Stop
the Poisoning and Drowning of Labrador’s Indigenous and non-Indigenous People at Muskrat Falls
Background
The Trudeau government has invested a
whopping $9.2 billion into the lethal Muskrat Falls megadam in Labrador, which
threatens an act of cultural genocide via methylmercury poisoning and the
subsequent destruction of Indigenous cultures that have existed since time
immemorial.
An additional threat is catastrophic dam
break. Mass casualty flash floods are a real possibility since a significant
portion of the dam reservoir is slated to be held back by a natural formation
known as the North Spur, composed of quick clay (sand that liquefies and moves
under pressure). No proper, independent engineering study has been performed to
confirm the stability of the North Spur.
Like any number of megaprojects, all
Indigenous people affected have not provided free, prior and informed consent
to be poisoned and drowned by this megadam. Non-Indigenous residents also face
similar threats from a project that could eventually cost as much as $78
billion and bankrupt the province.
Why
We’re Fasting
To continue raising awareness and building resistance
to the dangerous Muskrat Falls project, we will fast for one or more days
during the months between summer solstice and fall equinox in support of the
Labrador Land Protectors and all those living at risk downstream of the Muskrat
Falls megadam.
We fast because we recognize that if
Muskrat Falls goes online without any changes, the largely Indigenous
downstream population will be faced with either going hungry or eating a
country food web dangerously poisoned by the neurotoxin methylmercury.
We fast because we recognize the hungering
for justice of people who have never been properly consulted about a project
that threatens their lives.
We fast because we recognize that all of us
undertaking small sacrifices together can help awaken the sleeping conscience
of a country that has yet to take seriously the calls to action of the Truth
and Reconciliation Commission and the cornerstone principles of the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The fast will continue from June 21 to
September 22 with three demands:
1.
Immediate implementation of the
original recommendations from a major 2016 Harvard University study (seconded
by an Independent Experts Advisory Committee) for full clearance of brush,
trees, and topsoil, along with the capping of the wetlands, at the Muskrat
Falls reservoir to prevent the bioaccumulation of the neurotoxin methylmercury.
2.
Immediate appointment of an
independent inquiry into the instability of the North Spur, because no study
has proven that it is secure enough to prevent a catastrophic dam break and
mass drowning.
3.
The federal government,
provincial government, and Nalcor (the crown corporation behind the dam) must
halt all work on the dam until they have received the free, prior and informed
consent of all Indigenous peoples affected by the dam, as well as that of non-Indigenous
downstream residents.
How
to participate in the Chain Fast
Pick a day (or a series of days) to fast
throughout the summer season and email your name and town to tasc@web.ca) A list of open dates is at http://homesnotbombs.blogspot.com/2018/05/muskrat-falls-solidarity-chain-fast.html .
Fast according to your preferred tradition
(a full 24 hours, liquids only, sun up to sun down).
The fast is open to anyone (you can join even if you are not living in the land known as Canada)
On the day they fast we encourage you to:
a.
take a selfie with a simple
message (ie, #ShutMuskratDown, Stop Poisoning of Labrador, Respect Indigenous
Rights, etc) and share that image via social media, explaining why you are
fasting on that day
b.
Write an email to Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, Stolen
Resources Minister Jim Carr, and Colonial Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett
federally, as well as Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Ball and Nalcor
CEO Stan Marshall (the crown corporation behind the project), to explain why you
are fasting and reinforce the three demands listed above. Emails are: pm@pm.gc.ca, Catherine.McKenna@parl.gc.ca,
Jim.Carr@parl.gc.ca, carolyn.bennett@parl.gc.ca,
dwightball@gov.nl.ca, info@nalcorenergy.com, tasc@web.ca
c.
Write a letter to a local
newspaper about why they are fasting, and perhaps link your fast to land and
water protection struggles taking place in your territory.
d.
If you have the time, make a
sign and vigil for an hour or two in public at a federal building or MP’s
office to mark your fast and the reasons behind it (we can provide flyers to
hand out).
Thanks for your support!
