Opponents of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project have planned a demonstration for 5:30 p.m. today (May 29) in Vancouver.

It's set to take place at Creekside Park, next door to Science World at 1455 Quebec Street.

The demonstration is in response to the federal Liberal government officially announcing it intends to purchase Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline system, including the expansion of its pipeline through Burnaby.

That announcement, made in Ottawa this morning by Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr, came just days ahead of a May 31 deadline that Kinder Morgan set for political progress on its long-stalled plans to expand its Trans Mountain pipeline.

"This transaction represents a sound investment opportunity," Morneau claimed.

The deal would see Kinder Morgan Canada, a subsidiary of the Texas-based Kinder Morgan Inc., sell the Trans Mountain pipeline to a Crown corporation. It's tentatively scheduled to close before the end of August for an estimated cost of $4.5 billion.

The rally scheduled for 5:30 p.m. today is organized by Protect the Inlet, an Indigenous initiative primarily of Tsleil-Waututh members and their allies.

"British Columbians will gather and rally to express their opposition to the Canadian buyout of Kinder Morgan's troubled Trans Mountain pipeline and tanker project," reads a May 29 media release.

Speakers at the event are scheduled to include Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson, Tsleil-Waututh elder Ta’ah Amy George, Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) secretary treasurer Judy Wilson, Pukatawagan Nation member and activist Clayton Thomas-Muller, and Stand.Earth deputy director Tzeporah Berman, among others.

The Trans Mountain project involves twinning an oil pipeline that runs from Edmonton—where it receives diluted bitumen from the Alberta tar sands—to a port in Burnaby. Upon completion, it would triple the amount of bitumen transported to the Lower Mainland, increasing the number of oil tankers moving through Burrard Inlet from some 60 ships per year to more than 400.