Photo: Thunder Bay chapter
The Thunder Bay chapter reports, “On March 26, Thunder Bay Council of Canadians Chair Tom Cook and Public Relations Chair Ruth Cook gave an Energy East presentation to the Ontario Energy Board outlining 4 major areas of concern; economic impacts, safety, climate change and local democratic impact and control.”
In their 4-page presentation, they stated, “Ontario has the opportunity to speak for those who the federal government and industry have rendered voiceless. The risks to our area, our Province, and our planet are too great to allow this pipeline to proceed. The benefits do not fall to any of the citizens or communities of Ontario. We believe it is unethical to participate in this development in any way. Our children and our grandchildren deserve better from us. We ask the Ontario Energy Board to recommend to Ontario and to the National Energy Board that the application by TransCanada to develop Energy East be denied.”
In early-March, Council of Canadians energy & climate justice campaigner Andrea Harden-Donahue wrote Ontario Energy Board Community Consultations Announced. She also noted, “There will be two opportunities for written submissions, dates are pending, but the first round is likely to start in late March/April. The Council of Canadians is preparing a report that will focus on threats to water in Ontario and growing dependency on fracked gas imports.”
From April 7-16, the Council of Canadians, with local partners, will be visiting six communities across Ontario to talk about the Energy East pipeline. The tour will feature Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow, Eriel Deranger of the Athabasca Fort Chipewyan First Nation, a local speaker, and a video presentation about the diluted bitumen pipeline spill in Kalamazoo, Michigan. For more about that tour, please click here.
In late-February, CBC reported, “A group protesting against the Energy East pipeline conversion will strap on skis and snowshoes this weekend to ‘walk the line’, as they attempt to travel at 20 km stretch of the gas pipeline northeast of Thunder Bay. The two-day trek includes representatives of First Nations, Citizens United for a Sustainable Planet, the local chapter of the Council of Canadians, Lakehead University, and members of the public. Organizer Paul Berger said the pipe crosses all major rivers that flow into Lake Superior.”
