(Vancouver) – In response to today’s Federal Court of Appeal ruling related to the Trans Mountain Expansion pipeline, Greenpeace Canada spokesperson Mike Hudema said:
“This is a massive victory for Indigenous Nations, environmental groups and people across the country. The court unanimously rejected a process that was flawed from the start. Now it’s time for Prime Minister Trudeau to read the writing on the wall, dump this pipeline and shift the billions of public dollars slated for this problem-plagued project into Canada’s renewable energy economy. This summer’s fires, floods and choking smoke make it impossible to ignore the rising costs of climate inaction, so the Prime Minister should welcome the opportunity created by today’s ruling to get on the right side of history.
Today’s decision is a testament to people power and the strength of the Indigenous-led movement against this project. Indigenous people have led this fight, thousands of allies across the country and globe have joined them, and hundreds of people, from grandmothers to faith leaders, have been arrested protesting this pipeline. While we will all celebrate this massive win tonight we will be ready to continue the fight should this project ever try to endanger these lands, waters or our collective climate again.”
The pipeline’s approval was challenged at the Federal Court of Appeal on grounds that included inadequate consultation of First Nations and failure to protect endangered orcas as required under the Species at Risk Act. The court found that consultations with Indigenous people “were well short of the minimum requirements” as set out by the Supreme Court of Canada and that not considering project-related tanker in the review was “unjustified.”
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Mike Hudema, pipelines campaigner at Greenpeace Canada, who is available for interviews.
Contact: [email protected]; 1-780-504-5601
Steve Cornwell, communication officer at Greenpeace Canada
Contact: [email protected]; 1-514-418-0071
