Yvonne Hanson: The pipeline debate leaves no room for uncertainty

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      By Yvonne Hanson

      In August 2015, Justin Trudeau was campaigning on the West Coast and was asked whether he would redo the National Energy Board review of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX) that was then in progress under the Harper government.

      “Yes. Yes. Yes. It applies to existing projects, existing pipelines as well ... that process needs to be redone,” Trudeau said. 

      But in 2016 the Liberal government approved the pipeline anyway, without having redone the process, as promised, under an overhauled NEB. Voters in ridings like Vancouver Granville, who elected Liberal MPs last time, were betrayed.

      I’m running for office with Jagmeet Singh and the NDP because we are very clear on this issue: we will do everything we can to stop the pipeline. I’ve joined protests against this pipeline for years, and I will attend future protests until this project is terminated. I will attend protests for any and all expansion of the fossil fuel industry. (That includes new refineries, Elizabeth May.) My generation knows we have to start scaling down the industry; we can’t keep expanding fossil fuel infrastructure. There’s simply no future in it

      Taleeb Noormohamed, the Liberal candidate in Vancouver Granville, has in the past shown concern about tarsands pipelines in B.C. But now he’s running for the party that bought the pipeline and approved its expansion. 

      Jody Wilson-Raybould was a part of the government that approved the pipeline. In June of this year, she published an article in which she stated that she believes now is not the right time to proceed with the TMX project. I believe there is no right time, and there will be no right time, ever. It is certainly not the right time to be vague and non-partisan on this issue when the fate of BC’s delicate coastal ecosystem hangs in the balance. 

      I am constantly frustrated by Trudeau and his representatives who speak the language of environmentalism, but fail to make and uphold dedicated and passionate commitments. We need passion, we need dedication, and we need revolutionary action if we want to preserve habitable conditions on this planet. If elected, I’ll use my seat in Parliament to amplify the grassroots movements and Indigenous nations fighting to stop this pipeline. The future of this planet depends on politicians who are willing to walk the walk on climate action. 

      TMX has become more than a battle over a single devastating infrastructure project. It has become a symbol of the battle being waged between Big Oil and those fighting for a habitable planet, a fight that is sometimes portrayed as being between proponents of “economic growth” and of environmental stewardship. 

      We hear the phrase “economically viable” getting thrown around a lot by pro-pipeline voices. We hear Liberal and Conservative candidates talk about the need to balance environmental concerns with “economic viability”. In reality, environmental concerns and economic viability are inextricably linked. If we continue to gouge resources out of our rapidly declining ecosystems, we will suffer economically from the damages we have caused.

      We are already suffering economically from those damages: the average annual cost of responding to catastrophic natural disasters in Canada has tripled over this last decade, and is now topping $1.2 billion per year. By 2050, this annual cost is expected to rise to between $21 and $40 billion per year. 

      It is simply shortsighted to see short-term economic gains and long-term environmental responsibilities as being disconnected from one another; this mindset will cost us big time

      Whether or not this pipeline gets built, the final result will set a precedent. That precedent may be that concerned citizens and Indigenous nations can successfully stand up to the colonial influence of the fossil fuel industry and win fights like this one across the country. That is the precedent I would like to see established.

      Yvonne Hanson is the NDP candidate in Vancouver Granville. She plans to participate in the Extinction Rebellion protest on the Burrard Bridge on Monday (October 7).

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