Activists ‘disappointed’ in MP’s response
Local group organized protests against controversial pipeline plan
A local activist says he’s disappointed it took four months to get a response from Minister of Status of Women Maryam Monsef after he organized two separate demonstrations outside her office this spring in objection to the federal government's buyout of the Kinder Morgan pipeline.
Those protests happened in May and in June, while Monsef was in Ottawa.
On Friday Monsef said it would have been inappropriate to respond while the matter was before the courts, and that this week she released a detailed account of her position – and the government’s – to activist Roy Brady.
But Brady wasn’t happy with the response he received – he says it ignores key issues - and he still thinks it took far too long to come.
“She hasn’t really responded to what we wanted,” he said in an interview Friday. “It’s disappointing in many ways.”
About 40 demonstrators gathered outside of MP Maryam Monsef's office on Bethune St on June 4, each holding a letter to spell out "Stop Kinder Morgan.” A similar protest took place in May.
The demonstrations were both organized in Peterborough by Localizing the Leap, Leadnow, Council of Canadians, For Our Grandchildren, and 350.org.
It was all part of a nation-wide protest of the federal government’s purchase of the pipeline from Kinder Morgan for $4.5 billion.
The purchase was meant to ensure the construction of the proposed $7.5-billion expansion of Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (although the Federal Court of Appeal ruled in August the expansion cannot go forward just yet).
The expansion is expected to take oil from Alberta’s oilsands to the B.C. coast at nearly triple the rate it does today, Canadian Press reported, which would be expected to significantly increase oil tanker traffic.
The plan has drawn objection from many First Nations along the route of the pipeline, as well as environmentalists concerned about the increased oil tanker traffic potentially causing a spill.
But in an interview Friday, Monsef said Canada’s economy takes a hit from its inability to efficiently carry oil across the country for export to world markets.
“Without the pipeline that allows us to export our products beyond the United States, Canada’s economy is not as strong as it can be,” she said. “Tens of thousands of jobs in communities outside of ours depend on these projects moving forward.”
She also said it’s possible to send exports beyond the US “in a way that is environmentally sound, that is respectful and in line with Indigenous communities along the path, and allows for the economy to flourish.”
Yet the Federal Court of Appeal blocked the expansion of the pipeline in August, CP reported, at least in part because the federal government failed to meaningfully consult with First Nation communities.
“They asked us to do a better job of consulting with Indigenous people. And we will – we absolutely will,” Monsef said.
But Brady said he’s disappointed Monsef doesn’t respond to his group’s concerns that the federal government proposes to use billions of dollars in tax money to fund the pipeline purchase and the potential expansion project which he calls “a risky investment” because it could lead to an oil spill in delicate waters.
Brady says he waited months for this unsatisfactory response.
“She just avoids things” that could be potentially embarrassing, he said – which he thinks is unacceptable for an MP, let alone a cabinet minister.
But Monsef said she wasn’t avoiding the issue – she simply wanted the developments in court to end so she could comment. “Myself and my team make sure people receive a fulsome response,” she said. “Because when people take time to write, it’s because they care. And I encourage that.”