Dear Colleagues: As many of you know, two members of our faculty, Steve Collis and Lynne Quarmby, were taken to court this week by Trans Mountain, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan. A link to a news story with some information about the case can be found here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/kinder-morgan-goes-to-court-to-stop-pipeline-protesters-1.2820579 The lawsuit against Steve and Lynne and three other individuals is claiming millions of dollars in damages. The company is also seeking an injunction to prevent further protests, all of which are occurring on public land. Many of us think this is a time to show support and solidarity for our colleagues, who have done nothing wrong. We feel that this lawsuit is a sobering tactic on the part of Trans Mountain/Kinder Morgan, which will have an intimidating effect on further attempts to express opposition to the expansion of the pipeline. In short, this tactic threatens a core principle that lies at the heart of our university's mission to foster public discussion on major issues of the day. That two members of our immediate community are involved makes the matter all the more a concern of ours. To that end, in addition to the other expressions of support that are being generated, we are calling on the president of SFU, Andrew Petter, to express his support for Steve and Lynne, as well as his support for the right to protest and gather on public lands. If you would like to sign on to the letter below, addressed to the president, please reply to me (cpavsek@sfu.ca) to express that willingness. Please include your full title and departmental affiliation in your note. We would like to send this to President Petter early in the coming week. In addition, if you would like to be informed of further gestures of support for Steven and Lynne which are in the works, please let me know as well and I'll keep you up to date. Please feel free to share this letter with any colleagues or with your departments and so on. All the best Chris Christopher Pavsek, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Film and Associate Director The School for the Contemporary Arts Simon Fraser University 149 West Hastings Street Vancouver, BC V6B 1H4 Canada 778 782 4672 cpavsek@sfu.ca Text of the letter: Dear President Petter: As you know, Trans Mountain, the subsidiary of the energy company Kinder Morgan, is seeking an injunction to halt protests on Burnaby Mountain against its surveying work for the Trans Mountain Pipeline. In addition, they have named five individuals, including two SFU faculty, Steve Collis and Lynne Quarmby, in a lawsuit seeking millions of dollars in damages for lost revenues. We, the undersigned, call on you to make a public statement of support for Professor Quarmby and Professor Collis and to make a statement of support for all members of the SFU community, as well as any members of the public, to exercise their rights to protest peacefully and to gather on public land. The lawsuit, as well as the injunction that Trans Mountain is seeking to prevent further protest, contradicts the very spirit of the open public discussion and engagement that SFU has taken on as its mission under your leadership. This is a mission that we all support. This is a time when SFU needs to stand up for its principles and we are seeking your support on this very important matter. Signed: |