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(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – August 10, 2016) Yesterday marked the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People, yet on this day Vancouver stood witness to violent acts against Indigenous women in their efforts to raise awareness to the environmental devastation caused by Imperial Mines’ Mount Polley tailings dam two years ago. August 4, 2016, marked the second anniversary of the failure of the tailings dam at Mount Polley which is now considered to be the worst mining disaster of its kind in Canadian history. The dam burst flooded Hazeltine Creek with 2.5 billion gallons of contaminated water and 4.5 million cubic meters of metals-laden silt destroying the creek, contaminating Quesnel Lake and endangering the very livelihoods of the many First Nations and non-First Nations communities throughout Secwepemc Territory.

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – July 29, 2016) Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Transport Canada have issued federal permits to allow construction of BC Hydro’s Site C dam hydroelectric project to immediately ramp up construction. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated in all of his Ministerial Mandate Letters “No relationship is more important to me and to Canada than the one with Indigenous Peoples. It is time for a renewed, nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous Peoples, based on recognition of rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership.”

Dear National Energy Board Members:

We are writing to express our vehement opposition to the National Energy Board (NEB) granting the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project’s sunset clause extension request. We understand that the NEB will be considering Enbridge’s request for a permit extension and is accepting comments from the public before making your decision.

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – June 17, 2016) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) is asking the Provincial Government to provide concrete details and a clear timeline for public transportation along Highway 16, which is known as the Highway of Tears due to the tragic murders and disappearances of mostly Indigenous women and girls hitchhiking along the route.

Coast Salish Territory (Vancouver, BC) - First Nations leadership and child-serving organizations gathered over the past two days, along with representatives of the Government of British Columbia and the Government of Canada - to discuss the current crisis in Indigenous child welfare in British Columbia.

The First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) calls on the Government of British Columbia and Canada to recognize the extreme risk to which their promotion of the BC finfish aquaculture industry presents to not only the pristine coastal BC environment but to already critically low wild salmon runs on which many British Columbians rely.

(Coast Salish Territory / Vancouver, B.C. – May 17, 2016)  At the 15th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Canada publicly stated it would be a full supporter of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Declaration) without qualification and then immediately qualified the statement by adding “to adopt and implement the declaration in accordance with the Canadian Constitution.”

(Coast Salish Territory / Vancouver BC – May 16, 2016). The BC government is enabling a dangerous disregard for environmental monitoring, reporting and protection among mining companies by letting them off the hook for the full costs of environmental reclamation – leaving taxpayers liable for more than $1.5 billion, a new report shows.