Pipeline (Again)

It was no surprise that the Liberal government announced that the TransMountain pipeline would be approved. The pipeline was first approved last year, then put on hold after the courts ruled that more consultation was required and finally last week, after some consultations with First Nation Communities and a review of how increased shipping would affect the marine mammal life, the building of the pipeline was approved again. Only someone who understood nothing about Canadian politics or the economy would have assumed anything differently.

In the upcoming months, there will be continuing court appeals as the various parties opposed to the pipeline raise ever increasing desperate attempts to stop something that can not be stopped. It is not a matter of whether or not it should be stopped, whether or not it is good for the environment or even if there is a need for another pipeline - it will simple be a matter of political expediency. The federal liberals have based their political future on building the pipeline. They can not withdraw from the project. Of course, the fact that the government bought the company that owns the pipeline ensures that they will do all that they can to proceed.

To make the issue even more complicated is the fact that some First Nations are expressing some interest in buying TransMountain from the federal government. It is so much easier for the protesters, mainly on the west coast to say that they are opposed to the pipeline in conjunction with their Indigenous brothers and sisters. The fact that some communities not only see the pipeline as advantageous but actually want to invest in it, makes it far less of a black and white issue. Quite clearly, what is best for one community may not be what another community needs. We should stop trying to speak on behalf of everyone else,. Whether we like it or not we are not one homogeneous community. While it may bother some, no one group can speak on behalf of everyone.
It is time, quite frankly for non- Indigenous people to stop riding on the coat tails of the local First Nation communities. It is time for the people who are committed to protesting the expansion of the pipeline to admit that they are opposed for their own reasons. They are in fact, little better than all of the other NIMBY people who wish to maintain what they have, regardless of how something may benefit others. They need to stop judging people who disagree with them and start to look for areas of consensus or compromise.

I think the pipeline is probably a terrible idea. I am not at all sure that there is proof that we need it, I am quite sure that the amount of carbon that will be spewed into the air because of the oil sands is irresponsible. But if we honestly believe that the pipelines are bad, then we as individuals need to reduce our dependency on oil products including gas for our cars and the amount of plastics we use. If we don't want the oil sands to cause ever greater pollution, and if we don't want that terrible mixture to flow through the pipeline, then we need to demonstrate that we can do without it.