Dismantle the Bulldozers of Colonization
OLYMPICS = COLONIZATION
Colonialism is alive and well in Canada. Illegal settler governments continue to work towards the complete and utter conquest of unceded territory without recognizing Aboriginal title to the land. Colonialism continues to wear many faces across the provinces and country.
Provincial and federal governments work together to forcibly assimilate or extinguish indigenous populations in order to have unimpeded access to there traditional lands.
The 2010 Olympics are another example of how settlers interests are STILL being met at the expense of indigenous people's rights.Time and time again, federal and provincial governments have railroaded process in order to get what they want where private interests and big business are involved. The Olympics are no exception.
BC's ski slopes which effectively won the bid, have been a major component of the tourism industry for years. This has prompted the provincial government to the BC Resort Task Force whose 'primary objective is to promote resort development in British Columbia, through the identification and elimination of the barriers to investment, development and expansion.'
The BC government sees Aboriginal people as one of these barriers and will do anything to get through them and at their traditional territories.
The Olympics are the flagship of a corporate-driven movement towards complete takeover of unceded territory and destruction of natural resources. They are being hailed as a boost to BC's tourism economy and have spawned dozens of new applications for resort expansions. The real agenda for this further attack on indigenous people is not only tourism, but resources held in aboriginal land. By occupying as much of the province's area as possible, these business and settler governments are vying for the money that will come from resource development in the future. By settling legal precedents in their own favour and violently repressing indigenous people, they are ensuring that the land will be theirs for the taking over when they want it.
Skwekek'welt is apiece of Secwepemc(Shuswap) territory in the interior of BC that contains several mountains, including Mts TOD, MORTISEY and CAHILTY. There has been a ski resort on Mt.TOD since the early 1960's. For three decades it was a small facility, able to accommodate approx. 100 people. All of that changed when in mid-1992 the resort was purchased by Nippon Cable, a corporation from Japan. In 1993, the provincial NDP negotiated a development deal, with Nippon Cable without considering Aboriginal title to the land.
Nippon's expansion of the resort in Skwelkwek'welt has already had negative impacts on the land and its capacity to support Secwepemc people. Despite requests from elders to stop the destruction of their land, Nippon Cable is planning to go ahead with a further $70 million dollar expansion, which includes the construction of a mega-Delta Hotel. By the end of the planned expansion, the resort would accommodate 20,000 people.
There has never been a genuine consultation with the Shuswap nations and no recognition of their title to this land. The injustice taking place in Skwelkwek'welt is NOT an exception in BC, nor Canada. Similar expansions are being proposed at several BC resorts on unceded territory, including Jumbo Glacier Alpine Resort near Invermere and at Garibaldi Alpine Resorts near Squamish.
NO OLYMPICS
ON STOLEN NATIVE LAND !!!
Who is responsible? (besides us)
Land and Water British Columbia, INC.
This is a crown corporation whose responsibility is to 'optimize' the province's land and water resources. The company board of Directors of primarily made up of Deputy Ministers along with a couple of other government appointees.
When corporations need permits to expand their resort facilities, they apply to LWBC. The applications are reviewed, token shareholder consultations take place (this is the ONE opportunity to voice opposition) and assessments are done before the permits are approved or denied. The purpose of the LWBC Corporation os to keep this process at arm's length from the government, while still maintaining Crown control over the parcelling out of stolen land.
SANDY SANTORI and the BC Resort TASK FORCE
Sandy Santori was appointed as Minister of State for Resort Development on Jan. 26, 2004. He and his Task Force will be responsible for setting policy around the development of ski resorts in the province. The Task Force is made up of 8 members, one of whom is Aboriginal and 4 who are involved in resort management (including Darcy Alexander, Vice-President of Sun Peaks Resort).
The goals of the Task Force are (as stated in a letter to Santori from Gordon Cambell):
-increase the number of sites allocated for resort development on Crown land.
-Develop a consolidated inter-agency policy for resort development approvals including associated recreation permitting that encourages private sector investment across British Columbia.
George Abbott, Minister of Sustainable Resource Management
Overseeing all of this is the Minister of Sustainable Resource Management, George Abbott. His ministry is the sole shareholder in the LWBC inc. and is the umbrella for the BC Resort TASK FORCE.
This information copied from a pamphlet. For more information on how to get involved in the struggle for justice and the governments war on the poor, please contact:
