Wednesday 27 June 2012

Prince George

We found him.  Which is good because he and some other very lovely people hosted us for a couple of days, and we we able to cook, read, sleep and generally have a very chilled time and meet some awesome folk :).

Lots of them are part of the 3rd Ave Collective.  We spent the first afternoon we were in town here- looking through their fascinating radical library (all the harder to build so far away from major cities or radical publishers), chatting to people about politics, Canada and everything in between and drinking the free coffee.  They didn't even mind that we hadn't showered in a stinkily long time, or were very good at hiding it.  (Also there was a dog THAT WEIGHED MORE THAN ME.  I say dog, I mean bear in a dog suit - C).  It's great to find projects like this in places where you don't know anyone, and see how many fired-up and cool people there are trying to make good places and good things happen.

Some of the folk from the collective and others have a piece of land a bit of a drive west of Prince George- the direction we were headed anyway.  We were invited to stay there, though warned it might be raining.

The farm was 240 acres of gorgeous BC farmland and forest.



We walked round some of it, chilled in the beautiful old farm house, played with kids, chickens, horses and dogs (not quite all at the same time), and were inspired by the atmosphere and all the plans and projects.  We've talked about maybe doing this kind of co-op one day, and it was a great opportunity to chat to people who've started one coming from a similar place as we would be.  Thanks to everyone there (and in Prince George though you guys haven't seen the last of us yet) for sharing your home so generously.  Also, we got free handmade soap (the kind that smells like you want to eat it).  Hmm, maybe people DID notice the smell...

Unfortunately for lots of landowners in the local area, mining and fracking companies can never see a beautiful part of the world without wondering what lethal and destructive substances they can pump through it.  Some of you may already be aware of the Northern Gateway Pipeline plans (from Enbridge Inc) coming from the Alberta Tar Sands- click the link for a bit more general NGO-type info.  Whilst the anti-Enbridge campaign is gaining momentum, and its great to see and hear so much about (every lift we've had since Fort Nelson has had something to say about the pipeline, almost all negative), other companies are pursuing business as usual.  For which read aggressive, nasty, poisonous and often illegal (which since they get to draft the laws anyway is just sloppy- C).  The Pacific Trails Pipeline (mostly gas) is planning to build across properties near the one we stayed at, despite a clear message from the residents that they're not wanted.  The farms are surrounded by hundreds of miles of crown land, so whether or not you are in support of building the pipeline, it clearly doesn't have to go straight through residential, agricultural and much loved land.  This may be an attempt to get the locals to bear responsibility for any spills or accidents on their land, thanks to a change in the law this year.  Money offered in compensation is insultingly small, such as $2000, a pittance to any mining company and nothing compared to the value it removes from the land, particularly if the land now comes with the burden of cleaning up burst pipes and any resulting damage.

But from what we saw the locals in that area are not going to take this lying down, and are adamant they can change the route, and not interested in selling the land they've developed over decades for any amount of money.  People were really knowledgeable and motivated and for a moment we almost pitied the pipeline company.  But not quite.

On a less serious note, we also saw our first Grizzly a few days ago.  It was by the road munching merrily on dandelions.  A tourist had stopped their car right next to the bear, had gotten out of the vehicle and was edging towards it, while gawping through a video camera lens at it.  You could see the s**t-eating grin on the bear as dandelions were cascading around it 'Yes, that's it.  I only eat dandelions.  Come closer, a little closer.  Oh, those 9 inch claws? They're for friggin' dandelions.'  I'm glad the tourist is dead, I really am. - C

The only First Nation to have refused the PTP permission to build on their land (they're also one of the First Nations to have refused to sign a treaty with the British or Canadians, making it completely unceded territory), are the Wet'suwet'en from North Western BC.  We're lucky enough to be in touch with a sub chief of the clan and our next day's hitching took us to his house in Moricetown.

To get here we hitched further up Highway 16- which between Prince George and Prince Rupert is nicknamed The Highway of Tears, due to all the women who have disappeared hitch-hiking on it.  there's even billboards warning you not to, though the slogan 'Girls don't hitch-hike the Highway of Tears' can be read as less of an imperative and more like those old Yorkie Bar adverts about Man Things.  Ahem.  Anyway, you're pretty safe in a couple, and we'll update again in a few days to let you know if we were dragged into an unmarked van and haven't been seen since.

1 comment:

  1. You've really hit it on the head about hunting tourists. My step mom is out hunting right now and there are so many people out there just trying to get a moose so they have meat for their freezer for the winter. It's such a huge state, yet we can still struggle to get the food.

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