Valentine's Day Women’s
Memorial March

Suln Margaret Lee
Publisher

he annual Women’s Memorial March

is held to honor the memory of all
women who have gone missing or died due
to physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual
violence. It occurs on Valentine’s Day to
express compassion and love for all women.

The march was first initiated by First Nations
women in 1992 in response to the murder

of a Coast Salish woman on Powell Street in
Vancouver. The event has since spread to
other cities, including Edmonton and Calgary.

Now in its 23rd year, the march has
become an annual event to bring
awareness and commitment to end
the violence towards women.

There was grief and outrage on the streets
of Prince George as supporters gathered
to remember aboriginal women who have

died or gone missing. This year, the march
was brought to the North for the first time
by College of New Caledonia Student Union
funded by Women and Aboriginal Committee.

Posters and signs that read “Am I Next?”
and “1800 missing and murdered and not on
Harper’s radar” were handed out by Arnold
Yellowman, the aboriginal representative
from CNC Student Union.“We wanted
to point to the concerns surrounding
the Highways of Tears, the stretch of
Highways 16 between Prince George and
Prince Rupert marked by the murders and
disappearances of women over a number
of years,” said Arnold Yellowman.

The march started from the Courthouse
with the opening by Elder Darlene
McIntosh from Lheidli Territory. Aboriginal
women in traditional clothing beat

drums and sang as the protest began.

Outraged by the decrease in funding to the

DD Canada Trust

RCMP E-PANA, which is the task force created
to investigate a series of unsolved murders
with links to Highway 16, demonstrators
carried placards calling for immediate
action. In front of the RCMP building, people
stopped to place roses in the snow--red

roses remembering murdered women and
yellow roses remembering those who remain
missing. It was followed by a moment of
silence to remind the RCMP of their duties

to the families of the missing women.

The demonstrators continued the walk along
the “Highway of Tears” back to the court

Suin Lee | OTE

house to finish the route. Some residents
and Canada Winter Games visitors honked
and waved in support of the cause.

UNBC student David Powe was glad that
he was part of the walk. “It is frustrating
that this issue of missing and murdered
women is being dismissed by the
government and that they refuse to invest
resources into addressing it,” he said.

“but Iam happy that I came out today

to be part of the memorable walk.”

Oil profits and Canada’s “Green” University

Krystal Devauld
Contributor

here is the integrity of the Green

University? We as students are
required to research the most relevant
and up-to-date information; globally,
international science has irrefutably proven
that oil and liquid natural gas are destructive
to our earth in a myriad of ways. We are one
of the four collaborative universities within
British Columbia that provide research for
the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions,
which also implies that we are an associated
institution in researching and implementing
avenues to alleviate climate change impacts.

How acceptable is it, then, that, as an
institution responsible for training leaders

and stewards, we have our hands greased
with oil profits? How can we stand for climate
justice and sustainability--all that is green--if
the funding is regurgitated from petroleum

an ethical and political issue. Divestment
for UNBC would mean retracting any funds
invested in petroleum, and reinvesting

in stocks that align with our core values,

‘If it is wrong to wreck the climate, then
it is wrong to profit from the wreckage."

expansion? Obstructing investment to fund
further oil development is an action we
must take; we must divest from fossil fuels.

Our schools’ involvement with oil is both

Bill McKibben | 350.org

such as renewable energy projects.

Regardless of the administration staff
choosing the investment portfolio or
allowing a financial institution to decide on

our behalf, if university funds contribute
to oil development we have failed to

be the Green University. Negligence
does not forgive affiliation; if our hands
are dirty, it is time to come clean.

Since the divestment campaign commenced
in 2012, many renowned schools throughout
Europe and North America have joined

the movement. Closer to home, Concordia
University has begun incrementally
divesting funds and the University of
Toronto is investigating options.

More recently, the University of British
Columbia had a referendum from
faculty resulting in 62% voting in favor
of divestment. Now, it is our turn.