July showed that there will be no “summer slowdown” of organizing against the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion of the Trudeau government's attempt at a $15 billion taxpayer funded bailout of the project.
July 4 was the Climate Convergence coalition's “No Tudeau Pipeline Bailout!” Day of Action – consisting of an Intersection Rally and march to a Community Discussion. Armed with a new banner, a crowd of over 100 people gathered at the busy intersection of Broadway and Cambie in Vancouver to demand the government cancel its controversial bailout. Protesters were met with a lot of honking from passing drivers and distributed hundreds of new leaflets with details about the pipeline and the bailout.
They then marched over the Cambie Street Bridge to the Vancouver Public Library Central Branch and the site of the Community Discussion. 75 people sat in a circle to discuss the pipeline bailout and how to effectively organize to stop the pipeline expansion. It quickly became apparent that everyone was on the same page about the necessity to continue organizing – and many groups and individuals in attendance discussed new common actions and campaigns.
On July 8, Climate Convergence organizers also had busy information tables at Car Free Day on Commercial Drive and on July 15 at the Vancouver Folk Festival – collecting hundreds of petition signatures and distributing even more informational pamphlets. It is clear that the government's planned purchase of the pipeline has not changed anyone's mind about how terrible the project would be.
Many other groups and organizations made July a big month as well. Greenpeace organized for several climbers with massive banners to hang from the Iron Workers Memorial Bridge in Vancouver, the aerial blockade succeeded in generating a lot of media attention and blocking an oil tanker from leaving the Kinder Morgan facility for more than 30 hours.
Protect the Inlet also continued actions in front of the Kinder Morgan tank farm gates, and a kayak flotilla which was led by Tsleil-Waututh elders and encircled the the floating razor wire fences Kinder Morgan has put up around their tank farm.
Finally 18 past and present members of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Youth Advisory council issued a widely covered open letter to the Prime Minister demanding he cancel the pipeline bailout. “The decision to buy the Trans Mountain pipeline project calls into question your commitment to young Canadians...We call on you to cancel the buyout of the Trans Mountain pipeline project on the grounds that this project violates Indigenous rights, poses the threat of irreversible damage to British Columbia’s coast and brings the world many steps too close to global climate catastrophe. Climate leaders do not finance or support fossil fuel production and must instead pave the way to a just transition out of the fossil fuel era."
The voices of opposition from so many different communities against the Tar Sands expansion project continue in full force. We are committed to building a future, not a pipeline.
No Consent No Pipeline!
Build Our Future – Not a Pipeline!
System Change Not Climate Change!
Follow Thomas on Twitter: @thomasdavies59
Follow Climate Convergence on Twitter: @Climate604
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