About 100 people, both for and against the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, rallied outside Liberal MP Kent Hehr’s office in downtown Calgary on Monday morning.
Many of the protesters were shouting their frustration with the federal Liberals decision last week to purchase the pipeline for a price of $4.5 billion, all but securing its expansion across British Columbia to tidewater.
That decision had been hotly contested by the B.C. government as well as both political and environmental opponents.
One opponent at the protest said the federal government should have spent the money on renewable energy.
On the other side of the rally were supporters of the decision and the furthering of Alberta’s oil and gas exports. They could be seen wearing “I heart oil and gas” shirts and carrying signs that read “just build it.”
In Vancouver, dozens rallied outside the office of Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to voice their opposition to the pipeline.
“We drove Kinder Morgan out of Canada,” Peter McCartney of the Wilderness Committee said. “We sent them back to Texas with their tail between their legs and we’re going to do the same with the federal government’s pipeline.”
Wilson-Raybould’s constituency office was closed on Monday.
“I can’t even understand how an MP like Jody Wilson-Raybould — who shares the values of this movement, I truly believe — can stand up there and defend this project.
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