The Green Party of Canada is solidly in support of peaceful, non-violent opposition to the proposed Keystone pipeline. A rally was held today in Ottawa to protest the pipeline, which would transport bitumen from the Alberta oil sands south to refineries in Illinois and Oklahoma and from there to the US Gulf Coast. The pipeline would cross the Ogallala Aquifer, water source for many millions in the US, and the ecologically sensitive Sand Hills of Nebraska. Controversy over the pipeline has led to major protests in Washington, with over twelve hundred people arrested, including many celebrities and some Canadians.
“This list of reasons to reject this pipeline is long and wide ranging,”said Green Leader Elizabeth May. “Climate change, habitat destruction, potential for contamination of lands and water, the list goes on. But there are also economic reasons that the pipeline should not go ahead, particularly the potential for jobs if we keep and refine the existing bitumen in Canada. It is critical to freeze any new growth of the oil sands to prevent hyperinflation and instead promote value added processing.”
“While we transition to secure, renewable energy and away from a fossil fuel-based economy, we must be smart with the oil that we do have and ensure we maintain control over Canada’s energy supply. Shipping our bitumen to the US is not part of that strategy,” said May.