Protests marking a dark history

With the pipeline protests in B.C., railroad blockades in solidarity in Ontario, and Indigenous people with their allies throughout this land joining in, basically protesting the conditions under which they are forced to live, Canada is facing the possibility of paralysis.

Like chickens coming home to roost, these protests are manifesting the dark history of our country. Details aside, the upshot is the vast inequality that plagues our nation at all levels, between mainstream society and First Nations, and within each of these as well.

What other result could we expect from what we refer to as capitalism, a system of production that refuses to engage in producing anything unless a few people can make much more from it than many others? Increasing inequality is built right into our economy, and now we’re seeing its fruits in these protests. The only answer politicians and energy company CEOS have is that business must continue as usual — “rule of law” blah blah (i.e. defending the law of inequality) — kicking the can down the road yet again.

If we want lasting peace, we need nothing less than an alternative economic system, one that doesn’t rely on creating systemic inequality and the many divisions it causes between haves and have-nots. In conjunction with that, why not build a mega-renewable energy project in the Wet’suwet’en territory (with their blessing) instead of a pipeline, and do the same to help Alberta’s ailing economy, before Wild Rose Country becomes one giant tailings pond. Tim Nickel, Saskatoon