Bruck Cockburn supports Ardoch

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> Star power; Although he has never met jailed activist, singer strongly
> believes in Bob Lovelace's cause
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> Posted 2 days ago
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> Of all the causes to which Bruce Cockburn has lent his support, this
> one is different.
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> "I feel personally threatened by the prospect of having uranium being
> mined not very far away," said the Canadian music icon.
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> "That needs to be stopped at any price."
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> Cockburn, who lives in the Kingston area, will bring his star power
> home when he headlines the Artists for Bob benefit concert in June to
> raise money for imprisoned local eco-warrior and Algonquin activist
> Bob Lovelace.
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> Cockburn has probably played hundreds of benefit concerts since the
> 1960s to raise money and awareness for various political,
> environmental and social causes.
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> Cockburn said he has never met Lovelace, but he is familiar with the
> exploitation of Canada's native people.
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> "It's not the first time this has happened," he said.
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> "Essentially, he's a political prisoner and there's no place in our
> society for political prisoners."
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> In February, a Kingston judge ordered Lovelace, a Queen's University
> lecturer and former chief of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, to
> jail after Lovelace defied a court order to stop barring access to
> Frontenac Ventures, an Oakville-based mining company, to a uranium
> prospecting site north of Sharbot Lake.
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> Lovelace said he couldn't stand aside because Algonquin law required
> him to protect the land, the rights for which, documents suggest,
> belong to the Algonquin. The father to two small adopted children was
> sentenced to six months in a maximum-security jail in Lindsay and
> fined $25,000.
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> The Artists for Bob concert, which will take place June 14 at Sydenham
> Street United Church, aims to help pay Lovelace's fine and assist his
> family while he is unable to work.
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> Sharing the stage with Cockburn will be several artists, including
> three Juno award-winning musical performers and two international
> best-selling authors.
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> Juno award-winning musicians David Francey, Jenny Whiteley, aboriginal
> singer Susan Aglukark and local musicians Joey Wright, Terry Tufts,
> the Algonquin Drummers, and Unity are also scheduled to perform.
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> Francey and Whiteley are neighbours in the village of Elphin, a few
> kilometres away from the site of the proposed mine.
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> Also appearing will be international best-selling novelists Steven
> Heighton and Michael Ondaatje, author of The English Patient.
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> Artists for Bob co-organizer Ellen Hamilton, of Kingston's Leopard
> Frog recording studio, said all the artists have some sort of
> connection to Kingston.
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> Ondaatje doesn't live in the area, but he has spent some time living
> and writing here, while Heighton lives in Kingston. Aglukark has been
> acting as a cultural ambassador to the Ardoch Algonquins.
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> Heighton said he has been following closely the stories of the uranium
> mine and land rights protests and was "morally outraged" to learn of
> Lovelace's imprisonment.
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> "There's a Chinese saying: To a man with a hammer, everything looks
> like a nail," Heighton said. "My sense of outrage is stirred up most
> by men with hammers and, in this case, judges with gavels that they
> smash down with excessive force."
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> When Hamilton asked him to participate, he said he leapt at the chance.
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> "His punishment didn't fit the crime," Heighton said. "Six months for
> an act of civil disobedience doesn't make sense."
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> Heighton admitted that part of his outrage comes from self-interest:
> He and his family enjoy hiking in the forests and swimming in the
> lakes near the mine site.
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> Whiteley said she worries about the impact a uranium mine would have
> on her home and she and her musician husband, Joey Wright, have
> already participated in anti-uranium mine benefits concerts in Sharbot
> Lake and McDonalds Corners.
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> Whiteley described Lovelace as a hero of the environment who needs the
> support of the community and more national attention.
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> Playing at the concert is the least she can do, she said.
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> "Personally, I feel so grateful to the Algonquins for doing something
> that the rest of us can't do, which was spend all those uncomfortable
> nights at the mine site," she said. "It seems so fundamentally unfair
> that Bob is where he is and I am here."
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> Whiteley hopes the presence of Cockburn and so much high-calibre
> talent will attract people who may not already be aware of the native
> land rights issues, the dangers of uranium mining, and the plight of
> Lovelace.
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> "Then you're not necessarily preaching to the converted," she said.
> "It just brings more people onside."
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> Francey said he's pleased to perform.
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> "I thought that was a very hefty punishment for stating a case," he
> said, "so when a chance came up to do something, I said, 'On a human
> level alone, he needs a hand, so I'm going to take part in it.' "
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> Francey spoke yesterday from Whitefish Bay, Wis., near Milwaukee,
> while taking a break from a month-long tour.
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> He said he hopes to write a song on the issues for the concert.
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> Cockburn said he's eager to share a stage with Ondaatje, one of his
> favourite writers.
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> "It's going to be a busy night," he said. "There's going to be some
> serious choreography with that many people onstage."
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> About half the 850 seats for the Artists for Bob concert have been
> sold.
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> Tickets are available at Brian's Record Option, Novel Idea, Tara
> Natural Foods and The Grand Theatre box office, inside City Hall.
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> Tickets can also be ordered by phoning 613-530-2050 or online at www.
> grandtheatre-kingston.com. They cost $30, while limited Free Bob
> Lovelace Supporter tickets cost $100. They include preferred seating,
> an Artists For The Algonquins compilation CD, and a pass to the artist
> after-show party.
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> farmstrong@thewhig.com
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> Copyright © 2008 The Whig Standard
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