In response to threats from the Trump regime, Canadians from coast-to-coast have been seized by a fit of nationalism. The fossil fuel industry, bankers, and politicians have swiftly manipulated this to foster a pro-oil and gas narrative in an attempt to resurrect several long dead and buried pipelines including GNL Québec, Énergie Est, and Northern Gateway, and convince the public to support west coast gas infrastructure.
The inconvenient truth that industry and government will try to hide from you is that majority Canadian-owned corporations are responsible for less than 3% of oil production in so-called Canada. Meanwhile, MAGA billionaires are among those who stand to benefit from projects like the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline. Trump advisor Steve Schwarzman and his private equity firm Blackstone is one of the earliest investors in this project, along with three other American private equity firms.
This gas gold rush is being packaged and sold to Canadians as a patriotic solution to defend ourselves from Trump’s America. In reality, it is a solution that would only further benefit and enrich the American oligarchs, billionaires, and corporations who already own a majority stake in this fossil fuel infrastructure built on stolen Indigenous lands.
The push for fossil fuel nationalism distracts from what we really need: a future-proofed economy that leaves no one behind. Recent polling shows that a majority of Canadians want the government to invest in renewable energy INSTEAD of fossil fuels. Quebeckers have also responded forcefully to the threat to revive LNG projects in the province. Over 100 Québec NGOs and civil society groups, and even Yves-François Blanchet, the leader of the Bloc Québecois, have gone on the record to emphatically state that there will be no west-east pipelines crossing Québec.
Building more fossil fuel infrastructure will only benefit the billionaire class across borders, leaving working-class people across so-called Canada and Québec alongside their U.S counterparts to pick up the bill and live with the mess. It’s time to demand a different future, one that puts your wellbeing, the wellbeing of the planet, and the wellbeing of future generations at the centre.
Seniors For Climate celebrates Earth Day
From April 21st – 27th, Seniors for Climate are holding a week of action. Groups across the country will be gathering their allies for a day of community building and political action. All ages are welcome to host or participate in events. Last October, Seniors For Climate organized a day of action across 76 communities! Now, with a pivotal election and the future of federal climate policy at stake, let’s organize our communities to show up and make this one even bigger. Click here to find out when and where your local action will take place. No action planned near you? Sign up to host your own!
Decolonial Action of the Month
This month, we have a two-way tie for the decolonial action of the month! The movement targeting the financiers and investors of LNG projects on unceded territory is heating up!
On March 4, organizers in Tokyo and so-called Vancouver coordinated an action to shut down Mitsubishi Corporation due to their 15% ownership stake in LNG Canada, which is the export facility that the Coastal GasLink pipeline connects to.
This was an international solidarity action supporting Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders and amplifying Mitsubishi’s complicity in the violation of Indigenous and human rights during the construction of Coastal GasLink. Organizers previously presented Mitsubishi with a petition of over 1700 signatures demanding that they withdraw from the project. However, the company has refused to meet with them.
Later in the month, on March 20th, students across so-called Canada took action in solidarity with Indigenous Land Defenders resisting both Coastal GasLink and the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline. Students on 14 campuses across 5 provinces took action against RBC, TD, BMO, CIBC and Scotiabank, calling out the banks’ complicity in funding climate chaos and violations of Indigenous sovereignty, as part of a national day of action for #BanksOffCampus.
“New fossil fuel expansions and infrastructure is unnecessary and irresponsible: for our economy, people, and environment. For the past three years, students across the country have been challenging RBCs financing of Coastal GasLink and fossil fuels. Now we’re standing in solidarity with the Gitxsan people, demanding an end to the proposed PRGT pipeline which will violate their sovereignty. We will not back down. Big banks must stop any further financing of fossil fuels if they want reputational credit and the support of young people. They are scared of our influence, and we’ve seen it. Now is the time to act.” says Aishwarya Puttur from the University of British Columbia.
To support Nikkei Vancouver For Justice, Change Course, and all the student organizers, make sure you are following their accounts on Instagram! You can also check out Change Course’s digital actions targeting the big banks on their Linktree.
