Neo-Nazi supporters meet their match

> Coalition Against Bigotry Pacific organizes local antifascist rally

Aaron Guillen Staff Reporter

fter many neo-Nazi flyers were

ound throughout Abbotsford and Richmond neighbourhoods in the past few months, propaganda has made its way into New Westminster. The posters included racist neo-Nazi messages, with a strong visual image showing what seems to be terrorists pointing their guns at a group of soldiers with neo- Nazi swastikas displayed on their arms. These posters are encouraging passerby’s to “Join us before they stomp you.”

At the bottom of the poster sits an ominous website link, where visitors will find what seems to be a mission statement that says: “Once under serious attack by [the police], of course, consider yourself a marked individual and proceed to kill as many of them as you can.” This shocking appearance of bigotry has caused an uproar across the Lower Mainland, most recently in late January.

On January 29, an anti-fascist rally took place in New Westminster's downtown area (not to be confused with New Westminster MLA Judy Darcy’s rally earlier that week). The rally was organized by Imtiaz Popat, head of

the Coalition Against Bigotry Pacific (CABP). CABP labels themselves as a group of individuals, organizations, and communities against bigotry and white supremacy in the Pacific Northwest. CABP supporters marched alongside members of Vancouver Antifa, Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), the Public Service

Image via Amanda Siebert, straight.com

Alliance of Canada, and the Canada Employment and Immigration Union. The marchers totalled over 100 individuals. “People think this is a joke, it’s not,’ said Popat to the New Westminster Record. “There’s a whole group of neo- Nazi fascist groups that have been organizing for a long time and the rise of

Indigenous groups concerned about LNG pipeline project

> SFU professor weighs in on the pipeline project

Manon Busseron The Peak

he federal cabinet has approved an $11.4 billion pipeline project

that would transport natural gas over goo kilometres from northern British Columbia to the Prince Rupert area. The Pacific NorthWest LNG project is backed by the giant Malaysian company Petronas.

Environmentalists and First Nations have expressed their concern regarding the environmental damages that could be caused by the pipeline. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency concluded that the project would provoke a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to climate change. The terminal could also threaten wildlife, especially harbour porpoises and the salmon in the Skeena river estuary.

Pacific NorthWest LNG responded that the pipeline and terminal would reduce greenhouse emissions from Asian coal-fired plants. Moreover, the project’s approval has been submitted to an array of 190 conditions meant to reduce its environmental consequences, including a cap on greenhouse gas emissions that would cut them to “4.3 millions tonnes per year, 900,000 tonnes less than what had initially been proposed by the proponent,” according to The Globe and Mail.

Environmentalists argue that despite this measure, the project is inconsistent with Canada’s climate commitments.

First Nations and experts warn that

the terminal would likely harm the salmon population. Associate Professor at Simon Fraser University’s School of Resource and Environmental Management Jonathan Moore and his graduate students conducted collaborative research with First Nations’ fisheries programs.

In an email to The Peak, Moore described their findings. They found out that the area affected by the terminal “is

Image via Beacon Energy News

particularly important to young salmon. [...] We also know from previous research that salmon populations generally have much lower survival when estuaries have more industrial development. Thus, we know that salmon are sensitive to industrial development in estuaries and we know that Pacific NorthWest LNG is proposed for a particularly risky location.” Many aboriginal leaders have said

Donald Trump has given them the green light to start doing this again. This is our hood, and we need to say something.” The Other Press briefly spoke with Popat about what took place at the rally. According to him, there were fascists amongst the crowd who posted on their event page after. Notably, some people from the UBC Free Speech Club made an appearance to support Trump. Though a spotlight has been placed on these recent events, Popat finds it surprising that the word has still yet to be spread about neo-Nazi propaganda on local soil. “(Many have been] shocked. A lot of people didn’t know this had happened. But many people came from New West and elsewhere [to show support], said Popat. “We have been concerned that these fascists would kill someone because it’s not an important issue for people. Now someone has killed six people while [they were] praying in Quebec City. Last Sunday, we had a vigil in Vancouver in solidarity with the Muslim Community.” Popat and CABP look to the future with hope that their stance against bigotry will resonate across the Lower Mainland, ensuring that violent acts like what happened in Quebec will not make its way into their neighbourhood anytime soon.

that they were not consulted and that their concerns have been ignored by the company, although the company said that it has consulted with five Tsimshian First Nations since 2012 regarding

the project. Tensions have emerged among First Nations since some have signed agreements with the company to benefit from the pipeline, whereas others, such as the Gitanyow, are still opposed to the project, and claim that they have not been consulted by the BC government.

Other First Nations have expressed concern about the salmon population, on which they have relied upon “heavily for thousands of years,” stated Moore, based on previous archeological study. In addition to harming the species, First Nations claim that the project also ignores their fishing rights on their traditional lands.

Given the impasse, First Nations have launched four challenges so far before the Federal Court, accusing the government of ignoring their demands by approving the project without their agreement.

According to some aboriginal leaders, this case illustrates the damaged relations between First Nations and the Canadian government. In an article from DeSmog Canada, Glen Williams, Chief and negotiator for the Gitanyow, declared that “Justin Trudeau promised a new relationship with Indigenous communities.

“Instead, he added insult to injury by ignoring us, and giving the green light to a project that will destroy our way of life.”