Swift Current – Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians, Ben Gotschall of Bold Nebraska, and Melissa Daniels of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation will join a public forum in Swift Current to discuss why Energy East is all risk and little reward. The forum is part of a tour along the pipeline path in Saskatchewan and Manitoba that includes four public events, meetings and site visits, including to the Great Sandhills, which the pipeline will pass through.
The controversial export project would see an up to 40-year-old natural gas pipeline converted to ship 1.1 million barrels per day of crude oil.
“With oil prices plummeting, now is the time to invest in measures that generate good green jobs, sustainable energy production and responsible consumption,” says Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians. “We should not lock ourselves into a massive pipeline planned to last for at least another 40 years, spurring tar sands expansion and threatening waterways with a diluted bitumen spill.”
In Saskatchewan the pipeline crosses or passes near major waterways including the South Saskatchewan River, Moose Jaw River and the Swift Current Creek watershed. The route also passes through the ecologically sensitive Great Sandhills.
Diluted bitumen has been proven to sink when spilled in waterways, making it near impossible to fully clean up.
“Over the past six years of fighting the TransCanada Keystone XL export pipeline, farmers, ranchers and tribes in the U.S. have stood up for our land, water, and property rights,” says Ben Gotschall, rancher and Energy Director for Bold Nebraska. “I am honoured to be able to share my experiences with our neighbours to the north.”
The tour, supported by the Council of Canadians, the National Farmers Union and local partners, will present key information in a series of public forums. This includes information on the risks to waterways and farms of a diluted bitumen spill, TransCanada’s questionable pipeline safety record, the pipeline’s effect on tar sands expansion, and experiences opposing TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline.
Public forum:
When: Wednesday, April 15, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Days Inn Swift Current, AB Room, 905 North Service Road E, Swift Current, SK
Speakers:
- Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians, on protecting our water.
- Ben Gotschall, Energy Director for Bold Nebraska, on ranchers’ opposition to Keystone XL.
- Melissa Daniels, Dene lawyer and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation member on tar sands expansion and First Nations Treaty and Indigenous rights.
