A prominent left-wing organization is launching a speaking tour against oil pipelines and tankers in B.C., and the speakers' panel is coming to Burnaby, the terminus for the Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline.
The tour, dubbed "No Pipelines, No Tankers," is organized by the Council for Canadians, a leftist organization that promotes fair trade and energy security. The tour is meant to challenge three proposed oil and gas pipelines in B.C.: the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project; the Pacific Trails Pipeline, which will ship natural gas from B.C.'s interior to the coast for export to Asia; and the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion plan.
The Burnaby event is on Thursday, Oct. 25, at Alpha Secondary, at 4600 Parker St. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the event starts at 6:30 p.m.
Canadian author and Council of Canadians chair Maude Barlow is on the speakers' panel, as is Bill McKibben, a climate change activist and author. Rueben George, the sundance chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, will also speak at the Burnaby event. The Tsleil-Waututh Nation is opposing Kinder Morgan's plan to expand the pipeline, which runs through their traditional territory.
Stops on the tour also include Fort McMurray, Kamloops, Nanaimo, Smithers and Prince George, communities chosen for their proximity to the pipelines' routes. The tour runs from Oct. 23 to 30. For more information, go to www.canadians.org/energy/issues/pipelines/index.html.
