Rallies planned across Canada to protest Kinder Morgan buyout
Posted June 4, 2018 7:31 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – More than 100 MP offices across the country will be greeted by protesters who are voicing their opposition to the federal government’s Kinder Morgan buyout.
The federal government unveiled a plan to buy the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and various assets on May 29, to ensure the project would go ahead. The announcement came just days before Kinder Morgan’s deadline.
Wearing red, protesters say they will also be taking to the offices of some notable politicians; including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office in Montreal, Minister James Carr’s office in Winnipeg, Minister Catherine McKenna’s office in Ottawa, Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould’s office in Vancouver and Minister Chrystia Freeland’s office in Toronto.
Related articles:
- Pipeline fight continues, federal decision does not reduce spill risk: Horgan
- Pipeline support on the rise in BC: poll
- Nation-wide Kinder Morgan buyout rally planned; academic says opposition can still halt project
Leadnow, the group organizing the day of action protests, calls the plan to spend $4.5 billion on the buyout “outrageous”.
“We can’t let our tax dollars go to a project that violates Indigenous rights and would threaten our shared climate,” reads a release. “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.”
Protest organizers hope their efforts, if enough people join, will get Trudeau to reconsider.
Kinder Morgan halted all non-essential spending on the pipeline expansion in April, pending reassurances from Ottawa that the project would come to fruition.
Related articles:
- Anti-pipeline protesters gather in Burnaby, Whistler
- Pipeline decision may cost Trudeau a lot of votes in next federal election: analyst
- Pipeline supporters gather in Langley days before Kinder Morgan deadline
Rallies against — and for — the project have been ongoing for months. More than 200 people have been arrested in Burnaby since March, where a court ordered injunction requires protesters keep away from the facility.
Kinder Morgan has agreed to start construction this summer as planned, and will work until July 22 trying to find another private-sector buyer. If none comes forward, only then will Kinder Morgan take Ottawa’s $4.5-billion offer to its shareholders.
Pending their approval, the sale would be finalized sometime in August or September.
