Protests were held in many communities across Canada to try to show that opposition to the oil pipeline stretches far and wide.
A Day of Action protest put on by Lead Now and the Coast Protectors was held Monday afternoon outside the Dunsmuir Street office of Nanaimo-Ladysmith MP Sheila Malcolmson and attracted more than 100 people. Afterward, most of them marched around downtown Nanaimo, changing “No dirty oil in the Salish Sea” and “No, Trudeau, the pipeline will not go.”
Carol Fetherston was the event’s local organizer and said she was happy with the turnout considering the protest was only organized two days beforehand. She said it was an opportunity to send a message to the federal government that taxpayers are not happy about the pipeline purchase and she personally would prefer to see investment in renewable energy.
Malcolmson is in Ottawa as there was debate in the House of Commons on Monday regarding the pipeline, but the MP sent a statement to be read aloud at the rally.
“Prime Minister Trudeau is giving Texas pipeline company Kinder Morgan an outrageously rich payout while dumping all the risks on Canadians,” Malcolmson wrote. “Buying Kinder Morgan’s 60-year-old pipeline is a shocking betrayal of climate leadership and again breaks Just Trudeau’s promise to end fossil fuel subsidies.”
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Fetherston said people speaking up in Nanaimo can make a difference.
“Politicians of all stripes realize that if somebody signs a petition, if somebody comes out and protests, they’re just the visible ones,” she said. “We need to be very proactive because we do love our coastline.”
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