Canada's 'Idle No More' Movement Spreads Like Wildfire Chief Theresa Spence on 14th day of hunger st [View all]

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/12/24-1

Canada's 'Idle No More' Movement Spreads Like Wildfire
Chief Theresa Spence on 14th day of hunger strike


First Nations protesters march towards Parliament Hill during a demonstration as part of the spreading 'Idle No More' movement in Ottawa, Canada, December 21, 2012. REUTERS/Chris Wattie

The 'Idle No More' movement, a campaign of grassroots First Nations protests, has spread like wildfire over the past week in response to bills passed by the conservative Canadian government.

Anger to the recently passed C-45, the Harper government omnibus budget bill, has fueled the growing movement.

Bil C-45 includes changes to the Canadian Indian Act regarding how reserve lands are managed, making them easier to develop and be taken away from the First Nation people.

The bill also removes thousands of lakes and streams from the list of federally protected bodies of water. “This is unacceptable. They have made a unilateral decision remove the protection of waterways... Shell Canada has proposed to mine out 21km of the Muskeg River, a river of cultural and biological significance. This ultimately gives the tar sands industry a green light to destroy vital waterways still used by our people," stated Eriel Deranger, Communication Coordinator for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.