By: Olivia Sherman, News Writer
“Being here in Vancouver, you are constantly confronted with tremendous beauty, the tremendous natural environment that we are really fortunate to live in,” said Alison Bodine, an organizer with Metro Vancouver’s Climate Convergence. “But then when you scratch the surface, you look a little deeper, you can see so clearly the impact of resource extraction projects on this area.”
Climate Convergence is a volunteer-led, grassroots organization fighting the new pipeline expansions in British Columbia and Alberta. “We’ve had victories when it comes to the pipeline and kind of putting pressure on the government” to recognize the impact of the pipeline project, Bodine explained in an interview with The Peak. “And then we’ve had defeats, with the Liberal government buying it, the Trudeau government buying it.”
According to Global News, the government bought the TMX pipeline for around $5 billion in 2018, but the actual cost to complete construction of the pipeline has exponentially increased, reaching over $30 billion as of May 2023. “The Trudeau government buying the pipeline, using taxpayer money to acquire this project that private industry had said was not feasible [ . . . ] and the federal government stepped in and said, ‘we’ll buy a pipeline and then we’ll use the profits to plant trees,’” Bodine continued.
Bodine noted how last year’s floods and the ongoing wildfires have impacted the Trans Mountain Pipeline (TMX) construction. She found it ironic climate change is “preventing the construction going forward of a pipeline that’s going to bring about more climate change.”
Activist groups have been speaking out about the government’s “continued doubling down [ . . . ] to drive this project through.” Climate Convergence has been active in fighting against the pipeline and other causes of climate change, such as deforestation and pollution. “No matter the ups and downs, whether we have a march of 20,000 people in the streets or a gathering of a dozen people on a bridge. We have to keep up this consistent voice,” Bodine said. “We need to stay in the streets.”
Climate Convergence holds online webinars with global climate activists, local banner drops, and mass postering projects. One of their strategies is intersection action. “We gathered at a busy intersection with large banners and signs and marched around the intersection in line with the walking symbol,” said Bodine. With this strategy, they can avoid disrupting traffic and focus on rasing awareness instead.
Bodine noted they have had a mixed response from the public for these demonstrations. “Of course, there are some people that honk their horns and tell us to get a job or whatever,” Bodine said. However, she noted the general response has been “overwhelmingly [ . . . ] positive.
“I think we have a very real chance to stop this pipeline,” said Bodine.
While the government claims the pipeline will promote future job opportunities, Bodine isn’t so optimistic: “Everything they’re talking about are really short-term gains and benefits. And there are very real studies that have been done that show the negative impacts to the economy, especially here in British Columbia, where the economy depends so much on tourism.
“So imagine if all of the southern resident orca whales are becoming extinct because of a seven-times increase in tanker traffic brought on by the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion. Then where are the tourism dollars related to people coming to see those orcas?”
Canada adopted the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People into law in 2016. Bodine noted this means the government of Canada isn’t supposed to “allow resource extraction projects that have not received free, prior, and informed consent by Indigenous peoples to take place on their land.
“That is really coercion, in my opinion, and it is completely based on the fact that the government of Canada has neglected its responsibilities when it comes to relations with Indigenous peoples.
“We know the problem [ . . . ] Canada is a wealthy country. Canada could be immediately investing in alternative energies coming off of oil and gas and helping the rest of the world do the same,” Bodine continued.
The best way to make an impact, Bodine argued, is simply staying informed and “getting involved.” Personal actions are admirable and valuable, but real change lies in collective action: “Taking action against the TMX expansion, standing up for Indigenous rights, really organizing collectively. We need a movement. We need a mass movement in the streets in defense of our planet.”
For more information on how to get involved, check out Climate Convergence’s website.
