Enbridge protester strong-armed
Written by Sonja Ostertag
Prince George
Friday, 31 July 2009
I am a student at UNBC and I attended the Enbridge-sponsored World Baseball Challenge in Prince George on July 25 and 26 to protest the proposed Enbridge pipeline and tanker project.
The peaceful and legal protest was organized by the Dogwood Initiative and our goal was to inform baseball fans that Enbridge is planning to build a pipeline in northern B.C. that could lead to oil spills on the B.C. coast.
I was dismayed by the reaction of the Enbridge Baseball Challenge’s organizers to our peaceful protest. I felt intimidated and frightened by their reactions, especially when one male organizer who was twice my size, grabbed my arm when I tried to peacefully distribute non-threatening informative materials. It was scary to have this experience - I had only asked the woman sitting next to me if she wanted a baseball card with the picture of a fishing guide on it, but the organizer must have felt very threatened by this act to have reacted in such an aggressive and illegal manner.
We as Canadians have the charter-protected right to peaceful assembly and freedom of speech. I feel that it is important that during events sponsored by Enbridge that people are not lured into only associating the name Enbridge with the fun event that they attended, but also recognize that Enbridge is a pipeline company with a plan to build a pipeline across northern B.C. from the tar sands to the coast. The environmental and social impacts from this pipeline would be numerous... from possible oil spills, which would destroy the livelihoods of fishermen and women, to the expansion of the tar sands in Alberta.
I hope that our future protests against the proposed Enbridge pipeline are met with more respect and understanding in Prince George and in other communities in northern B.C.
I want to thank the Dogwood Initiative for organizing British Columbians to protest the Enbridge Gateway pipeline along with drawing attention to many other important issues for the residents of this wonderful province.
Sonja Ostertag
Prince George
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/20090731205568/opinion/letters/enbrid...
