CPJ staff will be participating, with KAIROS Canada and many other Canadians committed to faith and justice, in a one-day solidarity fast with Chief Theresa Spence this week.
We are doing this to affirm that:
- Canada needs to uphold the United Nations principles of free, prior, and informed consent, whereby First Nations peoples should have the right to grant or withhold approval of actions affecting them.
- the ecological wellbeing of all needs to come before the economic interests of the few.
The measures contained in Bill C-45 (and other legislation like it) clearly violate these principles and are cause for alarm on a number levels, including the need for an open and transparent legislative process and the serious threats posed to the environment. We believe Aboriginal peoples are far too often neglected in policy decisions and their voices must be heard and taken seriously.
CPJ staff were on Parliament Hill on December 21 to be part of a large public witness to support Teresa Spence and have sent her a direct message of support.
