba in the 1990s. So there is a possibility for creative and successful human response. But I don’t believe that we can manage it any longer within the confines of a system that is committed to profit first and foremost, profit above the interests of people, profit above nature. 

What is going on in rural Nova Scotia in terms of outmigration, an aging population, and similar woes? What needs to be done to turn that around?

We’re just another resource, and that resource is labour power. People are being pulled out of their communities to somewhere else, whether that’s to Halifax, or whether it’s further away. People become desperate enough when conditions continue to deteriorate. That’s what we’re witnessing here. 

And then again, (in Antigonish) we’re relatively lucky, we benefit from the presence of a university as well as hospital. This really does drive employment in Antigonish, but this too has some very negative features that come along with it. We live in or in a rental market which has been completely captured by absentee landlords. The price of real estate here is distorted beyond belief, because most of the housing stock is in the hands of absentee landlords. And they will charge $400 to $600 for a room. They subdivide houses to get more rooms out of it. And that in turn artificially inflates the price of all the real estate around it. 

Now low income people, working class people, are not living in town any longer, We’re surrounded by communities of of trailer parks, right outside of the town limits, because property taxes are cheaper in the county, and land is cheaper in the county. They’re literally being pushed out of town by the cost of real estate. 

The cutbacks to the hospital will also become a problem, We have a health care system which is under attack. I am quite certain that the intention is to deliberately cause a crisis in the healthcare system so that it can be privatized, broken up and sold off. There’s a P3 that’s going up in Sydney. That’s the beginning of it. That’s going to be another blow to the economy here. 

And the same thing with the university. It boggles my mind that students are paying are paying $8,000 or $9,000 a year for an education at StFX. Meanwhile, the support workforce at StFX was much larger when I arrived. Now many of the positions are part time or casual. So they get away with paying them less, and offering fewer benefits. 

This pushes the standard of living down even further in Antigonish. But we’re fortunate. We have these problems here in Antigonish, but we’re still better off then say New Glasgow, Pictou, or Stellarton.

It’s no wonder that the union for Northern pulp, for example, is fighting as hard as they can, I think wrongly, to keep the mill open. Because closing it down is going to lead to job losses and poverty for a lot of people. And it is a horrible choice to have to make. What they do want is jobs with good wages and benefits. What I don’t understand is why a solution can’t be reached where you transition those workers out of that workplace, without any loss of pay or benefits. 

First of all, compensate the residents of Pictou Landing. They have borne the worst of it. That mill has destroyed human bodies, it has destroyed the environment in the community and beyond, into Pictou County itself. 

There’s no question that the mill needs to be closed. Unless there are plans for the transition, then we’re not really taking climate change seriously. Northern Pulp is a flashpoint for the whole thing. If the McNeil government had the slightest sense of decency they would be looking for a way to protect the citizens of that area rather than the interests of the owners of Northern Pulp, which is pretty much all they’re doing. 

People ask,so what’s the alternatives? I don’t have all the answers, but I know where we can start. And one place is by investing money back into rural Nova Scotia.  

One thing that we absolutely need is a stable and affordable power grid across this province. Our power lines fall down at even the hint of a storm now. All because Nova Scotia Power does not want to invest that kind of money into its infrastructure, they will run it to the ground first. Fixing this begins with expropriating Nova Scotia Power and put it back into the public domain. Then all the work that needs to make the power lines more stable will generate jobs in rural areas.

Another thing, is mass transportation. We have everybody chained to their cars, because they can’t rely on a bus service and there is no passenger rail. And some people do not have cars. Transit may or may not operate at a loss, but we have an obligation to provide that to people. It needs to run regularly, and it needs to run not just from Sydney to Halifax. We could run a carbon neutral train passenger service as well. 

So it’s possible to provide affordable mass public transportation, but we don’t have it. It’s a crying need. Building the infrastructure, maintaining the infrastructure and operating it would create jobs. 

