Sierra Club BC statement on federal buyout of Trans Mountain pipeline
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 23, 2018
Sierra Club BC released the following statement from conservation and climate campaigner Mark Worthing as federal deadline passed without a buyer for the Trans Mountain pipeline:
“While Prime Minister Trudeau vacations on our beautiful coastline, he is putting that same coastline at risk by buying out the Trans Mountain pipeline and oil tankers project.
“The federal government said they would find investors for this failing project. But Kinder Morgan couldn’t find investors, that’s why they wanted out. Investors seem to understand what the federal government doesn’t: the economics don’t make sense for this project.
“While Kinder Morgan cashes in, public funds that should be used to transition our energy economy are being blown through reckless political jockeying and short sighted economics.
“It doesn’t matter who owns this pipeline, the risks are still the same. And the roadblocks it faces are still the same too. First Nations, municipalities and non-governmental organizations are in court fighting to defend this coast and the courts will decide soon.
“British Columbians will remember this betrayal on October 21, 2019. Buying a tar sands pipeline in the middle of a climate crisis is unforgivable.
“Wasting public resources on a pipeline that faces such stark opposition from Indigenous peoples is profoundly unethical and completely undermines the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent.
“The answer has always been no. From the boreal forests of Athabasca Chipewyan territory, to the many rivers this pipeline illegally crosses in Secwepemc territory, to the Tsleil-Waututh waters of Slilwat where Trudeau threatens us with more oil tankers, the answer is still no. The people of British Columbia stand alongside Indigenous land and water protectors.
“I wish I could say this isn’t my prime minister. I wish I could say this isn’t my pipeline. But as a non-Indigenous person living in Canada, this is a dark reminder that we need to take responsibility for the colonial injustices that our governments continue to commit in our name.
“This government promised to end fossil fuel subsidies and champion the clean economy. Yet they are spending billions of dollars of taxpayer money to buy out a tar sands pipeline that would decimate our most progressive climate targets and threaten British Columbia’s coast.”
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Media contact:
Mark Worthing
Conservation and Climate Campaigner
Sierra Club BC
250-889-3575
mark@sierraclub.bc.ca
