Oblates host symposium on mining and care for creation for more than 100 workers and activists
The B.C. Catholic
Aboriginals, environmental activists, scientists, religious, and members of the liquid natural gas (LNG) and mining ministries are engaging in dialogue about the environment.
The Oblates of Mary Immaculate held a wide-ranging symposium on the topic to celebrate their 200th anniversary.
“There’s certainly a theme that affects all of us: the theme that focuses on justice,” Father John Brioux, OMI, told the diverse crowd of 117 participants at the John Paul II Pastoral Centre April 8.
Father Brioux, the pastor of St. Paul’s Indian Catholic Parish in North Vancouver, said care for creation fits in with the Oblates’ mandate. Founder St. Eugene de Mazenod established the group to “proclaim the good news to the poorest of the poor,” he explained to The B.C. Catholic.
“Anything that stood in the way of justice, you could be sure he would tackle it.” Actions with environmental impacts, such as establishing mines or pipelines, affect the poor, First Nations, and other groups, making these justice issues.
Connecting care for the poor and the planet is not an Oblate invention. Pope Francis brought widespread attention to the idea in his encyclical Laudato Si’ in May 2015. “The deterioration of the environment and of society affects the most vulnerable people on the planet.”
The symposium was hosted thanks to partnerships with the Archdiocese of Vancouver and Ottawa’s St. Paul’s University. Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, said he was pleased to see so many people engaged in this conversation.
“It is a privilege for me to be with you who care so passionately about the ‘global environmental deterioration’ and are determined to ‘recognize that there is always a way out, that we can always redirect our steps,'” he said, quoting Pope Francis.
The bad news is that human beings have never treated the planet as poorly as they have in the last 200 years, he added.
“In one of his best and most quoted lines, Francis writes that ‘the earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.’ Not a cheery assessment.”
The good news is, change is possible, he said. “Care implies a more intimate relationship. To care is to allow oneself to be affected by another. With care, the hard line between oneself and others softens, blurs, and even disappears.”
The symposium included three panel discussions on the Oblates’ work in Canada, climate change and its risks, and mineral resource development.
Cynthia Callison, a member of the Tahltan First Nation, said her children use laptops, but they also hunt and drive 22 hours to fish in Telegraph Creek.
“In order to be part of the Tahltan First Nation, you need to be able to survive on the land,” she said. “There should be a dialogue with indigenous people when there are … resource development projects that affect their land.”
At times, her community supports mine development. At other times, such as when a proposed coal mine would take off the top of a mountain, it steps in to say no.
“On the face of it, as indigenous people, we are closest to the environment. We still live on the land. We understand what the environmental impacts will be first hand.”
Members of the mining industry offered their perspectives as well.
“Mining is essential. In fact, it was the first industry to be mentioned in the Bible,” said Michael McPhie, a former president of the Mining Association of B.C.
“When you think of your home, take away everything which depends on mining and all you’ll be left with is your mortgage.”
He said some mines are beneficial to communities because they create jobs for the local population, including aboriginal people.
Other panellists included climate scientist Simon Donner, Haida elder Barbara Wilson, and B.C. LNG Alliance president David Keane.
“The whole idea was to put people together to dialogue on the differences we have and to work together,” said Brother Leonardo Rego, OMI.
To further the discussion, he will organize smaller events for groups of 40-50 people to deal with specific environmental issues and to make action plans to address them.
This is the second time an event on the environment has drawn a crowd to the John Paul II Pastoral Centre. A climate change summit with panelists of various faiths and backgrounds, including the mayor of Vancouver, attracted 200 participants in November.
