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- Last Day on The West Coast -
To mark the end of our tour we decided to drop by the BC Supreme Court and attend a sentencing hearing for Ms Jones, a 63 year old mother who was arrested and charged with criminal contempt for participating in a protest against the Trans Mountain pipeline.
Prior to receiving her sentence, Ms Jones read out a powerful statement in which she described why she feels a strong responsibility to act on behalf of the environment, why Kinder Morgan's injunction goes against public participation in the democratic process and why citizens need to take action to protect the environment for future generations.
At the end of the hearing Ms Jones was sentenced to 100 hours of community service. In an exchange with the judge she said that the community correctional office has agreed to recognize her volunteer work with the Green Party of Canada as eligible community service!
People should not have to be arrested and charged for speaking their minds. During this trip Raymond and I were also subjected to harassment from the authorities just for photographing a Trans Canada pipeline depot.
Solidarity with all the environmental activists in BC! It's been a great visit, learning experience and exchange of ideas. This concludes my trip to the west coast and it was a powerful way to mark the end of this awesome journey.
In solidarity,
Alex Tyrrell
Leader of the Green Party of Quebec