Canadians Show us our Collective Power!

Massive protests by indigenous Canadians and their allies have shut down many of the main railway lines across Canada – in solidarity with the resistance of the Wet’suwet’en Nation to an oil pipeline being built on their traditional land. The pipeline, which is being built by TransCanada Energy, will cost 4.7 billion U.S. dollars. That’s 4.7 billion! Imagine what that money could be used for instead! We could build renewable energy sources that wouldn’t pollute the environment and worsen the climate crisis or provide quality homes to indigenous people in Canada, who face an epidemic of poor housing. Of course, none of that would be as profitable as building an oil pipeline, no matter what the Wet’suwet’en people think. The Prime Minister of Canada – Justin Trudeau – called for a peaceful resolution to the protests based on “dialogue and mutual respect”. If Trudeau really cared about a peaceful resolution though, why would he let the heavily militarized Royal Canadian Mounted Police raid indigenous encampments and arrest indigenous leaders? The truth is that Trudeau – although he’s shown in the media as a “progressive” – a friend of the environment and the indigenous people in Canada – is a politician bent on preserving the capitalist status quo. He’s exactly like the Democrats here in the U.S.! He may talk about democracy, fighting the climate crisis, or the right to protest, but when push comes to shove, he serves the banks and corporations. The Canadians fighting against this outrageous pipeline show us our collective power. We don’t need to beg the politicians bought and paid for by the banks and corporations for crumbs and small reforms within this appalling capitalist system. What we need are massive movements and protests, like what we’re seeing in Canada. When we organize and take action ourselves, we can fight back against the corporations and all their corrupt politicians!