As I mention in my "first smudge" posting, this past Saturday I participated in a
workshop on the topic of accomplishing change through the power of
community. In addition to the experience of the smudge, and the direct
instruction on the focal topic, I also learned some disturbing
information about difficulties people have encountered in attempting to
implement their basic human right of access to information. I felt this
was important to bring out but did not want to detract from the
experience of the smudge, and so am posting on this topic separately.
The right to information is essential in the functioning of a democracy, how can people possibly make decisions if they are not permitted access to information relevant to those decisions? Here in Canada we have laws which are supposed to be designed to protect this right, but lately I have been noticing at the federal level a disturbing trend towards a weakening, or even outright countering, of these laws. At the workshop yesterday some personal experiences were shared which demonstrate an infringement of the right to information at an individual everyday person level, even outside of the events at the federal level. Together these are enough to prompt me to put out a posting on what I have seen that I find disturbing so that others, particularly my fellow Canadians who may be relaxing in our past history, can perhaps start to look around, contemplate what is important to them in the fabric of our country, and, perhaps, exercise their voice in the protection of that.
At the federal level there has been a disturbing trend towards silencing those considered experts in various fields. Specifically the federal government has instituted policies to prevent our scientists and librarians from speaking out. For the scientists this has come about with restrictions to speaking with media about the results of their research, for the librarians, well, I'm not really sure what they're not allowed to speak about, but the federal government apparently feels that they know something the public should not since the librarians are no longer permitted to speak without prior approval with the public in the capacity of federal librarian. Here are some relevant news articles on these two demographics and their silencing by the federal government.... BBC News - Muzzling of Canadian Scientists , The David Suzuki Foundation - Silencing the Fisheries Scientist, National Post - Muzzling of Federal Librarians . These restrictions to transfer of information are harmful to a democracy, without information the populace can not make informed decisions, and they are easily manipulated by any personal agendas of those in charge. This is most easily seen right now in the issue of the Enbridge pipeline currently undergoing the modified approval process. This pipeline is slated to run from northern Alberta through northern British Columbia to a terminus in Kitimat, British Columbia, where the bitumen will be transferred to tanker ships for transport through the hazardous channels between Kitimat and the open ocean on its way to China. The pipeline route passes through many watersheds in northern B.C., as well as some generally inaccessible countryside. By muzzling the scientists the government is able to fairly easily keep a lid on the potential dangers of the pipeline, the realities of the likely success of any cleanups from ruptures and leaks, and the nature of the environment which the pipeline is slated to pass through. The area is sparsely populated, so very few people would know any of this from first hand experience. Furthermore, as a result of the general muzzling of our federal scientists, the public is likely generally unaware of the dangers that already exist to the local, and not so local in terms of the salmon, wildlife, and the tentative footing on which their existence already stands, even without increased danger from new intrusions into their territory. All of this is information needed by the constituents of a democracy in order for the democracy to function as a real democracy, and it is frightening that access to it is being so actively blocked, and that we are allowing this.
Another worrisome move by the federal government is the expansion of the definition of "terrorism" to include peaceful activity. According to this article by The Guardian, "Canada's environmental activists seen as "threat to national security" ", activities such as protests, and even simple opposition, to activities of the petroleum industry are now viewed as attacks on national security, allowing them, and the people involved, to be treated as threats, which would include silencing and arrest. It hardly seems in line with freedom of speech, a human right included in our Canadian constitution, to be able to arrest someone for stating they disagree with, say, fracking, the drilling of a sour gas well close to their property, or the construction of a pipeline. Or to be able to label a person a threat to national security simply because they disagree with the actions of commercial organizations. Free speech is essential for the progress of a country, I can not see how preventing such when it is not assaulting anyone else can have as its purpose anything other than an attempt to exert control over the information allowed to enter the public sphere.
Next is the lack of transparency being increasingly evidenced in our federal processes. The free trade agreement with China, FIPA, is an excellent example. This is an extremely important and impactful agreement, and yet it is being pushed through our government with no debate. Debate is important for educating the populace as well as for providing thorough evaluation of an issue, thankfully we do have watchdogs keeping an eye on things so some information has gotten out to the public, but it should not have been necessary for it to happen in this fashion.
Those are some disturbing developments at the federal level in terms of access to information.... the silencing of several groups of people in position to convey information.... scientists, librarians, and activists, as well as the circumventing of processes designed not only to allow for full evaluation of impactful changes to our country, but also to allow for education of the populace. On a more individual level, I heard yesterday of experiences that should not be happening in a "free" country. These occurred in the arena of individuals trying to gather information about development by a petroleum company, in particular fracking on their land. In their efforts to understand potential dangers with the development, these individuals were subjected to threats of job loss. They were also denied access to what was supposed to be public information, such as exactly what was proposed to be done, and how it would be accomplished. The medical doctor's requests for the component listing of the fracking fluid were never answered. And three unarmed women standing holding hands across a road were arrested for trespassing, on their own land, and then later charged with intimidation, because apparently three women standing in a road is incredibly intimidating to a bunch of oilfield workers in their trucks.
