Gotschall, Mayor Higgins, Barlow and Daniels.
The Council of Canadians concluded its four-community tour in the Prairies against the Energy East pipeline in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan last night.
About 75 people gathered at the Moose Jaw Public Library to hear Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow, Bold Nebraska energy director Ben Gotschall, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation lawyer Melissa Daniels, and Council of Canadians organizer Chris Gallaway. The evening was moderated by Council of Canadians Board member Tracey Mitchell.
Gotschall speaks at the public forum.
From the forum, Gallaway and Mitchell tweeted:
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People believe the only way to be prosperous is to grow the oil & gas industry when evidence shows green investments creates more (says Mitchell) -
If we look at the response time we just saw in #YVR (6 hours) that would mean millions of litres spilling here (says Mitchell) -
@BGotschall describes destructive impact TransCanada made in the Sandhills of his community. I’m very concerned for Sk Sandhills. -
Melissa Daniels shares impact of tar sands on Fort Chip. Energy East would increase #tarsands by 40%. -
It was my role as a public health nurse that I came to this concerned about the health of my people (says Daniels) -
Think about how valuable of a commodity water will be in the next few years. We weren’t willing to risk that (says Gotschall) -
TransCanada has never paid us back for the work done. That’s the kind of ‘good neighbour’ they are (says Gotschall) -
@MaudeBarlow talks abt risks of diluted bitumen which puts Sask water at risk if we don’t #stopenergyeast.
The Western Producer, Golden West Radio, the Moose Jaw Express and the Moose Jaw Times Herald all reported on the event.
Prior to the public forum, Barlow, Gotschall, Daniels and Gallaway met with Moose Jaw Mayor Deb Higgins (who previously was the Minister of Labour and later the Minister of Learning in the provincial NDP government under Premier Lorne Calvert).
This Prairies tour began in Winnipeg (on April 11) then continued on to Regina (on April 13) and Swift Current (on April 15). Together with our April 2014 tour in Ontario (Kenora, Thunder Bay, North Bay, Ottawa, Kemptville and Cornwall) and the October-November 2014 tour in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia (Halifax, Cornwallis, Saint John, Fredericton and Edmundston), we have now held public forums to ‘build a wall of opposition’ to Energy East in fifteen communities across the country.
For more on our campaign to stop the Energy East pipeline, please click here.
