It was election night in 2017 and Wilderness Committee staff were gathered at our local watering hole nervously watching the vote totals roll in. We had a lot riding on this election, especially in the fight to stop the Trans Mountain pipeline and tanker project.
I remember celebratory cheers from NDP candidates that they would stop the pipeline as the night turned in their favour and I have no doubt many of these MLAs still hold this as a priority, and even believe their government is honouring its election promise.
[Gooderham was sentenced to 28 days in jail - the stiffest sentence so far in these cases - for violating the Court injunction against obstructing the work of TransMountain Pipelines Inc at its Burnaby B.C. terminal. He was released on bail pending appeal.]
[Nathan was sentenced to 150 hours of community service for violating the Court injunction against obstructing work by TransMountain Pipelines Inc. at its Burnaby B.C. terminal.]
March 11, 2019
I would apologize for taking up the court’s time, but I can’t, because I found it necessary to be here.
Whichever one of you is entrusted with the opportunity to lead Alberta into the future after the provincial election, here is what you need to know to navigate the most challenging issue in your province’s history — the era of stranded assets in the oilsands.
In an analysis for The Energy Mix, award-winning investigative journalist Paul McKay traces the parallels between the SNC-Lavalin scandal that has transfixed Canada’s capital and the Trudeau government’s decision to buy the Trans Mountain pipeline in spite of its avowed commitment to climate action. “As nature abhors a vacuum,” he writes, “democracy abhors a stacked legal deck.”
Rita Wong, Mel Lehan, Barry Morris, Kyle Farquharson, Will Offley
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
As you will see from the attached materials, we are a group of defendants charged with blocking the Kinder Morgan expansion project last year. We will be going on trial in April charged with criminal contempt of court, and facing both fines and jail terms if convicted. We are raising a defence of necessity with the goal of changing Canadian legal precedent if we are successful, which would have significant positive consequences for climate defenders facing charges for peaceful civil disobedience in the future.
The main argument against expanding fossil fuel use is catastrophic global warming. If you accept that, then economic and employment counterarguments had better be solid.