The Ontario-Muskrat Solidarity Coalition
Dates and Names and Towns of Fasters
Thursday, June 21:Tracey Sikoak Doherty, Happy Valley - Goose Bay
Friday, June 22: Graham Lettner, Black Diamond, Alberta
Saturday, June 23: Jim Learning, Happy Valley Goose Bay
Sunday, June 24: Matthew Behrens, Perth, ON, Sharon Ponniuk Gear, Labrador
Monday, June 25: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON
Tuesday, June 26: Cym Gomery, Montreal
Wednesday, June 27: Hannah Miller, Fortune, Newfoundland; Ottawa Raging Grannies
Thursday, June 28: Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay; Holly Wells and Jaryl Altomare, Effort, Pennsylvania
Friday, June 29: Graham Lettner, Black Diamond, Alberta
Saturday, June 30: Dianne Climenhage Happy Valley Goose Bay, Matthew Della Valle, St. John's, NL
Sunday, July 1: Liz Chisholm, Chilliwack, BC; King Kimbit, Ottawa
Monday, July 2: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON
Tuesday, July 3: Maureen McGahey, Perth, ON
Wednesday, July 4: Andrew Jehan and Elizabeth Wickwire, Toronto
Thursday, July 5: Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay; Holly Wells and Jaryl Altomare, Effort, Pennsylvania
Friday, July 6: Trycia Bazinet, Ottawa, Graham Lettner, Black Diamond, Alberta
Saturday, July 7: Sandra Streifel, Vancouver, BC
Sunday, July 8:Sunshine Messina, Lac Megantic, QC
Monday, July 9: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON
Tuesday, July 10: Jan Morrison, North West River, NL
Wednesday, July 11: krishna e bera, Algonquin Territory, Ottawa
Thursday, July 12: Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay; Holly Wells and Jaryl Altomare, Effort, Pennsylvania
Friday, July 13: Trycia Bazinet, Ottawa, Graham Lettner, Black Diamond, Alberta
Saturday, July 14: Peggy Skinner, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL; Angus Andersen, St. John's, NL
Sunday, July 15: Eldred Davis, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador
Monday, July 16: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON
Tuesday, July 17: Marjorie May Flowers, Happy Valley-Goose Bay
Wednesday, July 18: Emma Hebb, Halifax, NS; Members of Solidarity Halifax; Llewelyn Pritchard, UK, Angela Giles, Halifax; Chris White, Halifax
Thursday, July 19: Dorene Bernard and grassroots grandmothers at Treaty Truck House camp, Shubenacadie River, NS; Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Tamara Lorincz; Holly Wells and Jaryl Altomare, Effort, Pennsylvania; Mary Cowper-Smith, Charlottetown, PEI
Friday, July 20: Trycia Bazinet, Ottawa, Graham Lettner, Black Diamond, Alberta
Saturday, July 21: Peggy Skinner, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL
Sunday, July 22: Eldred Davis, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador
Monday, July 23: Murray Lumley, Toronto, O; King Kimbit, Ottawa
Tuesday, July 24: Tracey Sikoak Doherty, Happy Valley - Goose Bay; King Kimbit, Ottawa
Wednesday, July 25:Peggy Saunders- Blake, Happy Valley - Goose Bay; King Kimbit, Ottawa
Thursday, July 26: Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay; Holly Wells and Jaryl Altomare, Effort, Pennsylvania
Friday, July 27: Graham Lettner, Black Diamond, Alberta, Ria Heynen, Ottawa
Saturday, July 28: Peggy Skinner, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL; King Kimbit, Ottawa
Sunday, July 29: King Kimbit, Ottawa
Monday, July 30: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON; King Kimbit, Ottawa
Tuesday, July 31: Sunshine Messina, Lac Megantic, QC; King Kimbit, Ottawa
Wednesday, August 1: Jozef Konyari, Toronto, ON; King Kimbit, Ottawa; Deb Cowen, Toronto; Aytak Dibavar, Hamilton; Anna Dion, Ottawa
Thursday, August 2: Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay; Holly Wells and Jaryl Altomare, Effort, Pennsylvania; King Kimbit, Ottawa
Friday, August 3: Graham Lettner, Black Diamond, Alberta; King Kimbit, Ottawa
Saturday, August 4: Peggy Skinner, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL; King Kimbit, Ottawa
Saturday, August 4: Peggy Skinner, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL; King Kimbit, Ottawa
Sunday, August 5: mandy hiscocks, Guelph, ON; King Kimbit, Ottawa
Monday, August 6: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON; King Kimbit, Ottawa
Tuesday, August 7: Sandra Streifel, Vancouver, BC; King Kimbit, Ottawa; Sylvia Moore, Happy Valley-Goose Bay
Wednesday, August 8: King Kimbit, Ottawa
