Rallies for, against Trans Mountain pipeline go ahead in Metro Vancouver

BURNABY (NEWS 1130) – An injunction keeping protesters 50 metres away from Kinder Morgan facilities hasn’t prevented demonstrators from fighting the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

Thousands of people, including Indigenous leaders and environmentalists, followed the court order while taking part in the Protect the Inlet march Saturday morning, which began at the Lake City Way SkyTrain station and ended at Forest Grove Elementary in Burnaby.

With chants and signs, protesters say it won’t be politicians that will stop the project from going ahead but people.

Sven Biggs with Stand.earth –one of the organizers– says they’ll be building a watch house near the elementary school which is just about 50 meters away from a Kinder Morgan site. “Members of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation are going to be on there as an on-going occupation, and we’ll be using it as an organizing centre.”

The protest comes one day after a BC Supreme Court judge granted Kinder Morgan the temporary injunction, which lasts until Wednesday when a hearing on the matter is expected to continue.

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Christie Sandford came to oppose the project because she says it will expand carbon emissions. “From 7,000 tonnes a day to green house gas emissions to 400,000 tonnes a day. And that’s in contradiction with the Pan-Canadian Climate commitment, that came out of the Paris Accord.”

Another protester says climate change is the main reason she decided to take part in the march. “We feel that at our age, we’re leaving a terrible mess for next generations. This is the very least that we can do.”

Demonstrator Jean Campbell is worried about a spill. “Our coast line would be devastated, we’ll lose our tourist industry, we’ll lose all the fishing. It would just be a horror show.”

While she’s not optimistic activists will stop the project, Mike Jennings — who’s also concerned about the environment — has a little more faith. “Politicians don’t seem to have the political will to make change, so it has to come from individuals.”

Indigenous autonomy and spill concerns are other reasons people say they don’t want the expansion.

The Trans Mountain expansion is expected to increase the capacity of oil products flowing from Alberta to the BC coast from 300,000 barrels to 890,000 per day.

Pro-pipeline protest in Vancouver

However, not everyone opposes the project. Over a hundred people came out to Jack Poole Plaza to show their support for the pipeline expansion.

Stewart Muir is the Executive Director of the group Resource Works and one of the organizers of the Rally in Vancouver For Our Shared Future. He believes there is a silent majority that favours pipelines, one that is otherwise too busy or too afraid to make that support known publicly.

“I hear, over and over, ‘Well, we’re out there working. Maybe we’re working two shifts. Maybe we’re working down at the mill. We’re busy raising families. We’re doing all those things. We don’t have time to go out and be professional protesters.’”

Landen Stein came to the rally from Calgary, with a busload of other Albertans. He says he’s worked in the oil and gas industry his whole life. “In my idle time now, I’m giving back, trying to see some of these projects that really are responsible, all about responsible resource development, make them happen.”

He argues the environmental record of the Canadian energy sector is world class, which Victoria Klippenstein, who also came out to the rally, agrees with. “Well I think with the amount of regulations that Canada currently has on the pipelines, I think [a major spill] is unlikely.”

Demonstrator Elena Gatenby, who’s husband works at mines in the Yukon, also believes the risk to the environment is minimal. “There’s lots and lots of regulations in these industries and we believe in the pipeline, and we believe in listening to the facts.”

Ben Cohen also came from Calgary and says Canada nees to get oil to more markets. “I mean, we’re all one country, it’s been federally approved and we just wanna get it going, the time for talk is over, we need to put shovel in the ground.”

Andrew Mann lives in Vancouver and says Canada needs to rely on itself for oil and gas, not other countries. “Produced in the most ethical way by the most ethical people and in a world where you can get oil and gas, why not Canada? Why not create the jobs and keep our economy going?”

Mann says the Trans Mountain pipeline has never had a catastrophe since it started moving oil in 1953, and with stricter rules now, he argues spill concerns are not a good enough reason to halt the project.

Job creation and benefits to the economy were the major reasons people argued the pipeline needs to go ahead.

One person at the rally had a sign that said “Dear John, say yes” while another read “Lay the pipe.”

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