What: A rally in BC near the site of the 2007 oil spill in Burnaby in support of protesters in Washington D.C.. People from across the United States and Canada are midway through a two week protest against the Keystone XL pipeline. They are calling on the Obama administration to not approve this pipeline which would connect one the largest sources of climate changing pollution left on earth, the Canadian tar sands, with the heavy oil refineries down on the Gulf coast in Texas. Concerned BC residents are converging on the Kinder Morgan oil tanker terminal as the site of this rally to draw attention to the proposed expansion of the oil pipeline from the Tar Sands to the Vancouver harbour. Bill McKibben, organizer of the action at the White House posted this video in support of the rally in BC.

Where: The rally starts at the park at corner of Hastings and Cliff Ave. in Burnaby and will make its way to the front gates of the Kinder Morgan Terminal and then back up Inlet drive past the site of the 2007 oil spill. Click here for a map of the rally location and the route we will take down to the Kinder Morgan oil tanker terminal.

When: Saturday August 27, 2pm

Who: The rally is organized by the Wilderness Committee, the Council of Canadians, Tanker Free BC, Stop the Pave and other local groups.

The rally will feature a traditional First Nations welcome, speeches by representatives of the organizing groups and concerned local citizens, as well as performances by musicians including Ta'Kaiya Blaney, a 10 year-old indigenous activist opposed to oil tankers. Check out this music video for Ta'Kaiya's song 'Shallow Waters.

The rally will also hear written statements from White House protest organizer Bill McKibben of 350.org and from First Nations in northern BC involved in the campaign to stop the Enbridge pipeline, as well as other special guests.

Why: "We need to get serious about the impacts of global warming already being felt world wide. What the folks in DC are doing at the White House by trying to stop the Keystone XL pipeline has been described as ‘defusing a carbon bomb’ and we want to show that folks in Canada support them in their efforts," says Ben West. "We are fighting another proposed expansion of tar sands infrastructure here in BC, as both Kinder Morgan and Enbridge try to bring new or expanded pipelines and oil tanker traffic to the Pacific coast. We are standing together to say wherever they try to facilitate the expansion of the tar sands we will be there to say no."

Contact:

Ben West, Wilderness Committee, Healthy Communities Campaigner, 604-710-5340