Thursday, August 9: Denise Cole, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, King Kimbit, Ottawa; Holly Wells and Jaryl Altomare, Effort, Pennsylvania
Friday, August 10: Graham Lettner, Black Diamond, Alberta; King Kimbit, Ottawa
Saturday, August 11: Tracey Sikoak Doherty, Happy Valley - Goose Bay, Ria Heynen, Ottawa,
King Kimbit, Ottawa
King Kimbit, Ottawa
Sunday, August 12: mandy hiscocks, Guelph, ON, King Kimbit, Ottawa
Monday, August 13: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON, King Kimbit, Ottawa
Tuesday, August 14: King Kimbit, Ottawa
Wednesday, August 15: Ria Heynen, Ottawa, King Kimbit, Ottawa
Thursday, August 16: Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Tamara Lorincz, Waterloo, ON; King Kimbit, Ottawa; Holly Wells and Jaryl Altomare, Effort, Pennsylvania
Thursday, August 16: Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Tamara Lorincz, Waterloo, ON; King Kimbit, Ottawa; Holly Wells and Jaryl Altomare, Effort, Pennsylvania
Friday, August 17: Graham Lettner, Black Diamond, Alberta; King Kimbit, Ottawa; Marjorie Flowers, Happy Valley Goose Bay, NL
Saturday, August 18: Peggy Skinner, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL; King Kimbit, Ottawa
Sunday, August 19: mandy hiscocks, Guelph, ON, King Kimbit, Ottawa
Monday, August 20: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON; King Kimbit, Ottawa
Tuesday, August 21: Cym Gomery, Montreal
Wednesday, August 22: Angela Giles, Halifax
Thursday, August 23: Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay; Holly Wells and Jaryl Altomare, Effort, Pennsylvania
Friday, August 24: Graham Lettner, Black Diamond, Alberta
Saturday, August 25: Peggy Skinner, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL
Sunday, August 26: mandy hiscocks, Guelph, ON
Monday, August 27: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON
Tuesday, August 28: Randal Hadland, Dawson Creek, BC
Wednesday, August 29:Ashley Grenstone, Ottawa, ON
Thursday, August 30: Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay; Holly Wells and Jaryl Altomare, Effort, Pennsylvania
Friday, August 31: Graham Lettner, Black Diamond, Alberta
Saturday, Sept. 1: Peggy Skinner, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL
Sunday, Sept. 2: Paul Bonnici, Aubrey Lauersdorf, Julia Longo, Stephen Pedroza, and Jennifer Standish (Members of the Workers Union at UNC, UE Local 150), Chapel Hill, NC
Monday, Sept. 3: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON
Tuesday, Sept. 4: Sarah Budgell, Halifax, NS
Wednesday, Sept. 5:Bonita Ford, Algonquin Territory, Perth, ON
Thursday, Sept. 6: Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay; Holly Wells and Jaryl Altomare, Effort, Pennsylvania
Friday, Sept. 7: Rabea Murtaza, Toronto, ON; Graham Lettner, Black Diamond, Alberta
Saturday, Sept. 8: Peggy Skinner, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL; Trycia Bazinet, Ottawa, ON
Sunday, Sept. 9: Katie Kinnear, Montreal; Matthew Della Valle, St. John's, NL;
Eldred Davis, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL
Sunday, Sept. 9: Katie Kinnear, Montreal; Matthew Della Valle, St. John's, NL;
Eldred Davis, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL
Monday, Sept. 10: Liza Holly Hancock, Woodville, Ontario,
Murray Lumley, Toronto, Deborah Ellis, Simcoe, ON
Murray Lumley, Toronto, Deborah Ellis, Simcoe, ON
Tuesday, Sept. 11: Eric Andersen Jr., Makkovik, Labrador
Wednesday, Sept. 12:Arianne DiNardo, Toronto, Ontario
Thursday, Sept. 13: Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay; Holly Wells and Jaryl Altomare, Effort, Pennsylvania
Friday, Sept. 14: Graham Lettner, Black Diamond, Alberta
Saturday, Sept. 15: Peggy Skinner, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL
Sunday, Sept. 16: Sara Langer-Smith, Kingston, ON; Eldred Davis, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL
Monday, Sept. 17: Murray Lumley, Toronto, ON
Tuesday, Sept. 18: Marcus Langer-Smith, Pasadena, NL
Wednesday, Sept. 19: Angela Giles, Halifax
Thursday, Sept. 20: Roberta Frampton Benefiel, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Brian Burch, Toronto; Holly Wells and Jaryl Altomare, Effort, Pennsylvania
Friday, Sept. 21: Linnéa Rowlatt, Ottawa, Graham Lettner, Black Diamond, Alberta; Brian Burch, Toronto
Saturday, Sept. 22: Peggy Skinner, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL; Bre Quantrill, St. John's, NL
