Vernon and area residents were among those protesting pipelines Monday.
A crowd of close to 100 gathered outside of North-Okanagan Shuswap MP Mel Arnold’s office Monday afternoon, although no one was around to hear their message.
Still, signs and posters, chants and speeches were made during the snap action against the Kinder Morgan pipeline purchase.
Clad in red, little Haddie Hofmann-Creak (one) turned out for the rally with her mom Stacey Creak.
“I know you have to have pipelines,” said Creak. “I have a car, I get it, but why this? It seems like an unreasonable option.”
Holding a sign that read: “We can’t play hockey on melted ice” six-year-old April Comazetto is concerned about the effects of the decision.
“I’m so angry I made a sign,” said Comazetto, joining her vocal parents.
While he may only be a day shy of six years old, Xavier Abarca Berkholtz also understands the devastation an oil spoil could cause.
“I don’t want the pipeline, it’s going to put oil in our oceans so we can’t swim in it and it will kill the whales and fish. When you put your goggles on and you look in there you’ll see everything is dead.”
Vernon rally organizer Bill Darnell was pleased to see such a large, varied and vocal crowd Monday.
“The Trudeau government just announced an outrageous plan to buy the failing Trans Mountain pipeline and tanker project from Kinder Morgan — costing taxpayers up to $15 billion,” said Greenpeace founder Darnell, who recently returned from protesting in Burnaby.
“Let that sink in. Dozens of First Nations still don’t have clean drinking water. We’re facing a housing crisis. Renewable energy projects are desperate for more funding. But Trudeau thinks there’s enough extra cash lying around to spend up to $15 billion on a pipeline so risky even Kinder Morgan doesn’t think it’s a good investment?”
But Darnell urges that the sale won’t be finalized for at least a month, and if there’s a massive backlash from voters, Trudeau could still cancel the buyout. A petition for Arnold was also circulated at Monday’s event.
Monday’s snap action in Vernon was among hundreds of protests across the country as part of a National Day of Action to Stop the Kinder Morgan Buyout.
“If enough people join local rallies, it could be enough to force Trudeau to reconsider this outrageous buyout scheme,” said Darnell.
This is the second time in three months that protests have taken place on Arnold’s constituency steps. See Vernon group protests Kinder Morgan.
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