Bear Mountain Tree Sit Under Threat

Since April 2007, there has been a tree sit happening in the town of Langford, near Victoric, 'BC'. It is intended to stop the destruction of a forest to build a highway interchange, part of a proposed multi-billion dollar highway expansion that would open up huge tracts of Saanich Inlet to more roads and development. This would profit a handful of developers, while destroying pristine forests, creeks, springs, wildlife habitat, and Indigenous cultural sites. In this interview, I speak with Luke, one of the organizers of the ongoing blockade, about their feelings of coming conflict with authorities.

You can visit their website to learn more. Below is their recent communique.

Download 19:57  Recorded February 6, 2008

Note: I am having difficulties with my regular server, so this is hosted by rabble.ca. That's the reason for the intro ad for rabble.

We are the people who have occupied the forest on the site of the proposed 'Bear Mountain Interchange.' We are people from Victoria, Langford, Brentwood Bay, Sidney, Sooke, and Colwood. We are the southern Vancouver Island community, but more than anything else we are people concerned about our future generations ability to live and breathe on this planet. Our basic reasons for being here are simple. The government structures established in colonial Canadian society are unacceptable. The present political structure is currently enabling our managerial society to exploit the land for the benefit of car culture. This is indeed an interesting part of human history as we possess unique opportunities like never before: We can continue to develop in a nineteen fifties style mentality and perpetuate the global economic paradigm that is melting the glaciers and putting holes in the ozone.

Or, we can learn to reduce our ecological footprint, we can learn to live sustainably. We need to consume to survive but we do not need to rape our planet. Let there be no mistake, the petroleum economy is killing us. At this point in our development we should be protecting what little there is left of our intact eco-systems. We should be limiting the growth of our cities, not carving out mountaintops and paving them over with highways.

It has been alleged in recent communication with the City of Langford that we are opposed to the interchange simply because there has not been a proper archaeological survey of the proposed path of the interchange. Golder Associates claim to be specialists in geological surveys yet they failed to notice even the most basic features of the land. One must assume that they are either grossly incompetent or completely corrupt (possibly both).

While this is assertion is not wrong, our objections run much deeper. We are opposed to the political and economic system that places private property interests, and short term financial gain over everything else. We oppose the management society dominated by car culture that ceaselessly continues to grow and dominate the earth.

We demand thorough questioning of these values: That one can own land and therefore determine its fate for all future generations; developers must not be allowed to dictate our future.

To those who would destroy the earth for profit: Expect resistance on all fronts.