February 9 2011
Short Essay #3 (Synthesis)
I tried to remain objective in this paper, though the topic was very close to home for me. My goal was to analyze the circumstances of a new, highly opposed, deforestation and subsequent housing development in my hometown, Kanata, Ontario. I wanted to explore why popular opposition to the woefully under-planned creation of tract housing on ecologically sensitive land was so ineffective, and what gave our protest movements their obviously inherent weakness. To accomplish this in the form of a synthesis, I found two articles, one about the Kanata situation and another about a similar incident where non-violent protest had successfully warded off development. I compared these to uncover what made the latter so successful, and the former such a disappointment.
The first essay, Turning the Page on Colonial Oppression by Peter Kulchyski, centres around a 2009 case of Indigenous efforts to preserve sacred land against encroaching development efforts. It took place in the Northwest of Ontario at Big Trout Lake ("Kitchenuhmaykoosib" in local Inninuwug), where a plane loaded with "equipment and staff from the Platinex mining company" was refused landing on the lake. "The chief and other members of the community got in their boats and played a game of 'chicken' with the plane, manoeuvring their boats in front of its landing trajectory to keep it from being able to settle on the lake." (Kulchyski 1). The pilot gave up and left, and months later word came to the Inninuwug that the development had been halted- apparently, the Ontario government had bought out the disputed area. This is a huge leap for the anti-colonial efforts that are still at work in modern Canada, seeing as how only a year and a half ago six members of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug band council had been jailed for trying to oppose Platinex (though Kulchyski doesn't describe this in detail).
The second of the two cases is sufficiently sketched by Brian Banks in his article The Race to Save the South March Highlands. Banks describes a 2010 (and still ongoing) conflict over the South March Highlands, located on the far side of Ottawa, Ontario between the suburbs of Kanata and Carp. The area is considered one of the most ecologically unique regions in all of Ontario, deemed "Provincially Significant" by Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources (Banks 1). So near the ever-expanding capital, South March is not threatened by mining exploits, but rather suburban expansion. Not only is a large section of the 1100-acre forest slated to be clear-cut for expensive suburban pseudo-mansions, but even the remaining 400 acre conservation area is threatened by plans for a wide, arguably unnecessary road that is to run directly through it. Several groups oppose the plans, and Banks goes on to describe, in detail, the tedious legal battles that rage on over the issue.
Evidently, the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug band council has been much more successful in preserving their precious, sacred lake than the various coalitions and hodgepodge of outraged Kanata residents have been in fending off the taint of further expansion. But why? What made it possible for the Inninuwug to end the cycle of corruption that threatened their home land with little more than a game of chicken, while Kanata coalitions helplessly watch bulldozers already cutting a wide swath through their old-growth sugar maple forest? The answer lies in the vastly differing positions that each of these rebellions started off in. Though one might assume that, being a minority group in this country, the Inninuwug’s political power may be handicapped. My contention is this supposed weakness is, in fact, what gave them the strength and strong resolve to defend Kitchenuhmaykoosib.
Take the Kanata locals. Despite a deep desire for change in (or even dissolution of) the always-growing capitalist system, which makes no concessions for fragile ecosystems, these protesters are cursed by their innate membership in this system. They were born into the colonial exchange, on the side of the oppressors. How strongly can one oppose the building of suburbs, when these very suburbs provided their cushy upbringing? There is a strong sense of guilt at play in these citizens' motives, which could account for the splintered, disorganized opposition to the development. The Innninuwug, on the other hand, could not be more polarized from a company like Platinex. It is a classic colonial situation, and the Defenders of the Land play the role of the outraged and noble victims, who must overcome the evil that invades their world. A conflict like this, says Kulchyski, can "bolster the spirits of activists trying to turn back the tide of colonialism" (Kulchyski 1). In short, the success Defenders of the Land can be partly accounted for by the presence of a clear and just cause, something that Kanata locals are tragically bereft of.
Furthermore, the Defenders of the Land are able to make a stronger claim on the land than Kanata environmentalists. Whereas Kanatans can only demand a halt to development on the grounds of eco-consciousness, the Inninuwug are able to make a two-pronged appeal based on both the latter and on human rights. Kulchyski quotes a speaker at the Defenders of the Land conference in Vancouver, Arthur Manuel, as saying; "We need to be engaging in this struggle on all levels, from the grass roots to the biggest international organizations. Our stories are being heard in Geneva and other centres for human rights." (Kulchyski 1). This because of the structure of the Inninuwug's situation, which, as mentioned, is that of the oppressed versus the oppressor. Compare that to Banks' profile of Kanata city councillor Marianne Wilkinson, who is described as having "opposed the new subdivisions before the OMB [Ontario Municipal Board] in hopes of preserving the natural environment. But she is a staunch defender of the new road. Without it, she says, a community of 100, 000 people has only one north-south route, March road." (Banks 1). Clearly, this Wilkinson's interest in the South March Highlands as a precious ecosystem is overshadowed by her desire to good for her fellow townspeople. This is not in itself a bad thing, but it demonstrates the unfortunate position that many Kanatans have been put in; conflicted, and lost in the foggy grey area between right and wrong. From this vantage point, they can hardly make as strong a moral argument as the Inninuwug have with their human rights case. Again, we see Kanatans handicapped by their lack of a clear identity in relation to the oppressors.
Finally, we come to one of the biggest problems faced by Kanata activists. Banks describes a specific incidence of Ottawa's forests and greenspace advisory committee waiting for approval for more thorough environmental review, that could have led to a city council vote to put a stop to development. During this time, other opponents of the road, a coalition led by one Paul Renaud, went to court against the city. While ignoring the tedious specifics of the judicial gymnastics, its obvious that the movement against the South March Highlands development is so fatally splintered that it can even turn on itself. There is little sense of community in this movement, where various protestors from all over Ottawa wage private wars against whichever branch of the supposed enemy seems most at fault. The Defenders of the Land, in contrast, are knit as tightly as a family, and supported from all sides by solidarity groups from as far as Chile and South Africa. Says Kulchyski, of their Vancouver meeting; "But perhaps nothing is as inspiring as seeing and hearing people from all these communities-and more-gathered together to tell their stories and try to find ways of supporting each other." (Kulchyski 1). This is the sort of unity that, like their clear cause and strong human rights claims, allowed the Defenders of the Land to preserve Kitchenuhmaykoosib. Only time will tell whether the Kanata protestors will be able to band together in the same way, and save South March.
I am not arguing that the Defenders of the Land were able to preserve Trout lake simply by virtue of their being Indigenous, but rather that Kanata protestors need to take a page from their book if they want to keep the South March Highlands. This means polarizing themselves against the enemy, deciding once and for all that the developers are committing a morally injust violation of their human rights, and finally banding together as a real community of dissenters. By emulating the Inninuwug, Kanatans have a chance to turn back the tide against the forces of greed and oppression.
Works Cited
Kulchyski, Peter. "Turning the Page on Colonial Oppression." Canadian Dimension. Vol. 44, issue 2 (2010). n. pag. EBSCOhost. Web. 9 Feb 2011.
Banks, Brian. "The Race to Save the South March Highlands." ONnature magazine. (2010). Web. 9 Feb 2011
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