TMX AGM: Send your questions

We submitted nearly 3,000 questions to

Trans Mountain’s AGM

On November 17th, the Trans Mountain Crown corporation will hold its Annual General Meeting — but they only gave us until November 3rd to submit our questions. With only a few day’s notice, people from every province and territory flooded TMX’s inbox with their questions and concerns. Together, we sent 2,828 emails.

Trudeau bought the Trans Mountain pipeline with our public money. That makes all of us unwilling shareholders in this Crown corporation. And we made sure our voices were heard.

We’re not stopping here. Our next step is to take to the streets on the day of the Trans Mountain AGM.

Join us

Questions and comments submitted by people across the country:

“When we look back on TMX in a couple of decades, will we lament the Liberal government’s inability to lead us on the path to a secure future? Or will we celebrate a bold and visionary change in direction to matched the challenge of the climate crisis?”

“I am deeply opposed to the Trans Mountain Pipeline, and am wondering how you can ethically justify this project? How can you sleep at night knowing you are contributing to the destruction of the planet”

“Trudeau stood in front of the UN promising to give back to the Indigenous communities, but cannot be bothered to install clean drinking water to Canadian communities. Instead, the Canadian government is building a new pipeline at the onset of a climate emergency.”

“How do I explain to my two daughters that the government they trust threw their future in the toilet by supporting an oil pipeline in 2020?”

“I also want to know, should this pipeline get built, what are the plans for it after oil is no longer globally in demand in 10-20 years? Can it be used to send medical equipment? Maybe clean air for days when forest fire smoke has blocked out the sun? Can it be used as free public transportation to help people access low carbon travel?”

Photo Credit: Spence Mann (2019)

FAQs

Why take action?

Let’s make sure we’re heard on the same day as the Trans Mountain (TMX) crown corporation’s Annual General Meeting. It’s unacceptable that our federal government continues to sink billions into this pipeline in the midst of a climate emergency and global pandemic. Despite their best efforts to keep the public out of the conversation, we’re going to make sure that we are heard loud and clear.

What is the Trans Mountain pipeline and why should we defund it?

This project didn’t make sense when Justin Trudeau bought it, and it makes even less sense now Defunding it is the best choice.

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. At the time, the Trudeau government bought the pipeline (with out tax dollars) for or $4.5 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 learned 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.

Here’s why Trans Mountain was always a bad bet, even before COVID:

- 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 its 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.

What does it mean to build back better with a Green New Deal?

There is a national movement pushing all levels of government to put people first as they build plans to recover from COVID-19. Learn more about the movement here.

The Green New Deal is a plan to completely re-tool our economy to tackle the climate crisis and rising inequality at the pace and scale that science demands. It’s a visionary idea, with movements across the globe bringing it to life in their own particular ways. Fundamentally, a Green New Deal is about setting us up to take care of people, create millions of decent jobs, and tackle the climate crisis at the same time. s. Learn more about the movement for a Green New Deal here.