These are disturbing trends. I encourage any reading this to look into them further, and form your own opinions. Or, at the very least, take a look around and notice what is going on. Stand up for our rights. We have a wonderful country, let's keep it that way.
The right to information is essential in the functioning of a democracy, how can people possibly make decisions if they are not permitted access to information relevant to those decisions? Here in Canada we have laws which are supposed to be designed to protect this right, but lately I have been noticing at the federal level a disturbing trend towards a weakening, or even outright countering, of these laws. At the workshop yesterday some personal experiences were shared which demonstrate an infringement of the right to information at an individual everyday person level, even outside of the events at the federal level. Together these are enough to prompt me to put out a posting on what I have seen that I find disturbing so that others, particularly my fellow Canadians who may be relaxing in our past history, can perhaps start to look around, contemplate what is important to them in the fabric of our country, and, perhaps, exercise their voice in the protection of that.
At the federal level there has been a disturbing trend towards silencing those considered experts in various fields. Specifically the federal government has instituted policies to prevent our scientists and librarians from speaking out. For the scientists this has come about with restrictions to speaking with media about the results of their research, for the librarians, well, I'm not really sure what they're not allowed to speak about, but the federal government apparently feels that they know something the public should not since the librarians are no longer permitted to speak without prior approval with the public in the capacity of federal librarian. Here are some relevant news articles on these two demographics and their silencing by the federal government.... BBC News - Muzzling of Canadian Scientists , The David Suzuki Foundation - Silencing the Fisheries Scientist, National Post - Muzzling of Federal Librarians . These restrictions to transfer of information are harmful to a democracy, without information the populace can not make informed decisions, and they are easily manipulated by any personal agendas of those in charge. This is most easily seen right now in the issue of the Enbridge pipeline currently undergoing the modified approval process. This pipeline is slated to run from northern Alberta through northern British Columbia to a terminus in Kitimat, British Columbia, where the bitumen will be transferred to tanker ships for transport through the hazardous channels between Kitimat and the open ocean on its way to China. The pipeline route passes through many watersheds in northern B.C., as well as some generally inaccessible countryside. By muzzling the scientists the government is able to fairly easily keep a lid on the potential dangers of the pipeline, the realities of the likely success of any cleanups from ruptures and leaks, and the nature of the environment which the pipeline is slated to pass through. The area is sparsely populated, so very few people would know any of this from first hand experience. Furthermore, as a result of the general muzzling of our federal scientists, the public is likely generally unaware of the dangers that already exist to the local, and not so local in terms of the salmon, wildlife, and the tentative footing on which their existence already stands, even without increased danger from new intrusions into their territory. All of this is information needed by the constituents of a democracy in order for the democracy to function as a real democracy, and it is frightening that access to it is being so actively blocked, and that we are allowing this.
Another worrisome move by the federal government is the expansion of the definition of "terrorism" to include peaceful activity. According to this article by The Guardian, "Canada's environmental activists seen as "threat to national security" ", activities such as protests, and even simple opposition, to activities of the petroleum industry are now viewed as attacks on national security, allowing them, and the people involved, to be treated as threats, which would include silencing and arrest. It hardly seems in line with freedom of speech, a human right included in our Canadian constitution, to be able to arrest someone for stating they disagree with, say, fracking, the drilling of a sour gas well close to their property, or the construction of a pipeline. Or to be able to label a person a threat to national security simply because they disagree with the actions of commercial organizations. Free speech is essential for the progress of a country, I can not see how preventing such when it is not assaulting anyone else can have as its purpose anything other than an attempt to exert control over the information allowed to enter the public sphere.
Next is the lack of transparency being increasingly evidenced in our federal processes. The free trade agreement with China, FIPA, is an excellent example. This is an extremely important and impactful agreement, and yet it is being pushed through our government with no debate. Debate is important for educating the populace as well as for providing thorough evaluation of an issue, thankfully we do have watchdogs keeping an eye on things so some information has gotten out to the public, but it should not have been necessary for it to happen in this fashion.
Those are some disturbing developments at the federal level in terms of access to information.... the silencing of several groups of people in position to convey information.... scientists, librarians, and activists, as well as the circumventing of processes designed not only to allow for full evaluation of impactful changes to our country, but also to allow for education of the populace. On a more individual level, I heard yesterday of experiences that should not be happening in a "free" country. These occurred in the arena of individuals trying to gather information about development by a petroleum company, in particular fracking on their land. In their efforts to understand potential dangers with the development, these individuals were subjected to threats of job loss. They were also denied access to what was supposed to be public information, such as exactly what was proposed to be done, and how it would be accomplished. The medical doctor's requests for the component listing of the fracking fluid were never answered. And three unarmed women standing holding hands across a road were arrested for trespassing, on their own land, and then later charged with intimidation, because apparently three women standing in a road is incredibly intimidating to a bunch of oilfield workers in their trucks.
These are disturbing trends. I encourage any reading this to look into them further, and form your own opinions. Or, at the very least, take a look around and notice what is going on. Stand up for our rights. We have a wonderful country, let's keep it that way.
