14 DAY TRIAL // This past weekend, over 130 protests were carried out across Canada. The people who took part in these demonstrations had one goal in mind: convince the country's high officials to pull the plug on both the tar sands industry and national pipeline development.
In case anyone was wondering, these people chose to spend their weekend marching around Canada not because they consider tar sands and pipelines a bit of an eyesore – although odds are this is also the case, – but because they believe that this industry causes tremendous damage to the environment.
Specifically, they say that it fuels both climate change and global warming, which in turn affect human communities worldwide.
According to Think Progress, the greatest number of protesters gathered in Vancouver. Thus, some 1,000 people met here and demanded that high officials do not give the green light to plans to build a pipeline that would transport tar sands bitumen from Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia.
If built, the pipeline would carry some 525,000 barrels of bitumen on a daily basis, all of which would be shipped to Asian markets, the same source details.
“Politicians might give the permits, but the people give the permission. And the people are saying ‘no’ to the Enbridge Gateway pipeline and others projects like that,” said Ben West with the ForestEthics Advocacy.
“People who have pipelines in their backyard are definitely on the front lines of this fight. but there are also many other Canadians who are concerned about climate change – they’re concerned about Canada’s role in the world, and they’re concerned about doing the right thing,” the environmentalist added.
Other protests were held in Montreal, in northern British Columbia and in Edmonton, Alberta.
Ironically enough, news of these protests comes shortly after a bunch of Canadian high officials congratulated Australia for its plans to end its carbon tax. Apparently, the country's leaders and its people are not exactly on the same page.