News Release

Wilderness Committee and Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition deliver Stop Energy East letters to Premier today at 10:30 a.m.

WINNIPEG – Today at 10:30 a.m., the Wilderness Committee and the Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition (MEJC) will deliver over 1,000 letters to Premier Selinger’s office at the Manitoba Legislative Assembly, asking the provincial government to deny construction permits for the controversial Energy East pipeline proposal.

TransCanada's risky Energy East pipeline proposal would see an aging 40-year-old natural gas pipeline converted to pump one million barrels of tar sands oil a day across the province, for export on Canada’s east coast. Pumping the heavy oil through the pipeline would require an estimated 176 megawatts of hydroelectricity in Manitoba alone, and would involve building an extensive new network of transmission lines in the province just for this project.

“We know Manitobans don’t want the risk, the infrastructure burden or the climate impacts of this fossil fuel folly,” said Eric Reder, Manitoba Campaign Director for the Wilderness Committee.

While the federal government has jurisdiction to approve or deny the proposal based upon recommendations from the National Energy Board (NEB), the Manitoba government still has to issue building permits for the eight new pump stations and corresponding transmission lines for the project. The Wilderness Committee and MEJC are encouraging Manitobans to contact their government and demand that these construction permits be denied.

“These 1,000 letters are only a start,” said Reder. “Manitobans are speaking up and saying ‘Stop Energy East.’”

The groups continue to call for a full review of the Energy East proposal’s climate impacts, which the federal government has refused to consider in the assessment led by the NEB. The governments of Ontario and Quebec have already agreed to conduct independent provincial reviews of Energy East.

“Energy justice for the Energy East proposal in Manitoba has to include an independent review by the Clean Environment Commission – a review that includes climate implications,” said Alex Paterson of the Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition.

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For more information, please contact:

Eric Reder | Manitoba Campaign Director, Wilderness Committee - (204) 997-8584

Alex Paterson | Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition - (204) 298-2250

Photos and video footage from the Wilderness Committee’s recent hike along the Energy East pipeline route in Whiteshell Park available upon request.

Images (click below to download):