
Saint John chapter activist Lynaya Astephen protests the Energy East pipeline while Long is interviewed by CTV during this past election.
The Council of Canadians Saint John chapter recently met with their two local Members of Parliament about the Leap Manifesto.
One of those MPs was Liberal Wayne Long who represents Saint John-Rothesay.
In July 2015, just months before he was elected, Long wrote in the Telegraph-Journal, “The Energy East Pipeline is a project of great importance for Saint John-Rothesay. As your federal Liberal candidate, I want to be very clear. I fully support the Energy East Pipeline. The Liberal Party is pro-pipeline—we believe that pipelines are the safest way to get our natural resources to market. The responsible development of the Energy East Pipeline is a clear priority for the Liberal Party. If I am elected, I will fight every day to make sure this important project goes through.”
In contrast to that view, the Leap Manifesto has 15 key demands including beginning the shift now to a 100 per clean economy by 2050, “no new infrastructure projects that lock us into increased extraction decades into the future” and “an end to all trade deals that interfere with our attempts to rebuild local economies, regulate corporations and stop damaging extractive projects”.
At the Sept. 18, 2015 media conference in that launched the Leap Manifesto, a reporter asked, “How do you plan to use and move forward this manifesto?” Barlow responded, “At the grassroots level we have in our organization local activist chapters and they are hungry for this kind of vision and direction. …I think we’ll see it outward [around the world] but I think it will also be dramatically welcomed by grassroots communities around this country.” Since then, more than 4,240 people have gone to chapter-organized screenings of the film ‘This Changes Everything’ across the country.
And as recently highlighted by Leap Manifesto outreach lead Bianca Mugyenyi, “To celebrate the Leap Year, groups in Canada and around the world are holding events to push for a justice-based transition away from fossil fuels and towards new economic and energy systems. …Across Canada, ten Council of Canadians chapters are mobilizing for Leap Year, holding events and activities calling for action on climate change.”
To sign the Leap Manifesto, please click here.
Further reading
Council of Canadians writes Saint John-Rothesay candidates about the Energy East pipeline (Oct. 15, 2015)