The school system is really challenged. The cutbacks that are made to education are just truly outrageous. We need more teachers, we have teachers who need jobs, why don’t we employ them and employ them in rural Nova Scotia? 

Then there is promotion of culture. One of the things that I really love, and that surprised me a lot when I first moved here, was this powerful do it yourself mentality in this community. I’m sure it exists elsewhere as well. If something is lacking, people find ways to make it happen.

How you would deal with the deep poverty that exists in rural Nova Scotia. 

Most people in this riding live within a few dollars of financial disaster every month, and other people, often people on welfare, actually live in that state of financial disaster constantly. It breaks people mentally and physically. It’s just so hard to bear, and children often bear the worst.

So what can we do? Well, we must guarantee food security. We need to start thinking about changing the way we produce food in order to make it easier, and more profitable to a degree, for small producers to survive here. 

That’s the production side, then there’s the distribution side. In recent years, since I got here, it’s Loblaws and Sobeys who run the show here. They get to decide what foods come in, and how much they’re going to charge for it. 

We need to take control over how food is produced, how it is distributed, and what it costs to consume. People need to have a guaranteed basic supply of healthy food. People have to eat.

The second thing to do is to build social housing throughout rural Nova Scotia that keeps rents low. And not just housing that’s run by some government agency. It has to be run on a democratic basis, so that tenants themselves decide. In that sense we’re talking about a collective ownership, that gives people some control and power over their lives. That’s one of the things that’s missing in a lot of what we do. 

Across the country we’re calling for a million units of social housing to be built. We are in a serious housing crisis. We must have an effective tenancy act, especially one that has an effective mechanism for filing complaints against landlords who are violating the law. I would also like to see rent control reintroduced. 

It’s also about the income you earn, which is not enough. We need a living wage, which I’m pretty sure is around the $20 an hour mark. We should be guaranteeing people a living wage and control their major expenses, which include transportation, housing, and food on your table, and your utilities. If that was a unified, integrated program for reform in this province, then we would strike a mortal blow against poverty here.

Is there anything else? Anything I should have asked you about? 

Well, the only other thing I would say is that one of the issues that I’m very concerned about are the circumstances faced by First Nations people and the tendency of governments, both provincial and federal to run roughshod over their rights. 

I am thinking of Alton Gas and Pictou Landing as just two examples. I have come to the conclusion that we cannot solve the climate crisis without respecting the rights of Indigenous communities in Canada, the two go hand in hand. 

The other issue is about racism, pure and simple. Sometimes it’s like a polite racism here, but it’s deep. There are lots of people of color in his community, but they’re hidden away. This is a matter of racism, pure and simple. 

The final issue is ensuring that the rights of LGBTQ people are protected and respected. Partly because this is personal, and partly because through my advocacy for LGBTQ people I have acquired a better understanding of how prejudice and discrimination affects other communities here as well. 

We cannot meaningfully talk about creating a just society or a society where people get a fair shot when we’re still being afflicted by that kind of hatred. 

See also: Betsy MacDonald: I am running to be a voice for people who want to protect the health of their communities

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The post Central Nova Communist candidate Chris Frazer: If we don’t do something bold and meaningful it may end up being too late for us appeared first on Nova Scotia Advocate.

Betsy is a mother and a musician. Over the years she has been involved in many social justice campaigns on poverty reduction, food security, health, gender and violence prevention, community gardening and youth leadership.

We talked with Betsy about Boat Harbour, poverty, climate change, how activism shapes her views, and what to do about the many challenges people face in rural Nova Scotia.

I know that you have roots in community activism. I was wondering how running in a federal election fits in with that experience, and also how that affects how you view the job description of a Member of Parliament?

I’ve been involved in feminists work at the community level, as well as work around poverty reduction, economic justice, and sustainability. For me, at the end of the day, it’s about people, whether you’re looking at policies that are made close to the ground, or in Ottawa. It’s about people’s struggles, the health of our communities and the well being of our planet. Being in federal politics means that you’re working at a bigger picture level, but it’s all connected.

