Dozens of Indigenous people, community members, families and retired teachers are blocking Kinder Morgan’s front gate on Burnaby Mountain
Coast Salish community members Oceann Hyland and Will George led the protectors in ceremony at the nearby Watch House and then escorted them to Kinder Morgan’s gates.
This week, Alberta premier Rachel Notley threatened to cut oil shipments to B.C. if the province interferes with Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.
The air was crisp and cold as they trekked up Burnaby Mountain early on Saturday morning. People's breath came out in white puffs as each of the volunteer construction workers carried two planks of wood. Their goal was to build a traditional Indigenous "watch house" to monitor Texas-based Kinder Morgan as it proceeds with construction of its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.
Protesters around Vancouver held duelling rallies on Saturday, some welcoming Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project with others decrying it.
Both sides delivered impassioned arguments about the proposed expansion.
ndigenous leaders beat drums and sang out against the project Saturday morning, saying they won't step aside for construction.
The pipeline runs between Edmonton and Burnaby. Kinder Morgan received federal approval for an expansion in November 2016.
The government’s decision to build the dam makes it abundantly clear that the struggle to defend indigenous rights and the environment must be build outside of parliament
Gary Porter is a member of the New Democratic Party in British Columbia. This article was published in the NDP Socialist Caucus magazine, Turn Left, which was distributed to delegates at last month’s federal NDP convention.
