Tag Archives: Justin Trudeau

‘Shameful Day for Canada’: First Nations Encampment Violently Raided, Land Protectors Arrested

“Is this a normal way to respond to Indigenous people who are peacefully protecting their drinking water from fracking pipelines?”

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 1-8-2019

Reacting to footage of the “invasion” by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on Monday, author and activist Naomi Klein said it was “a shameful day for Canada, which has marketed itself as a progressive leader on climate and Indigenous rights.” (Photo: Michael Toledano/@M_Tol)

More than 50 protests have been planned for across the globe on Tuesday in solidarity with a First Nations group fighting against the construction of TransCanada’s Coastal GasLink through unceded Wet’suwet’en territory, with the number of protests rising overnight after Canadian police broke down a checkpoint gate erected by Indigenous land protectors and arrested more than a dozen people.


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‘Anyone Surprised?’ Kinder Morgan Pipeline Leak Two Days Before Trudeau Buyout Was 48 Times Larger Than First Reported

“With accuracy like that, we should all be very, very worried.’

By Jake Johnson, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 6-10-2017

Thousands march in opposition to the Kinder Morgan Pipeline expansion. (Photo: MeanwhileinCana/Twitter)

Just two days before Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his government would purchase Kinder Morgan’s faltering and widely opposed Trans Mountain pipeline, British Columbia’s Ministry of Environment said 100 liters of crude oil had leaked at a Kinder Morgan pipeline pump station north of Kamloops—but the company initially refused to confirm the severity of the spill.

On Saturday, with its bailout from the Canadian taxpayer confirmed by Trudeau, Kinder Morgan declared after an investigation that, actually, 4,800 liters of crude oil had leaked during the May 27 spill—48 times more crude than first reported. Continue reading

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‘Incredible’ News as Banking Giant HSBC Ditches New Coal, Tar Sands, and Offshore Arctic Drilling Projects

The development is “yet another signal to Donald Trump and the rest of the world that, despite their worst laid plans, the era of fossil fuels is coming to a close.”

By for Common Dreams, Published 4-20-2018.

Climate groups applauded HSBC’s announcement that it is moving away from fossil fuels. (Photo: ItzaFineDay/flickr/cc)

In another signal that “the era of fossil fuels is coming to a close,” Europe’s biggest bank, HSBC, announced Friday that it will no longer fund oil or gas projects in the Arctic, tar sands projects, or most coal projects.

The move was cheered by climate campaigners on social media, who said, “This is huge,” and called it “incredible news.”

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#ProtectTheInlet: Massive Protest in BC as Thousands March to Stop Kinder Morgan Pipeline

“In our opposition to Kinder Morgan, we are many people paddling in the same direction.”

By Jon Queally, staff writer for CommonDreams. Published 3-10-2018

“For Tsleil-Waututh Nation, the People of the Inlet, it is our sacred obligation to protect the water,” the tribe said in a statement ahead of Saturday’s protest. And while they said they will continue their legal battle against the pipeline company in the court, they added, “In our opposition to Kinder Morgan, we are many people paddling in the same direction.” (Photo: ProtecttheInlet.ca)

Disregarding an injunction won by the pipeline company a day before the planned protest, thousands of people marched in Burnaby, British Columbia on Saturday to protest the expansion of a Kinder Morgan tar sands pipeline and export terminal that First Nations and climate justice campaigners say would threaten local waterways, erode Indigenous rights, and increase planet-warming carbon emissions.


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Buoyed by DAPL Fight, Canadian Chiefs Launch Legal Battle Against Enbridge Pipeline

Oil pipeline will face fierce opposition in Canada as well as in the United States, where the permitting process is currently underway

By Lauren McCauley, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 12-30-2016

“Just as Indigenous Peoples are showing unwavering strength down at Standing Rock, our peoples are not afraid and are ready to do what needs to be done to stop the pipelines and protect our water and our next generations,” Grand Chief Derek Nepinak, pictured here, said after the Enbridge Line 3 expansion was announced.(Photo: Derek Nepinak/Facebook)

Buoyed by the success of Indigenous resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), a coalition of Canadian First Nation chiefs have launched legal action against the Trudeau government for its recent approval of the Enbridge Line 3 expansion.

Derek Nepinak, grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, wrote on Facebook Wednesday that the group’s legal team filed an appeal in federal court challenging the approval, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced late last month in tandem with the expansion of Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline. Continue reading

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In Blow to Enbridge, Canada to Ban Oil Tankers Off Northern B.C. Coast

Moratorium on oil tanker traffic off British Columbia’s North Coast could be last nail in coffin for Northern Gateway Pipeline

By Nika Knight, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 11-7-2016

Diesel leaches into tidal pools after a spill in the Great Bear Rainforest last month. (Photo: April Bencze/Heiltsuk Nation)

Diesel leaches into tidal pools after a spill in the Great Bear Rainforest last month. (Photo: April Bencze/Heiltsuk Nation)

Canada Transportation Minister Marc Garneau made headlines this weekend when he announced that by the end of the year, a long-promised ban on oil tanker traffic will be put in place off the North Coast of British Columbia—weeks after the government was harshly criticized for its bungled response to a spill in that same region.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau campaigned on a promise to institute such a moratorium before the Liberals won a majority of votes and put Trudeau in office in 2015, but as of a mere three weeks ago Trudeau appeared to be backtracking on that promise, after months of refusing to offer a timeline on the ban. Continue reading

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As CETA Rises from Ashes, Campaigners Vow: ‘The More You Insist, the More We Resist’

Belgium delegates reached 11th-hour consensus, which grants the Court of Justice of the European Union the ability to rule on final inclusion of ISDS

By Lauren McCauley, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 10-27-2016

Campaigners protested the Canada-European Union trade agreement outside the European Commission on Thursday. (Photo via Corporate Europe/Twitter)

Campaigners protested the Canada-European Union trade agreement outside the European Commission on Thursday. (Photo via Corporate Europe/Twitter)

The controversial Canada-European Union trade agreement that many declared “dead” now appears to be rising from the ashes, as officials announced Thursday that they have reached a last-minute consensus.

Earlier this week, trade delegates from the Belgian region of Wallonia rejected the Comprehensive Economic & Trade Agreement (CETA) out of concern that certain provisions, particularly the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system, inflate the power of multinational corporations and undermine standards protecting labor, the environment, and consumers. Continue reading

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Obama’s Rejection of Keystone XL Is Victory, But That’s Not the Whole Story

‘The black snake, Keystone XL, has been defeated and best believe we will dance to our victory!’

By Common Dreams. Published 11-6-2015

Photo: tarsandsaction/flickr/cc

Photo: tarsandsaction/flickr/cc

President Obama’s official rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline on Friday was met with grand applause from those who opposed the project and organizers who worked tirelessly, despite long odds, to force the adminstration’s hand.

However, even as celebrations were enjoyed and an evening rally was scheduled outside the White House, there’s more to this story than the simple rejection of a single pipeline and the ultimate climate legacy of a president who has announced a ‘historic’ decision. Continue reading

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