For Immediate Release Toronto, Board of Trade, March 27th 2015, 12:30pm

CITIZENS CALL FOR TRUDEAU TO FIX HARPER’S NATIONAL ENERGY BOARD AT TORONTO EVENT

Today, the CEO of the National Energy Board (NEB) will be at the Toronto Board of Trade to make an ‘important announcement about Canada’s energy future.’ Just outside of this event, a crowd of peaceful demonstrators took action to call out the illegitimacy of the NEB’s pipeline review process. The group of demonstrators, which includes students, youth and climate justice activists, held space at the registration table for the event, until escorted out by security, with placards strung around their necks. These placards displayed the following messages:

• Canada’s Energy Future shouldn’t ignore Climate Change

• Canada’s Energy Future shouldn’t ignore indigenous rights

• Canada’s Energy Future shouldn’t include Harper’s National Energy Board

• Canada’s Energy Future must have 100% Clean Energy

Once escorted out, they held a mock press conference outside of the building.

Yesterday the Trudeau Government announced they would require an additional climate test for the Kinder Morgan and Energy East Pipelines. While this is a victory for the directly affected communities fighting these projects, it ignores how any new fossil fuel infrastructure is incompatible with the Trudeau Government’s promise at the Paris Climate negotiations to strive to limit global warming to 1.5C.

“These commitments are a great start,” said student divestment campaigner, Ben Donato-Woodger, “but the government is still trying to push through projects such as the Kinder Morgan and Energy East pipelines using the Harper government’s assessment process. If they’re committed to real action, they must redo the review process for these projects – or reject them outright given the massive Indigenous and public opposition, as well as the dire repercussions for the climate.”

These demonstrators are also expressing their opposition against a pipeline review process that does not respect Indigenous rights, and one that is currently being challenged in courts by Indigenous communities such as the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. These Toronto-based activists are not alone. Hundreds of other people across Canada that have mobilized over the last two weeks in opposition to the broken pipeline review process -- including at the Kinder Morgan hearings in Burnaby, the office of the Minister of Natural Resources in Winnipeg, and at the Prime Minister’s constituency office in Montreal. “It’s 2016. Canada’s energy future needs to be powered by Indigenous and community-led renewable energy projects – not antiquated fossil fuel infrastructure.” said Suhail Barot, a Toronto engineer.

Contact Information: Ben Donato-Woodger 416-320-0340 [email protected]