Watch above: A new student coalition known as “students against the pipeline” gathered in downtown Montreal on Saturday afternoon. Global’s Ines de la Cuetara has the story.
MONTREAL – A new student coalition known as Coalition Étudiants et Étudiantes Contre les Oléoducs (ÉCO) gathered in downtown Montreal on Saturday afternoon.
They’re growing increasingly concerned about a TransCanada pipeline project and how it could affect their future.
“It’s the future generations that are gonna have to deal with the mess,” said Anthony Garoufalis-Auger, interim spokesperson for the student coalition.
The younger generation says they’re the ones who will be the most affected, should the project go through.
“A student that’s nineteen today is going to be living through some of the predictions that are expected when it comes to dangerous climate change. So we’re expecting droughts, severe weather patterns. And these are things that we’re expecting mid-century and will get a lot worse if we continue business as usual. So we have a lot to lose,” said Garoufalis-Auger.
The $12 billion deal would transport crude oil from Western Canada to Quebec and New Brunswick.
Read more: Would oilsands’ crude pipeline benefit Quebec?
“We’re here denouncing the Couillard and Harper government and we’re denouncing them because they’re absolutely incompatible with meeting our obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to avoid catastrophic climate change,” added Garoufalis-Auger.
Students say they feel their leaders are failing them, but they’re not only ones.
Amir Khadir from Quebec Solidaire was also present. He said both environmentally and economically, a pipeline project just doesn’t make sense.
“There’s no jobs really, attached to that. No positive impact, and we take all the risk. What we need in Quebec is to get out of the oil energy, oil economy,” said Khadir.
So far the government hasn’t budged.
“The lobby of the oil business is so strong that there is no way for citizens to obtain the attention of the Couillard government,” added Khadir.
Students insist they’ll keep protesting until the pipeline project is stopped.
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