Government and Oil Gas Companies Support Slapp suits.

 Everyone knows about the lawsuit in which 5 protesters got sued by Kinder Morgan for their “5.6 million lawsuit participation in the Burnaby Mountain protest.” But even though the lawsuit was dropped, what is more concerning is for activists, and people who advocate for Green economy and also green businesses, is that the Government introduced Bill C-639, in which by the criminal code "obstructs, interrupts or interferes with the lawful use, enjoyment or operation” of any critical infrastructure”. This means that any protest that happens on any oil companies ground or property. A protester or activist who gets charged with this new section of the criminal code can get jail time or also a fine. This is a very alarming signal from the Government because a Conservative government is introducing new bill c-639 when pipeline protest for Kinder Morgan and Keystone are happening. Not only is it affecting the people who want speak their mind, but it is also depressing for people who support the Green economy and green entrepreneurs. The government needs to take a good glance at green jobs and the green economy, and the many industries within it.


1. http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/12/05/conservative-mps-private-members-bill-could-be-used-against-pipeline-protesters-critics-say/
2.http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/letters/Kinder+Morgan+SLAPP+suit+pipeline+protester+hurts/10742784/story.html

History of the SLAPP

SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuit against Public Participation. SLAPP lawsuits have actually not been explicitly a big part of law until the last 50 or so years, but they have been around for much longer before that. There have been many cases similar to SLAPP though, dating back to the Bill of Rights by William and Mary in England.[1]. The issue with SLAPP lawsuits is that they are so varied, and so it is difficult to assess and find a clear guideline in which the history of SLAPP lawsuits began. There have been cases related to SLAPP suits, including the the “Noerr-Pennington Doctrine [that] exempts individuals from liability due to attempts to petition or otherwise influence the government, as long as the activities are not a sham to cover up a mere attempt to interfere with a competitor’s business.case” [2]. These SLAPP lawsuits have not had a huge recorded history though, but they have become more prevalent in the modern day, which Inderpal will focus on next.

[1] http://www.acluohio.org/slapped/brief-history-of-slapp

[2] ibid.

Fossil Free Kwantlen- Moving Towards Renewable Energy

We recently had an event with Fossil Free Kwantlen that focused on the renewable energy industry. We talked about divestment, spoke with professionals in the industry, as well as had a discussion on topics surrounding green jobs and renewable energy.

On March 19th, we had workshops, that focused on what divestment was, the opportunities within renewable energy, and how to start a renewable energy company.

On March 20th, we had a keynote speech by MLA George Heyman, a panel consisting of Rob Baxter, Michael Mehta, Paul Sim, and Julie van der Valk, as well as a networking session for students.

We want to thank everyone who was involved with this event, and to everyone who showed up for it. We hope to continue to collaborate with everyone who was involved.

Special Thanks:

MLA George Heyman

Rob Baxter

Paul Sim

Michael Mehta

Julie van der Valk

Jared Taylor (DiaCarbon)

Darren Frew (BC Bioenergy Network)

Guy Dauncey (BCSea)

Photos coming soon!

K-Docs Film Festival

March 14, 2015 was the K-docs documentary film festival. K-Docs promotes social justice and environmental issues through film. Inderpal was a part of the “Do the Math” panel, and he took questions about fossil fuels, divestment, and renewable energy from the audience. We really enjoyed taking part in this film festival, and we hope to continue to collaborate with it in the future. For more information on the festival and what it entailed, check out the link here, and a Facebook link here.