by Meeka Marsolaisclimate-101-3

Considered by organizers, such as Katie Rae Perfitt, to be “the largest act of youth-led climate civil disobedience in Canadian history,” — with over 100 protesters present —  the Oct. 24 Climate 101 rally against Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion should serve as a reminder to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that approval from his constituents is not a right he earned in 2015. While his PR department bombards Canadians with how “progressive” he claims to be, there will always be a point where direct action must follow words.

It should be a telling fact that, just over a year after his election,  there are people ready to have themselves arrested in order to get their message across.

The rally itself began on the University of Ottawa campus. I knew where to go by following a young girl carrying a sign which protested Energy East — one of the many that sported slogans like “Keep it in the ground!” and “Climate leaders don’t build pipelines.” We quietly gathered to be fed, given coffee and soothed by the music of the Ottawa River Singers.  

Each person I came into contact with was participating for their own personal reason and they exuded passion for the cause. I met a couple who had come from Sault Ste. Marie based on recommendation by their professor at Sault College. I also met a grandmother from Nova Scotia who felt compelled to fly to Ottawa upon hearing of the efforts of these young people.

Clayton Thomas-Muller of Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, also known as Pukatawagan in Northern Manitoba, smudged the area with sage to promote a positive atmosphere that would carry on throughout the day. Muller took on a leading role during the march to Parliament Hill and his own personal store of renewable energy kept us all electrified.

As a collective, we carried our signs down Laurier Ave. and made our way to Parliament Hill.

“C’mon Trudeau, just say no!”

This was our chant as we walked through streets filled with business people, students and law officers, going about their lives as bystanders.  

Once we arrived at 111 Wellington, those who had come in support stepped back to the other side of the street, while those who were willing to risk arrest stood in a close knit group along the steel gates which had been erected by police to ward off protesters.

When we asked if we could cross this barrier, the police informed us that if we went any further we would be placed under arrest. The group took a moment to look at one another and acknowledge our next steps. We then put up our hands and, one-by-one,  climbed the steel barriers to be arrested.

The entire group was extremely peaceful and while the police were walking us to their ready-made processing station less than 100 meters away we continued to quietly chant — at least I did!

We knew the house was sitting on Oct. 24, which is the reason behind deciding to hold the action that day. Justin Trudeau was in Ottawa while we, over 100 young people standing together in the cold, were at his place of work begging for his attention.

I had a genuine hope that he might come out to speak with us. This hope came from the fact that we were being extremely peaceful and polite.  

There is also the fact that this man was elected by a landslide (largely by the youth of this country) and ALSO because he promised to be a climate leader, protect our environment and honour the treaties. Based on those facts, the least he could do was send out a representative.

Each of the 99 people who got arrested that day was given a trespassing notice, banning us from Parliament Hill for 3 months.

My hope is that our message penetrated beyond the excessive lineup of police officers but, to be honest, I’m not sure that it did. The nasty truth is that the environment has no money to give our politicians and unfortunately the harmful implications of this pipeline are not enough to put a stop to this project. Or perhaps the decision-makers don’t understand the science? This is why we tried to bring them a chalkboard with all the scientific info! To show them that this is Climate Change 101!

Kinder Morgan facts:  

  • Upon completion, the Trans Mountain pipeline system would transport more than 890,000 barrels a day of primarily diluted bitumen from Alberta oil sands to BC’s west coast
  • The expansion would increase oil tanker traffic from around 60 per year to more than 400 per year.
  • Trans Mountain expansion is opposed by the mayors of Vancouver and Burnaby.
  • In May 2014 the Tseil-Wautuuth First Nation launched a legal challenge against the pipeline, saying the National Energy Board and Canadian Government failed to meet their legal obligation to consult the band during the pipeline review process.
  • In his 2015 federal election campaign, Prime Minister Trudeau committed to overhauling the National Energy Board and review process of major pipeline proposals. Speaking to Kai Nagata of the Dogwood Initiative, he confirmed that yes, the overhaul would apply to existing proposals including Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain…but that never happened.
  • Trudeau is scheduled to make a decision on the Trans Mountain pipeline before Christmas 2016.

This article was first published in the Leveller Vol. 9, No. 3