Tofino, Clayoquot Sound – The approval of the Kinder Morgan pipeline by Prime Minister Trudeau breaks his commitments to Indigenous rights, while declaring a war on the climate and coastal ecosystems. The Kinder Morgan pipeline and tanker project would release 100 million tonnes of carbon annually, negating climate commitments of the Liberal government. The pipeline would also bring another 400 tankers a year, putting communities and ecosystems at much greater risk of catastrophic oil spills.
“Friends of Clayoquot Sound stands with First Nations, municipalities, and environmental activists across B.C. to stop the expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline,” said Jeh Custerra, Friends of Clayoquot Sound Campaigner. “The strategies of movement building and peaceful direct action, that we utilized in the massive Clayoquot protests, will help to ensure the Kinder Morgan pipeline is never built.”
The Tofino Chamber of Commerce was a local intervenor in the National Energy Board hearings as the pipeline would result in a three-fold increase in tanker traffic passing within a 50km distance from Long Beach. This puts Clayoquot Sound on the front line in the event of a tanker accident, yet the west coast of Vancouver Island lies outside the spill response area for the Kinder Morgan pipeline.
“To attempt to force this pipeline to the west coast is disrespectful to Indigenous rights, coastal communities, and climate science,” said Custerra. “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vacationed in Tofino with his family this past summer, but with his continuing destructive betrayals he can expect to be greeted by angry crowds on the west coast.”
Canada must shift investment toward energy efficiency and renewable energy, not building new infrastructure to expand the exploitation of the world’s dirtiest oil from the tar sands. Stopping the Kinder Morgan expansion is crucial to transitioning Canada’s energy sector away from dependence on fossil fuels and toward economic alternatives that protect communities and coastal livelihoods.
For more information, please contact:
Jeh Custerra, Campaigner
Friends of Clayoquot Sound
250.725.4218 jeh@focs.ca
To download the Friends Of Clayoquot Sound statement follow this link: focs_kmpipeline_statement
