This morning, we got the news we’ve all been fighting for!
TransCanada has announced that they are cancelling their Energy East and Eastern Mainline pipeline proposals.
This is truly a monumental victory for every Canadian. Today, we stopped 1.1 million barrels of crude oil per day—some of the dirtiest oil in the world—from being shipped 4,500 km across the country and burned, sending thousands of tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Today, we stopped ourselves from investing in antiquated infrastructure for the economy of the past.
Today, we stood alongside Indigenous communities to defend Indigenous rights to their lands, resources, and livelihoods.
Today, we stood up for the thousands of waterways that this pipeline would have crossed, the veins of our earth and source of our drinking water.
How did we get to this point? This victory belongs to the people—to the front line communities, Indigenous nations, environmental organizations, and individuals who have stood up against this project since it was first announced by TransCanada in 2013. We raised our collective voice to government and industry to denounce the pipeline as incompatible with a safe climate and future. We elected a government on the promise to include climate impacts in the pipeline review process. We stood up at town halls across the country and spoke the truth—that this project is not in the best interest of Canadians. We did it together, and today we celebrate together.
What have we learned? This victory shows us that people, organized and united, have the power to speak louder than industry. When we come together and combine our unique skills, energies, and perspectives, we have the power to cut through the propaganda of the fossil fuel industry and shift the public narrative on energy in this country. And we see that as we lead, the government follows.
What comes next? The fight for environmental, climate and energy justice will never be over, but victories are significant and within reach. We must use the energy from this moment to fuel our resistance to the other pipeline projects underway. While the retraction of Energy East is a huge victory, it puts added pressures on proposed pipeline projects such as Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Expansion, Enbridge Line 3 Expansion, and TransCanada’s Keystone XL.
In Manitoba, we are in a critical moment to stand up against Enbridge’s Line 3 expansion project. Pipes are being shipped in as we speak, and fresh earth is about to be broken to begin construction on this massive pipeline expansion that would cross through territory and waterways in southwestern MB. Right now, water protectors just to the south of us in the US are actively fighting Enbridge and looking for help with camp supplies and legal funds through the Makwa Initiative - Line 3 Frontline Resistance.
Add Your Voice to Our Community Input Survey. As we move beyond Energy East opposition and look to launch new campaigns against Line 3 and other energy projects in the province, MEJC is looking for your input and support. We have recently launched a community input survey to get feedback from our supporters, and input into our future campaign focus and priorities. Your voice is important to us, as we continue the collective fight for energy justice in solidarity and alliance with people from coast to coast to coast.
Join us in the fight, and we will celebrate the next victory together!
