Solidarity encouraged to fight climate change where Irvings cast a long shadow

For Saint John clean air activist Gordon Dalzell, the Irvings have a license to pollute in New Brunswick. The Irving Oil Refinery in the port city is the biggest greenhouse gas emitter in the province.

Dalzell was speaking on a panel about the climate crisis in Saint John on December 12. Joining Dalzell was Tracy Glynn, a professor in the Environment and Society program at St. Thomas University.

Glynn named capitalism as the root cause of the environmental crisis. “It is important to be clear about what capitalism is and does, and to name the systems of oppression that bolster capitalism and colonialism like the patriarchy, homophobia, transphobia, racism,” said Glynn.

Sarah Durham is a graduate student at the University of New Brunswick Saint John who studies puffin populations in the Bay of Fundy. She concurred with Glynn: “There is no such thing as sustainable capitalism. It is defined by ideas of ownership, domination, and exploitation.”

“Hyper individualism convinces us that we don’t need anyone,” Durham added, when commenting on the need for more solidarity.

Glynn also called for solidarity considering the forces attempting to divide people. “Immigrants are not causing the housing crisis or the cost-of-living crisis. Tar sands workers are not to blame for the climate crisis. People are just trying to survive and yet our governments are making workers pay for a crisis they didn’t create,” said Glynn while criticizing “false climate solutions.”

“Fishermen on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia are losing their livelihoods because of the waste flowing into the seas from nickel mined for electric vehicles,” said Glynn, who studies the environmental and gender impacts of nickel mining in Sulawesi.

Glynn noted that the latest UN climate conference, COP 29, had just wrapped up in Azerbaijan and again government leaders failed to take the kind of actions needed to stop runaway climate change.

Glynn added that solidarity across borders is crucial as Gaza continues to be bombarded. She highlighted the need for solidarity with Colombian communities devastated by the El Cerrejón coal mine where NB Power sources coal for the Belledune power generating station.

The discussion turned to the human toll of pollution and environmental racism. Dalzell referred to examples of chemical pollution in Indigenous communities like Grassy Narrows and Aamjiwnaang First Nation.

Dalzell noted that citizen groups in Saint John have long expressed concern about benzene and other chemicals that cause cancer and other health conditions. He noted the opposition in Lorneville to industrial rezoning in their area as well as the greenwashing in Champlain Heights, his own neighborhood, which is close to the refinery.

Glynn spoke about the recent power rate increases as an example of energy poverty. “New Brunswick has the highest energy poverty rate in the country. People cannot afford to heat or cool their homes. The rate increases penalize poor people.” She encouraged the audience to call on the new Holt government to reverse the rate increases.

“Everything is poison and concrete,” Durham said when referring to chemical pollutants and microplastics. She also pointed to an increasing disconnect from nature.

“We work so much. We don’t have time to look at grass or a tree. People are uncomfortable being in nature. We are not meant to sit under fluorescent lights and look at concrete,” added Durham.

The discussion then turned to fear of losing employment and the influence that the Irvings have in schools and universities. Glynn noted that faculty members and researchers at the University of New Brunswick have faced backlash for being critical of the forestry and nuclear industries. She highlighted how Susan O’Donnell, a researcher who is critical of the nuclear industry, was mistreated at UNB.

Finally, the conversation moved towards grassroots movements and resistance. “We must collaborate and coordinate. The New Brunswick Environmental Network is a good place to start,” Dalzell said.

For Glynn, we need alliances like the Peace and Friendship Alliance that mobilized to stop the Energy East pipeline. She mentioned the Land Back movements as another inspiring movement.

Dalzell, who the Narwhal in 2020 said “took on the Irving Oil Refinery and won,” suggested a workshop to learn about intervening in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process. He called for support of Green Party Leader David Coon’s bill to support the right to a healthy environment. He encouraged keeping an eye on the government’s website for an upcoming air quality permit approval for the Irving Oil Refinery.

Glynn emphasized the need to tell our own stories. “I encourage everyone to sign up to become a member of the NB Media Co-op. We tell the stories of our movements. Corporate media repeats the line that New Brunswick is a backward place where nothing ever changes. We need to be telling stories of solidarity.”

“We should take care of each other. There are endless things to do, and it is exhausting. Find people who care about issues but also about you,” said Durham.

The panel on the climate crisis was the final instalment in the Connections series held at Haven Music Hall in Saint John. The series was designed to provide space for difficult, but important, conversations relevant to communities in Saint John. 

Nomaan X is an organizer with the Saint John Community Coalition and Fredericton Palestine Solidarity and teaches at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John.

Disclosure: Tracy Glynn who is quoted in this story is also the coordinating editor of the NB Media Co-op.