Premier out of touch with reality of fossil fuel free future

WINNIPEG, MB, Treaty One territory— In a news release this morning, the Manitoba government called for the Trans Mountain pipeline to move forward, pointing to the National Energy Board’s (NEB) deeply flawed approval process.

 

The current NEB process is being overhauled given its illegitimate process and scope of analysis.. When the process was improved slightly for the Energy East pipeline review, the project was almost immediately scrapped, as the true ecological ramifications were laid bare.

“The NEB process for the Trans Mountain pipeline was so flawed that a mass of expert participants quit the review,” said Eric Reder, Water and Wildlife Campaigner for the Wilderness Committee. “How can the Manitoba government ignore that and insist its the reason the pipeline should go ahead?”

Manitoba weighing in on an issue which has nothing to do with the province comes as a surprise after silence on a major Canadian environmental announcement yesterday.

“We don’t hear a peep when the federal government restores fish protection yesterday, which has wide ranging effects for the province, but the Premier jumps in to promote fossil fuel expansion,” said Reder. “The Manitoba government hasn’t shown any leadership on any environmental file, and certainly not enough to expect their opinion to carry any weight.”

The Manitoba government’s actions on climate show a disconnect with reality:

• In the 2017 budget, while virtually all other departments were facing funding cuts, the government spent millions on new software for calculating royalties for the oil and gas industry.
• In the Climate and Green discussion document, the government proposed a carbon tax that will not increase over time, negating the transition away from fossil fuels that is required for the future.
• In a Committee discussion of ill-advised changes to the Environment Act brought forward in Bill 24, government Ministers actually laughed out loud at the idea that treating animal waste from industrial livestock operations was a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“The fact that Manitoba’s government felt the need to weigh in on Alberta’s battle with BC wine producers yesterday in favour of a bitumen pipeline is childish,” said Reder. “For some reason he picks a fight with Prime Minister Trudeau over who can most support this pipeline, where the rest of us are left to do the vital work of fighting for our climate and Indigenous rights.

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For more information please conatct:

 

Eric Reder | Wilderness and Water Campaigner

204-997-8584 | eric@wildernesscommittee.org