A group of protesters unfurled a 17-metre wide “No Kinder Morgan” banner across Edmonton’s High Level bridge Friday morning, to protest the Trans Mountain expansion project.
The group said they wanted to dispel the myth that all Albertans support the pipeline, saying the twinning is not in the best interest of Alberta “as it shifts away from fossil fuel dependence and aims to meet its climate promises to the international community.”
“It’s reckless to expand major fossil fuel infrastructure at a time when we should be seeing all hands on deck for investing in a sustainable economic future,” protester Anna Gerrard said.
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The federal government gave its approval for Kinder Morgan Canada’s expansion of the pipeline late last year after the National Energy Board recommended it go ahead if 157 conditions are met.
The controversial $7.4-billion Trans Mountain expansion project, which would nearly triple the capacity of the pipeline system running from Alberta to B.C.’s southern coast, is facing significant scrutiny from the many environmentalists, Indigenous groups, and B.C. governments that oppose it.
The protest came one day after TransCanada announced it was not going ahead with the Energy East pipeline project.
“We’re calling on Rachel Notley and Justin Trudeau to halt this project,” protester Hannah Gelderman said. “We’ve seen, for example, Energy East yesterday cancelled, so we know that they have the power to do that and we know Alberta and Canada is ready for a just transition and we want to see that renewable energy transition happen.”
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After about an hour, protesters removed the banner and left peacefully. Police were not involved.
— With files from The Canadian Press