A Malaysian in BC: Part 8

Now if you would indulge me in a flight of fancy. Just imagine… the multi-racial, multi-religious crew of a Petroship Enterprise, in their PETRONAS green suits, on a mission to extract resources from the far reaches of the planet …Oops! Sorry… time to wake up from this Malaysian reverie! As a concerned Malaysian friend of mine asked when we were discussing the BC LNG situation, “What of the pain of the natives as their natural heritage is defiled by gas hunters in pinstripes and ties?” This is the heart of the matter, Most of BC is unceded territory. All claims and constructs of provincial governance in these areas are moot at best, and at worst they are cynical extensions of the old colonial franchise. Immigrants,even the new ones like my family are all complicit in this expropriation by attrition in the jurisdictional and procedural lacuna of the law! Complex legal and jurisprudential questions aside, the simple ethical  question is –  what become s of the will of the inhabitants of the area for the proposed LNG facility – a people whose culture, economy and spirituality have all been based on vital Salmon runs and who now seem to believe that the ancient spawning habitats of the all sustaining fish is now being threatened? My friend continued, “all will be lost to the voracious needs of global millions… will their land become a mere spigot… a cash cow! Large corporations are, by their nature, only interested in profit potentials.” Indeed, once again that shrill refrain  … Cash is King!