NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: PHOTO OP AVAILABLE ON DAY
People across Canada are stepping up to defend their communities from pipelines, dirty energy projects and runaway climate change at more than 60 local rallies.
Ottawa is stepping up with communities across Canada in a national Defend Our Climate, Defend Our Communities day of action.
When: Saturday, May 10 at 1:00 p.m.
Who: The event is being coordinated by the Council of Canadians, Ecology Ottawa, Idle No More, 350 Ottawa and Greenpeace Ottawa, with national support by Leadnow.ca and dozens of environmental, Indigenous and community groups.
Where: Rideau Falls Park, Ottawa Ontario
What: Mock, life-sized pipeline to be deployed in the Prime Minister’s backyard, the scenic Rideau Falls Park. There will be short statements, music and opportunities for participants to take action, including symbolically dismantling the pipeline.
The Rideau Falls is less than 50 kilometres away from the Energy East Rideau River crossing.
A spill, like the 2010 Enbridge pipeline rupture in Michigan’s Kalamazoo River that travelled 56 kilometres, would leave a toxic and costly legacy in the Rideau Canal Waterway, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the heart of the Ottawa community.
Why: The Energy East pipeline is one of six major pipeline projects being pushed by government and industry in Canada. These pipelines would carry bitumen mixed with toxic chemicals that will have devastating health and environmental impacts in the event of a spill. They lock us into a fossil-fuel dependent, boom-and-bust economy, and enable tar sands growth that will destabilize our planet’s climate. We can do so much better.
Ottawa is joining people in over 60 communities across the country calling on all politicians to commit to cap extreme energy, reduce climate pollution and transition off fossil fuels for good.
For more information on the Defend Our Climate, Defend Our Communities day of action: http://defendourclimate.ca/
Ottawa facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1441886659386655/