Most of my activist work has been at the grassroots level. And even in my work with the Nova Scotia NDP caucus I’m very much working at the community level in my outreach role. So I spent a good deal of my time in communities in rural and small town Nova Scotia, talking with people about their challenges and what they would like to see from the politicians who represent them.

Are you running to win? 

Absolutely, I am definitely running to win. I think the people of my riding deserve better representation, and a genuine progressive voice in Ottawa. There are issues that really matter in this federal election, such as the climate crisis, such as the struggles of working people and the state of our healthcare system. The three things that I consider the planks of our platform are climate action, health care, and affordability. 

What’s your analysis in terms of  the general malaise in rural Nova Scotia, manifesting as out-migration, an aging population, the decrease in services? 

Rural people have by and large been overlooked when it comes to economic policy. We’ve seen that that the so called trickle down economics does not work for most ordinary people. And certainly rural communities have had not seen the benefit of policies aimed at attracting, for lack of a better name, big business.

We’ve seen policies aimed at so called economic growth that has in fact helped those at the top get better off, at the expense of our services, at the expense of our healthcare system, our education system and other social programs.

The current model of economic development is very urban-centric. My view of how we move forward economically in a place like Central Nova, is to look at the moment we find ourselves in with the climate crisis. This is a moment that requires us to rethink how we do business. Because business as usual, is killing the planet and hurting our people.

We need to not only invest in different kinds of jobs, different kinds of industries, but also we need to democratize our economy, we need an economy where, where workers have a voice, and where communities have a voice. An economy that focuses on small business, and things like local food production. This is a chance for us to do things differently.

What little industry there is In rural Nova Scotia is for a large part based on resource extraction. And then right away, you’re into this very controversial area, because then you you start talking about  things like clear cutting, gold mining, which I think is imminent in your neck of the woods. How would you move away from that?  

It isn’t that large businesses don’t have a place in our economy. But if companies want to do business in Nova Scotia, they need to be held to the highest possible environmental standards. And they need to treat workers well. We have some of the lowest wages in the country. We have forests that are being clear cut at an alarming rate. And we have communities saying no to things like gold mining and fracking.

As an NDP candidate, part of my role is to be a voice for people who want to protect the health of their communities and want to protect the environment. Right now there’s a power imbalance. And people who would like to see business conducted in a way that’s sustainable and fair do not necessarily have a partner in government. 

What are your thoughts about poverty in rural NS, recognizing that a lot of the issues actually are under provincial jurisdiction, but that the feds are still big players in these issues. 

In rural Nova Scotia a lot of people are self employed or precariously employed. There’s quite a warm reception of our platform around pharmacare and dental care, because there are a lot of people without coverage, or people who are paying for coverage for their drug plans and their dental care. It is forcing people to make hard choices like, do they take their required doses of medication, or do they split their pills  to save on the cost? Sometimes people are choosing between being purchasing their meds or buying groceries. People are struggling with the cost of housing, Internet and phone bills, and childcare. 

Rural transportation a big issue in rural Nova Scotia and small towns as well. That’s pushing some people out of communities. This is another area where, where if, if my party was in a position to implement our plan for climate action and good jobs, there would be an emphasis on creating sustainable community transit systems.  There’s some to some good work being done, for instance, CHAD Transit in Pictou County and Antigonish Community Transit. But of course the services could be better and offered to more people. 

What about Boat Harbour?

My position from the get go has been no pipe in the Strait and no extension to the Boat Harbour deadline. 

What’s frustrating right now is how Liberal politicians at both levels are leaving the door open in terms of an extension to the legislated deadline. This is disrespectful to the community of Pictou Landing First Nation. Chief Andrea Paul, has been very clear that she will not entertain an extension to the deadline. At the end of the day, this is about doing what’s right for the people and doing what’s right for the planet.

