OTTAWA - As the high profile Keystone Pipeline controversy shifts from
Washington to Ottawa, the Green Party of Canada stands in solidarity with
the many courageous people who have sought to alert North Americans to the
climate dangers involved from further industrial expansion of the Alberta oil sands. The
proposed multi-billion dollar pipeline would transport bitumen from the 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.
Green Party leader Elizabeth May commented, “Projects like the
Keystone Pipeline underscore the consequences of the unsustainable expansion of
the Alberta oil sands. Green Party policy would be to freeze any further
expansion of the oil sands.
Why not leave the additional oil sands supply in the ground for
future generations of Albertans to benefit from - especially in a world when oil
will become much scarcer and will be needed for industrial applications other
than fuel. Or even if eventually used as fuel it could be extracted and burnt
by a much cleaner method than presently available."
Green Party International Affairs Critic Eric Walton added “We need
to stop exacerbating the boom bust cycles and instead focus on building a
responsible and secure energy economy that respects the rights of indigenous
people and remembers the needs of future generations. The Canadian governments
failure to respond to the Rapid Climate Change crisis is continuing to undermine
Canada's international reputation and diplomatic credibility.”
Thousands have been rallying in Washington, D.C. for the past two
weeks against building the Keystone Pipeline to further exploit the oil sands in
what is being called a historic demonstration. Over twelve hundred people have
been arrested, including many celebrities and some Canadians, in a bid to draw
public attention to the issue. Contribution to climate change, destruction of
habitat, contamination of indigenous lands and health impacts on indigenous
people living downstream from the oil sands, as well as the risk of pipeline
leaks have all been cited as obvious reasons for opposing the
project.
A Canadian rally is planned for September 26th in
Ottawa.
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Contact:
Kieran
Green
Director
of Communications
(613)
614-4916
Kieran.green@greenparty.ca