A last-minute kayaktivist demonstration to say “Shell no” to Arctic drilling saw about a dozen protesters assemble on the shíshálh Nation waterfront in Trail Bay at around 9 p.m. on Friday, May 29.
The protest was called and organized by shíshálh Nation cultural ambassador Candace Campo who was told Shell’s oil spill containment vessel, the Arctic Challenger, would soon sail past the local shoreline on its way to Dutch Harbour where the company plans to begin drilling for oil as early as next month.
“I basically was told that they were going to pass by us in an hour and a half to two hours, so I literally just threw out a post on Facebook and had a lot of expressed interest and people responding through social media,” Campo said.
About a dozen people made their way to the waterfront for the impromptu protest and some took to the water in kayaks with a sign saying “Shell no. Save the Salish Sea.”
Campo, who recently returned from a 10-day tour with Greenpeace focused on Shell’s drilling plans, said she was pleased with the turnout on such short notice and hoped it would spur more discussion in the community.
“I think it’s good that we start dialoguing and informing each other on some of the bigger environmental issues that could potentially affect our coastline, and not just our coastline. We’re overall dealing with climatic change, and we may not be experiencing the dire consequences of climatic change, but some of our actions and inactions are affecting other areas of the world,” Campo said.
“I’ve been communicating with people down in South America, indigenous people on islands, and they’re literally reporting that the sea levels are affecting their way of life and their ability to grow their own food because the water level is extending into their land. People are actually losing their homes.”
Campo is looking at organizing a more formal protest for the wider community in the future and she wants to put on a community event later this month to share what she learned while on tour with Greenpeace.
“I was hoping to do that on Thursday evening, on June 25,” Campo said, noting the community can watch Coast Reporter for a formal announcement once a location has been secured and a time has been set.
While the recent protest and upcoming event are Campo’s doing, she noted she has the support of Chief Calvin Craigan and the shíshálh Nation council.
“All of the time they’re really quite supportive, especially with environmental issues,” Campo said.
Craigan has said publicly he’s against more drilling for oil in the Arctic by Shell.
“They should be ashamed of what they’re trying to do. They’re approaching a very sensitive area in the world,” Craigan said.
“If they cause devastation there, it could be the end of the world as we know it.”
Shell wants to expand its Arctic drilling operation and the company is close to obtaining final approvals, having recently secured the right to do exploratory drilling off the coast of Alaska, which is slated to start next month.
