What: Screenings of Groundswell UVIC
   with presentation by Raincoast's Brian Falconer
Where: University of Victoria (UVIC) Harry Hickman Building (HHB) 105
How much: Admission by donation!
How: Reserve a seat online: book at www.GroundswellUVIC.eventbrite.com
Link: Facebook event

Deets: With a decision on Enbridge’s Northern Gateway due in weeks, now is a critical time to rally for our coast. Join Raincoast whose Captain Brian Falconer will provide a behind the scenes look at the making of (the movie) Groundswell and expert insight on the risk tankers pose. This will be followed by the movie itself and a discussion about what we can do to keep BC's coast oil-free.
See the trailer at: Groundswell- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wem5Zy_dveE

This morning in the Times Colonist, Thomas Gunton, director of the resource and environmental planning program at SFU and for BC deputy minister of Environment, wrote a succinct article outlining why the 5 conditions outlined by BC Premier Christy Clark to open BC to diluted-bitumen pipelines and oil tanker traffic could never adequately be met. The major eye-opener for me was that "Enbridge has set up a limited-partnership company to ship oil that fully exonerates Enbridge from liability" for any damages due to an oil-spill that surpass $1 billion. The expected cost of a partial cleanup are around $9.6 billion leaving BC taxpayers on the hook for the difference. And that's without taking into account the environmental devastation.
Forget it! We stand strong in opposition to such lunacy!
Link: Pipeline agreement is not in B.C's interest

On the left: A spirit bear, the unofficial mascot for The Great Bear Rainforest and pipeline protestor at the Defend our Climate, Defend our Communities National Day of Action
Photo:  Andrew Murgatroyd

On Saturday, around 1000 people braved the biting wind and intermittent rain at Clover Point in Victoria BC to protest oil pipeline development and tanker traffic in BC. They were joined by allies across the country who gathered in numbers to listen to the voices of concerned citizens, first nations, politicians, conservationists, and advocacy groups who stand in opposition to these short sighted and environmentally destructive practices. Despite the looming announcement from the Enbridge Northern Gateway Joint review panel, forward progress made between BC Premier Christy Clark and Alberta Premier Allison Redford on a deal for bitumen to be transported from the Alberta tar sands to Kitimat BC and off to lucrative Asian markets (quite a change in tune from Christy Clark's election platform.)

Photos: Andrew Murgatroyd