“Our environment is just not for sale.”
That, said Area F Director Ian Morrison, was the reason he was one of about 100 people who gathered at the gates of Brentwood College School in Mill Bay last week to let Prime Minister Stephen Harper know their feelings on some of the decisions he has made for Canada.
“I fear the Conservative machine is going to be throwing money at this constituency and it is going to be tough to fight them back,” Morrison said. “Somebody has to stand up and protect our environment.”
Retired teacher and Lake Cowichan resident Greg Shea was there as well.
“ I think we still need to educate people,” he said. “Right now it’s about our planet. It’s going the way of the dinosaur if we don’t do something in a hurry.”
The protest group had a lot to say about concerns ranging from climate change to our dependence on oil, the proposed pipeline crossing B.C., and oil tankers and the pollution they could cause.
The recent boundary change that saw the old Nanaimo-Cowichan riding broken up and Cowichan Lake become part of a new Cowichan-Malahat-Langford riding was also discussed.
The protesters marched in front of the gates to Brentwood College slowing the entrance of cars and people to the school grounds. Chanting, passing out information and shaming people who entered the event were some of the tactics used.
The RCMP stood and watched the peaceful protest. A bus thought to contain the PM — but actually containing media — passed by more than an hour after the scheduled meeting time so the protest broke up.
Harper was at Brentwood Jan. 7 for a party fundraiser organized by the Conservative riding association for the new Cowichan-Malahat-Langford region. Just prior to the event, he was at Shawnigan Lake’s Kinsol Trail to announce funding for the completion of the Trans-Canada Trail.
