Environmental Leaders Comment on the Energy East Pipeline

Environmental organizations in Canada and the United States, First Nations and community organizers are resolute in their opposition to TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline. Here are some of the comments made by their leaders.

“It’s not going to happen, Energy East would negate all the good work on climate that has been done at the provincial level, pose a major threat to millions of people’s drinking water and disrespect Canadians in Eastern Canada, who care as much as any other Canadian about oil spills contaminating their homes, waterways and livelihoods.”

– Patrick Bonin of Greenpeace Canada.

“TransCanada entered my territory, Kanehsatàke, like a slick snake oil salesman with promises of jobs and economic benefits. The company’s unscrupulous manner to impress upon our community that Energy East is a ‘done deal’ is unethical and coercive. In the absence of our free prior and informed consent, it would be illegal for the National Energy Board to grant TransCanada an application for Energy East,”

– Ellen Gabriel of Kanehsatàke, a Mohawk community in Quebec.

“At a time when we’re already seeing impacts of climate change in Canada, it’s ludicrous the federal government thinks it can review Energy East with no consideration of how this project will impact the climate,”

– Cameron Fenton of 350.org.

“There is no way Quebecers are going to allow what Canadians in the west and Americans to the south don’t want, and that is unacceptable water and climate risks from an export pipeline that benefits the bottom line of one pipeline company,”

– Steven Guilbeault of Equiterre.

“We believe the proposal should be rejected. From what we’ve been hearing from people, water ranks very high, if not at the top of the list of concerns regarding the risks of this particular pipeline.”

– Andrea Harden-Donahue, a contributing author to a recent Council of Canadians report on the pipeline titled “Energy East: Where Oil Meets Water.”