Author: The Common Sense Canadian home page

Damien Gillis, editor of the Common Sense Canadian and co-director of the film in production Fractured Land, hosts a google web video chat discussing how indigenous and non-indigenous peoples can work together through the growing Idle No More movement to address historical injustices and build a sustainable energy future. Featuring

Watch this 10 min web chat, in which two young, indigenous men discuss their different experiences across the country with the growing Idle No More Movement. Caleb Behn, an Eh-Cho Dene and Dunne Za/Cree law student from Fort Nelson and West Moberly First Nations, and Eugene Boulanger, Sahtugotine Dene communications

Watch this presentation by Damien Gillis, co-director of Fractured Land – a documentary in production which examines the industrialization of northern Canada through the eyes of a young indigenous man named Caleb Behn – at the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival. In it Gillis discusses the making of the film

Damien Gillis appeared recently on Nanaimo’s CHLY Radio to discuss a number of key political and energy issues in Canada. Gillis and host Rae Kornberger of ‘A Sense of Justice’ cover the controversial proposed Canada-China trade deal and how that relat…

A comprehensive investigation of the connection between mineral licks vital to moose populations in northeast BC and the growing shale gas industry, whose impacts on water are the subject of increasing scrutiny. Reporter John King draws on interviews w…

In a move that could cost him significant political support, federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair has endorsed controversial west-to-east pipeline proposals that would move tar sands crude from Alberta through Ontario and Quebec to Atlantic Canada and poi…

Damien Gillis and SFU Radio’s Sylvia Richardson discuss a wide range of energy topics – from the impact of Barack Obama’s recent presidential victory on North American climate and energy issues to the potential effects of the Chinese FIPA trade deal on…

In recent weeks, numerous campaigns have been launched to take on the Canada-China trade deal known as FIPA – most involving online petitions. Yet there is an official avenue for public opposition that has been largely missed and presents a clear path to delaying or even preventing FIPA. The Conservative

Port Metro Vancouver (PMV) is moving forward with plans to extensively dredge the environmentally-sensitive estuary of the Fraser River to build another man-made island for a new terminal with 3 container berths. The island will be 284 acres plus an intermodal yard and a widened causeway with road and rail

The Wilderness Committee, Canada’s largest member-based environmental organization, honoured hall of fame broadcaster and co-founder of The Common Sense Canadian Rafe Mair with its annual Eugene Rogers Award for outstanding contribution to environmental protection in BC at its AGM this past weekend. Mair, who joins a long list of distinguished

Damien Gillis discusses the resistance to the Enbridge pipeline, the recent “Keepers of the Water” conference in Fort Nelson, BC, and the increasing impacts on water, human and animal health from natural gas hydraulic fracking with CJSF’s Sylvia Richardson. The pair also touch on Damien’s documentary film project Fractured Land,

Damien Gillis discusses the forthcoming film Fractured Land with SFU Radio’s David Swan, along with a recent journey across northern BC to document a number of interconnected industrial projects. The film is the story of the industrialization of northern BC told through the eyes of a young indigenous law student,

Freelance writer and researcher Joyce Nelson connects the dots between the approval of the Jumbo Glacier Resort proposal in the Kootenays, a controversial trade deal between Canada and the European Union, and the privatization of Canadian water. “Having an incorporated municipality with no residents, the proponent and its investors, under

Listen to this half-hour interview of Damien Gillis on Opposition Radio, an Ontario-based online radio program. Hosts Mike and Tony discuss with Damien the recent revelation that the Harper Goverment has been working with the oil lobby on a coordinated PR strategy to promote the Alberta Tar Sands. The three