Prime Minister Trudeau travelled to British Columbia in July 2022 to announce his government’s “Oceans Protection Plan 2.0,” an additional $2 billion investment over the next nine years in ocean protection programs. In total, the Trudeau government has now pledged $3.5 billion toward ocean protection. This might seem like a sizeable investment, but it is only a fraction of the money that the government of Canada is spending on climate destruction. For example, in 2020 alone, Canada handed out $18 billion in subsidies for fossil fuels.
The money that Trudeau is pumping into the TMX pipeline expansion, which will triple the amount of dirty tar-sands bitumen being transported for export to the coast, also far outpaces any investment in the oceans. Since buying the existing Trans Mountain pipeline and the expansion project in 2018 for $4.5 billion, costs to build TMX have now ballooned to an outrageous $21.4 billion in taxpayer money. Furthermore, on June 22, 2022, the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) of the government of Canada also released an updated report demonstrating that the TMX expansion project will result in a net loss of $600 million. When Trudeau bought the TMX pipeline, he claimed it would help fund climate action in Canada – now, even the PBO is confirming that is a lie.
By pushing ahead with the TMX and CGL pipelines, the Trudeau Liberal government and Horgan’s NDP government in BC have both demonstrated that they have no regard for Indigenous rights, people or the planet and no real plans to address the climate emergency.
Throughout the beginning of summer, Climate Convergence Metro Vancouver continued to join with other grassroots organizations and climate justice fighters across the Lower Mainland at many varied and dynamic actions in defense of mother earth.
On June 1, Climate Convergence organizers came together in person for a picnic and banner painting. The rain held off for most of the event, and there were many good conversations with passersby who were curious about what we were doing in the park and stopped at the table to learn more about Climate Convergence and the struggle against the TMX and CGL pipelines.
Then on June 11, the Mountain Protectors invited climate justice organizations and activists to the Kwekwexnewtxw - Watch House on Burnaby Mountain for a 24-hour community gathering against the Trans Mountain pipeline.
Climate Convergence joined with Protect the Planet, Stop TMX! and others on June 13 for a rally in defense of SFU Professor Dr. Tim Takaro, who was set to appear in court that day for peacefully blocking construction work related to the TMX pipeline in 2021. Following the rally, Dr. Tim Takaro was sentenced to an outrageous 30 days in jail.
The Webinar “Fossil Capitalism, Climate Breakdown and Green-Left Strategies” took place on June 15. This successful event was presented by the Society for Socialist Studies and co-sponsored by Climate Convergence Metro Vancouver, Corporate Mapping Project, and Fire This Time Movement for Social Justice.
Before June came to a close, Climate Convergence continued with its campaign of regular banner drops to draw public attention to the TMX and CGL pipelines. On June 29, Climate Convergence held a successful and energetic banner drop at the pedestrian overpass near Hastings and Sperling at the base of Burnaby Mountain, focusing on banners against the TMX pipeline and the drilling of Burnaby
Mountain.
The banner drop was a lead-up to the Youth Say: Don’t Give Up! TMX Town Hall that took place on July 5. This event, organized at the Lochdale Community Hall in Burnaby, was sponsored by BROKE in collaboration with Mountain Protectors, For our Kids, Burnaby, Protect the Planet, TSSU (SFU Teaching Support Staff Union), Climate Convergence Metro Vancouver and Force of Nature. Over 100 people came out in person and online to hear the speakers at this educational and inspiring united action.
Join the Struggle for Climate Justice!
The end of June 2022 marked the first anniversary of the “heat dome” that killed over 600 people here in BC. This extreme weather event, ongoing wildfires, and the disastrous floods that persisted the entire summer are just some of the horrible impacts of the climate catastrophe. The one-anniversary of this devastation is a reminder of the necessity to continue organizing for climate justice. It is more apparent with each passing day that poor, working, and oppressed people in Canada need money for healthcare, education, housing, and social justice, not climate-destroying pipelines!
Join Climate Convergence to get involved in this struggle in defense of mother earth! For more information, visit www.climateconvergence.ca, on Twitter: @climate604 and on Instagram and Facebook: @climateconvergence.
Drop all charges against land defenders!
No to the TMX and CGL pipelines!
System change, not climate change!
Follow Alison on Twitter: @Alisoncolette
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