Joe Foy: We Must Carry on Rafe Mair’s Battles

The battles to stop the Site C dam, Kinder Morgan pipeline, and open net salmon farms are reaching fever pitch right now. We all need to channel our inner Rafe to win for the future.

There are simply too many epic battles of Rafe Mair to mention here. Rafe either fought until the fight was won — or was in the process of battling until victory. Anyone working to protect a bit of B.C.'s wild heritage found that their backbone had gotten a little stiffer, their gate a little prouder and their stature a little taller after hearing one of Rafe's rip-roaring speeches. In my role with the Wilderness Committee, I heard quite a few of those speeches campaigning with Rafe against private hydro projects (IPPS) that threatened many rivers in this province.

A classic was Rafe’s oratory at the 2008 public meeting regarding a cluster of IPPS on the upper Pitt River. He brought the house to its feet — the room roared with approval. You can see that here. The next day, environment minister of the day Barry Penner went on Global BCTV to announce the power project would not be approved and that the upper Pitt would be saved. That was Rafe the activist at one of his finest moments.

Rafe’s clear and forceful voice helped expand the audience concerned with environmental protection. I never walked beside a person so recognized and appreciated in small town B.C. as Rafe Mair. People constantly came up to him, unsualy with the opening line, “Remember that time...”

A wonderful way to remember all those times Rafe protected B.C.’s environment — and to make sure it remains defended — is to support the journalism fund being created in his name.

A lot of the independent power projects that Rafe, my organization and others worked to oppose were stopped: Upper Pitt River, Glacier Howser, Bute Inlet and others. But some got by us, too. Eventually the BC Liberal government stopped giving out permits for large projects — which is a credit to the work Rafe did. Unfortunatly, several large projects have recently been completed under older permits and the fight continues. The hard-won knowledge we all got fighting these battles has helped us in our fight to save the Peace River Valley from the proposed Site C dam project. What we learned is that B.C. has more than enough electrial power without Site C or IPPs, so if and when we need new power, there are much better ways to get it. What IPPs and Site C are both about is funnelling billions of dollars of public money into a few private pockets.

So there is much more work — and more investigative journalism — to be done. More facts to be dug up. More voices to be shared. More articles to be written. More politicians and decision makers to be held accountable.

Rafe Mair loved B.C., both its people and its wild landscape. Rafe's power to protect the environment came from his experience spending time fishing B.C.'s wild rivers and streams, his courage to speak his mind, his knowledge of how government works, and his skill at speaking and writing. These attributes all combined to make Rafe a unique force of and for nature. He had the uncanny ability of all great generals and card players to know when to hold his ground and when to cut and run in order to make a new plan.

As an example of the latter: Rafe gave up his beloved pastime of fishing when he came to the conclusion that his sport was just too harmful to the fish — even catch and release. Rafe stood his ground on many issues that I and the Wilderness Committee also worked on. Rafe opposed the grzzly bear hunt, wolf kill, open-netcage salmon farms, run of river hydro projects, new oil pipelines to the coast, and the Site C dam, to name a few — and for that we were very appreciative.

Rafe's writings wouldn't have been able to make the impact they did if no one published them. That is why The Tyee is such an important part of Rafe's story as a writer and activist. One issue that comes to mind is the rediculous hoax that was the LNG scheme pushed by former premier Christy Clark. Remember that? LNG was going to pay off B.C.'s debt and build a cushy nest egg to boot. Too many actually believed the hot air. Rafe, published by The Tyee, was one of a very small group of journalists that from the very beginning recognized LNG as simply gas pains that would eventally disappear and leave nothing but a bad smell.

Rafe Mair could appear hard on the outside but he was a softy at heart. In his quiet moments while on the road during the fight against the IPP run of river projects, he would talk with me and the others who rode with us, constantly testing his own beliefs to make sure he was on the right track. And if he believed he was on the right track, he would follow it — even if it lead through the flaming pits of hell, he would walk on. He did so, I think, out of a deep-felt responsiblity to the truth and to the people and places he loved. As Rafe got older, his physical abilities diminished — as happens to all of us. But when the man wrote or spoke, he was clear as a bell, his vision crisp and his heart like a lion’s.

The sad fact is that we are all mortal. One day, we know not when, our lives will end. From that day forward we live on in the memories and actions of those who knew us. Rafe Mair was an extraordinary person, and I am hopeful that the example he set will help shape B.C.’s future. To that end, I wholeheartly support and encourge others to contribute to the Rafe Mair Memorial Fund for Environmental Reporting at The Tyee.

There are 12 days left to reach a $50,000 goal for the Rafe Mair Memorial Fund for Environmental Reporting. To see where we stand, and learn more, click here.