THUNDER BAY -- The march to build and convert oil pipelines has continued under the fledgling Liberal government, despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s campaign promise to change the environmental review process.
Local environmentalists demonstrated outside of Thunder Bay-Superior North MP Patty Hajdu’s constituency office on Friday.
The process to advance Kinder Morgan’s 1,000-kilometre addition to its Trans Mountain pipeline will take its next step on Jan. 19 when the company presents its case to the National Energy Board.
Citizens United for a Sustainable Planet member, Paul Berger said the government allowing Kinder Morgan to proceed without changing the environmental review process violates a Liberal election promise. He called on Hajdu to put a halt to pipeline talks, including those surrounding the proposed Energy East Pipeline conversion through Northwestern Ontario.
“We think it’s really irresponsible to have pipelines that are being reviewed without taking into account greenhouse gasses,” Berger said.
“It really threatens the safety and the future prosperity of Canadians to do that.”
CUSP opposes the expansion and conversion of oil pipelines on principle, insisting Canada’s recent international commitment in Paris to holding rising global temperatures within 1.5 C means most of its fossil fuels have to stay in the ground.
Berger is convinced if the process were to incorporate greenhouse gas emissions as promised, oil sands expansion through pipeline development would be dead in the water.
“These pipelines are ridiculous,” Berger said.
“They’re dangerous for the watersheds that they cross and incredibly dangerous for the climate. If the Liberals kept their promise and included greenhouse gas emissions in their review process, we’d have confidence in the process because we’d be confident the process would find that they’re not in Canada’s best interest.”
Hajdu was in British Columbia on Friday in her role as Minister of Status of Women, holding discussions on the parameters for the coming inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.
She issued a statement welcoming the views of the environmental community.
"The government is committed to making important reforms to these regulatory agencies to restore public confidence," Hajdu said.
"These are important policy issues that will ensure we achieve the broader goal of increasing Indigenous and community participation in assessments, basing decisions on science, facts and evidence, and aligning with Canada's commitment to do our fair share on climate change."
