May 2 Yinka Dene Alliance protest in Edmonton en route to Toronto for the Enbridge shareholders meeting tomorrow. Photo by Scott Harris.
The National Post reports, “As if Enbridge Inc. could not hear the cries of protests over the Northern Gateway pipeline at its annual meeting in Calgary last year, what will hit the company in Toronto on Wednesday is expected to be even louder. …As members of the Calgary-based Enbridge executive team make the trip to Toronto this week, a train carrying some of Northern Gateway’s most vocal critics is close behind. Hundreds of protestors are expected to rally outside the AGM, with a ‘Freedom Train’ set to arrive Wednesday carrying dozens of members of the Yinka Dene Alliance, a group of British Columbia First Nations opposed to the project.”
As noted on the Enbridge website, “The Annual Meeting of holders of common shares of Enbridge Inc. (‘Shareholders’) will be held at 1:30 p.m. (local time) on Wednesday, May 9, 2012 in the Vanity Fair Ballroom, Le Meridien King Edward, 37 King Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M5C 1E9.”
The newspaper article adds, “Motivated by concerns over Northern Gateway’s potential to damage the native territory through which it runs, or from the tanker fleet that will flood into Kitimat harbour once the pipeline is completed, First Nations have formed the core of resistance to the pipeline thus far. …Lengthy, expensive lawsuits against the National Energy Board process, delays in construction due to protests or blockades and the risk to Enbridge’s reputation, should the company remain unable to address the concerns of the more than 80 indigenous groups involved in the project, all represent legitimate causes for investor concern. While those concerns have yet to translate into a share price slip, Enbridge continues to forge ahead with its goal of gaining regulatory approval by early next year amid mounting opposition.”
The Council of Canadians
In an April 27 action alert, we encouraged people to attend the Yinka Dene Alliance ‘Freedom Train’ stops in Jasper, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Winnipeg as it made its way to Toronto. Council of Canadians Prairies organizer Scott Harris joined a ‘Freedom Train’ march in Edmonton on May 2. We also asked people to sign the Freedom Train 2012 petition at http://Freedomtrain2012.nationbuilder.com/.
Toronto-based Ontario-Quebec organizing assistant (and soon to be Vancouver-based energy campaigner) Maryam Adrangi has been part of the organizing for the protests at the Enbridge annual shareholders meeting tomorrow. Look for a blog from her soon on the protest. To read Harris’ blog on his participation in the protests at the Enbridge annual meeting in Calgary last year, go to http://canadians.org/blog/?p=9035.
For more on our campaign against the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline, go to http://canadians.org/pipelines and see these blogs http://canadians.org/blog/?s=%22northern+gateway+pipeline%22.