(This ambiguity) is also deeply unfair to the workers at the mill and to the broader workforce affected by a possible mill closure. So my position, and my party’s position is that the pensions of mill workers need to be protected, and that there need to be supports for workers through the transition, including things like access to EI.

What is concerning, when you look at the state of forestry, in Nova Scotia is, is the rate of clear cutting. Our forests are being depleted in a way that’s unsustainable. And we have the Lahey report out now, which offers a different approach. It provides a vision that would build on sustainable forestry practices that are already taking place in the province. 

Although there’s no question that a mill closure would have a significant impact on forestry and and would require significant adjustments, when you look at the big picture of what’s happening to our planet with with the climate crisis, we know we need to do things differently. But there should certainly be support for the forestry sector to get through this transition.

Transitions are hard. And transitions require leadership. But there is light at the end of the tunnel.

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The Atlantic International Film Festival (AIFF), also known as FIN, is giving us that nudge this year. They are running the strongest lineup of local documentaries I’ve seen in awhile. Films like There’s Something in the Water, The Mill, and Conviction.  

There’s Something in the Water, directed by Ellen Page and Ian Daniel and based on the book of the same name by Dr. Ingrid Waldron, examines not only the effects of Nova Scotia’s racist government policies that allowed dumps in Black and Indigenous communities, but it illustrates how those communities are fighting back.

The Mill, written and directed by David Craig, and based on Joan Baxter’s excellent book of the same name, is about the pulp mill in Pictou County, Nova Scotia that has pumped its dirty effluent into Boat Harbour (Pictou Landing First Nation territory) for 53 years. With the January 2020 deadline to discontinue this practice looming, the mill is predictably asking for an extension. The government is so far refusing. The fishers, Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike, are vowing to continue fighting to keep pipes out of the waters.

See also: A message from Chief Andrea Paul: The forever argument of economy and jobs

As one community activist said, “Humans have figured out how to alter DNA, surely we can figure out how to dispense with effluent without dumping it into our waters.” 

Conviction, written and directed by Nance Ackerman, Ariella Pahlke, and Teresa Macinnes, is a film about marginalized women incarcerated at the Burnside jail in Halifax, though it could be a prison anywhere in Canada. The women are in prison, not because that’s what they or society needs, but because there are no other supports available for those dealing with mental illness, addiction issues, childhood abuse, poverty. 

The film is a collaboration between the filmmakers and the women who were asked to think big and answer the question, “what would have made a difference in your lives to keep you out of prison and what might be done now?” 

With help from long-time prisoners’ rights advocate and now Senator, Kim Pate, and the Elizabeth Fry Society, among others, the women have come up with a viable solution to replace prison with recovery in community. 

Think about that. Women with every societal strike against them are doing more than our elected officials to give us all livable thriving communities. As one viewer said, “This film is everything.”

See also: Inside Canada’s East Coast prisons (photos)

What these films show us is that the people of Nova Scotia are visionaries, the provincial and municipal politicians … not so much. The money is there. We could take a small fraction of the billions currently being used to incarcerate people or wasted on the still empty brand spanking new hotel at the Nova Centre. The list goes on and on. We could take that money and clean up the toxic waste dumps. We could fund From the Ground Up, the community proposed in Conviction to replace incarceration.

Elections are coming for all levels of government —  the feds next month, provincial and municipal next year. We can make a difference. These films give us hope, but the people on the line need us to do our part. That could be as simple as contacting our elected officials. Especially in an election year, it’s critical to let them know how we feel. 

Note: An earlier version of this review incorrectly stated that Conviction was about women incarcerated at the Nova Institution for Women in Truro. Although some of these women contributed, the women featured in the documentary were incarcerated at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth (also known as the Burnside jail).

See also: Weekend video: Four feet up

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The post Joanne Bealy: Three great documentaries at FIN inspire hope and desire for change appeared first on Nova Scotia Advocate.