Documentary Reflection

July 15, 2025 By: LK

Anna Mehler Paperny, “Canada Approves Law to Fast-Track Resource Projects, Faces Indigenous Opposition,” Reuters, June 27, 2025, https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/canadian-senate-approves-law-fast-track-major-resource-projects-2025-06-26/?utm.

Canada’s Senate approved a Bill on June 26, 2025, fast‑tracking “national interest” resource and infrastructure projects, like mines and pipelines, by granting the Cabinet “Henry VIII” powers to override existing environmental laws and limit Indigenous consultation. The move prompted immediate backlash from Indigenous leaders and environmental organizations.

I, too, strongly oppose this Bill. The rush to expedite projects undermines Canada’s constitutional duty towards meaningful free, prior and informed consent practices, as well as core conservation principles. Sacrificing environmental assessments and community input for capitalist gain sets a dangerous precedent that threatens biodiversity and reconciliation.

The widespread Indigenous opposition to Canada’s “fast-track” resource bill reflects a long tradition of civil disobedience in environmental movements. As shown in the documentary “How to Change the World,” Greenpeace’s early non-violent ‘mind bombs’ shifted public perception and led to key environmental reforms. Similarly, “If a Tree Falls” raised questions about the effectiveness and limits of more radical actions.These documentaries showed that civil disobedience can bring positive change, but its methods and impacts vary. They challenged me to consider how media visibility and emotional storytelling can shape public support more effectively than policy alone. When watching these I was reflecting on the moral responsibility activists take on when breaking laws to defend the planet and what it means when the law itself is unjust.

A powerful recent example is the Wet’suwet’en land defence movement, which has resisted pipelines pushed through unceded territory without consent. Through direct actions like checkpoints, camp-building, eviction notices, and the occupation of drill sites, Wet’suwet’en land defenders have challenged both corporate and state authority. The movement sparked solidarity protests and rail blockades across Canada (#ShutDownCanada), forcing national attention and international scrutiny, including appeals to the UN. These tactics mirror those seen in the documentaries: disruption, visibility, and refusal to comply with unjust laws. Though met with violent state repression, they have exposed deep contradictions in Canada’s environmental and reconciliation policies.

These examples, from the documentaries and Wet’suwet’en land defence, demonstrate that civil disobedience can lead to awareness, resistance, and occasionally reform. Together, they show how disruptive but peaceful protest has historically challenged destructive policies and forced political attention. Therefore, as opposition to this new bill grows, civil disobedience remains one of the most powerful tools for defending environmental and Indigenous rights.

References

Curry, Marshall. Director, writer, producer, and Sam Cullman, Co-Director, Producer. “If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front.” 2011. Marshall curry Productions

Shreya Shah, “Wet’suwet’en Explained,” Indigenous Foundation. https://www.theindigenousfoundation.org/articles/wetsuweten-explained

Rothwell, Jerry, director, writer. “How to Change the World: The Revolution Will Not Be Organized.” Originally produced by British Film Institute, 2015. YouTube Video, 1:26:59. Posted by George Hunsicker Mar. 28, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-7saEKyThc.

Documentary Reflection

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT