Warning: Indigenous Appropriation Inside
The battle against Enbridge reversing the flow of their Line 9 pipeline seemed destined for failure since the beginning. Line 9 was previously used to carry oil from east-to-west, carrying oil imported into Canadian refineries, the reversal will enable Enbridge to deliver Canadian oil to those refineries instead. The project made sense to most people- even the new militant union Unifor, a vocal opponent to most pipelines, agreed with it.
The anarchist’s first occupation of Enbridge’s Westover, Ontario pumping station appeared successful at first- but a law enforcement expert commented to me shortly after the arrests that they were surprised how little momentum the protesters gained. As each successive protest passed it became more obvious how little support the activists actually had. The biggest surprise came when the protesters setup a July occupation on land claimed by the Six Nations- curiously, community leaders asked them to shut it down and leave.
The battle against Line 9 is not a popular grassroots movement; it’s unions, ENGOs and AstroTurf community groups recycling the same protesters we see at every protest- G20, Occupy Toronto, Stop The Cuts, Idle No More, Peoples Climate March, and [Insert Next Big protest]. We also see the same politicians. Today’s story will explore how four city councillors are listed as endorsers on an incredibly dodgy white paper featuring some of Toronto’s most racist, anti-social, and disrespectful protesters. But, more important, how the paper councillors Mike Layton, Josh Matlow, Paula Fletcher and Janet Davis’ names are on is an insult to indigenous communities across the province.
