350 Canada
True Cost of TMX E-Rally
On Monday September 14th, Trudeau’s cabinet met to plan for the return of Parliament. And we took action.
Hundreds of people joined a digital e-rally to deliver thousands of signatures calling on Prime Minister Trudeau and newly appointed Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland, to release the true cost of the TMX pipeline. We made sure our voices were heard right in the middle of their meeting.
WATCH THE RECORDING:
What’s next:
- Spread the word: We then collectively delivered over 8,500 signatures to Finance Minister Freeland. Take a moment to download and share this graphic of the online petition delivery with the hashtag #TMXCost.
- Take action: During the call, hundreds of us flooded Finance Minister Freeland’s phonelines to make sure she got our email and heard our demands to reveal the cost of TMX. If you haven’t called her yet, take one minute to use this easy click-to-call to flood her phone lines to make sure she gets our message.
Who attended?
We might not be able to hit the streets, but we can still take action.
Each pin displayed outside Parliament on the map below represents a person who attended the e-rally on September 14th.
Kayah George ‘Halth-Leah’ proudly carries the teachings of her Tulalip and Tsleil-Waututh Nations which have inspired her to become a young Indigenous and environmental leader, scholar, and activist. She has talked globally about climate justice and spread the teachings of her nations to honour and care for the earth while being a full-time student at Simon Fraser University. (She/Her pronouns)
Rebecca Keetch is an organizer with Green Jobs Oshawa and an autoworker from Oshawa who is leading the charge for climate action and workers rights in her community. Green Jobs Oshawa is a worker-led project focusing on bringing the former GM auto plant in Oshawa under public ownership and repurposing it for the social good. She remains active with her union and is a member of the Unifor Local 222 Education and Political Action Committees.
Clayton Thomas-Müller is a member of the Treaty #6 based Mathias Colomb Cree Nation. Based in Winnipeg, Clayton is a senior campaign specialist with 350.org, and a film director, public speaker and author on Indigenous rights and environmental & economic justice.
About Trans Mountain
The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is a new fossil fuel pipeline that would carry tar sands from Alberta to just outside of Vancouver, BC. Originally owned by Texas oil giant Kinder Morgan, the Government of Canada bailed the project out in 2018 when Kinder Morgan threatened to walk away, and we bought it for $5.4 billion.
Then, in early 2020, the Government released updated costs for the project. Now at nearly $13 billion and climbing, public support for the pipeline dropped as the public was told that we would need to foot this growing bill. This was all before COVID-19 hit, which no doubt has driven the cost of the project even higher.
Before Justin Trudeau bought the Trans Mountain pipeline, the project was such a bad bet that Texas oil giant Kinder Morgan walked away from the project. Here’s why:
- Shaky Economics: Trans Mountain requires ongoing tar sands expansion to make sense, and that requires a high price of oil. Before the pandemic hit, and the price of oil collapsed, the economics for Trans Mountain didn’t make sense. They make even less sense now. Read More.
- Local Opposition: There has long been a large and loud opposition to Trans Mountain all along the route, where concerns of an oil spill are top of mind. The existing pipeline that this expansion is being built atop has – by the companies own reporting – leaked more than 80 times, as recently as June 2020. Read More.
- Climate Change: The Trans Mountain pipeline will create millions of tonnes of carbon emissions, making it impossible for Canada to do it’s part in tackling the global climate crisis. Despite this, their own review of the project refused to consider the complete climate impact of the project. Thanks to all this, the pipeline faces opposition all across Canada, and the world. Read More.
- Indigenous Rights: Indigenous communities all along the Trans Mountain pipeline and tanker routes have raised major issues with the construction of the pipeline since it was first proposed. These groups have challenged the project in court, and on the land, with opposition continuing to grow. Read More.
Why is knowing the cost so important?
We’re in the midst of a pandemic and on the cusp of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Every dollar that is spent on the growing cost of this pipeline is a dollar that isn’t going to help people and communities weather this storm.
We also know that the more this project costs us, the less people want it. We need to know if Justin Trudeau is hiding these true costs because he’s worried that the public will reject the pipeline that his government bought back in 2018.
What does it mean to build back better from COVID-19?
Now a talking point of governments like Justin Trudeau’s, the idea of a build back better agenda from COVID-19 is based on the concept of a Just Recovery. In Canada that means a recovery effort that follows six principles:
- Put people’s health and wellbeing first. No exceptions
- Strengthen the social safety net and provide relief directly to people
- Prioritize the needs of workers and communities
- Build resilience to prevent future crises, like the climate crisis.
- Build solidarity and equity across communities, generations, and borders
- Uphold Indigenous Rights and work in partnership with Indigenous peoples