Referring to us as “the Enbridge boys”, Sam performs a prayer, and shares an Anishinaabe teaching. He tells us that the old ones used to speak of a giant white snake that would bring terror to the western tribes by spitting black poison over their lands. The snake was said to begin in the hills, travelling toward the ocean in order to quench its thirst.
There is an air of unity to the place, with everyone contributing in some small way: Scott chops firewood, Liz places a kettle on the woodstove, Nita prepares a massive butternut squash. Blake enters the house carrying a rabbit in one hand, and his gun in the other. Five year-old Quinn, for his part, makes a play-doh hat for his toy dinosaur.
On most days, Prince George smells like an old rug, and as a veteran treeplanter, nearly all of my prior experiences in the city have left me feeling about as welcome as a mosquito at a garden party. But from this moment onward, if the Prince George City Council needs an ambassador, I can be that guy.
500 kilometres inland from the Pacific coast and just 115 kilometres from the smog of Prince George lies the world’s largest temperate inland rainforest. It’s an anomaly of a place, dominated by old-growth hemlocks and red-cedars, and covered in a dense layer of moss.
“We’re fools to think that they’re going to stop with this next pipeline. By the time they’re done here, this area will be a moonscape, and there won’t be anything left for us to live off of.”
Kevin Sharman is a backcountry guide, and today, Jean-Philippe and I will be relying on his expertise as we make the journey to the proposed route of the Northern Gateway pipeline, deep within the dense sub-alpine surrounding Monkman Provincial Park.
Jean-Philippe and I have rendezvoused for the second leg of our journey in Williams Lake, where the smell of saw dust seems to be a permanent fixture. As we drive past Mackenzie, the crisp air and burgundy leaves serve as a reminder that yes, fall truly is upon us, and we are a far cry from the bright skies and warm sun that greeted us when we last drove through this pass.
In an effort to expand the range of voices included in this project, we’re happy to announce the launch of our letter-writing campaign! Each week, from now until the date of the federal government’s final announcement on the fate of the Northern Gateway (expected by late December, 2013), we’ll be hand-writing all messages received through our website and sending them on to the Prime Minister’s Office.
