On March 23, local residents joined citizens across Canada in a National Day of Action to Defend the Water.
Two dozen residents gathered outside of Wellington-Halton Hills MP Michael Chong’s Fergus office to present their message and deliver samples of water collected from the coastline in BC threatened by Kinder Morgan oil spills.
“With the power of water from the frontlines of resistance, we’ll demand that our MPs put pressure on Trudeau to stop pushing for the pipeline,” Gerry Walsh said.
Walsh and Liz Armstrong were among those spearheading the local protest.
Walsh explained, “actually it was LeadNowCanada that sent out a post for volunteers to visit local MP offices and present water samples from the Salish Sea and ask for support of an initiative to stop Kinder Morgan.”
Reasons
Walsh said the protest is driven by a number of factors.
“Our concern is that there are 100 million tonnes of greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere every year and added to the environment because of Kinder Morgan’s oil supply,” she said.
“At least 70 new tankers will be needed to carry the oil from the Kinder Morgan pipeline, which increases the number of possible spills.”
Part of her concern is that the company is preparing for “probable” not just “possible” spills.
“The environmental impact will be devastating to the BC coast and its delicate ecosystems,” she said.
“Supporting Kinder Morgan violates the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights which has been adapted by every country except Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
“We just had 10 days to organize … it’s been amazing … many, many more people responded … but had to work today or made appointments and could not be there.”
