ProtestBlog.org: Mid-February, 2020 in Canada sees "land defenders" across the country protesting a fracked gas pipeline leading from Alberta through British Columbia to the sea near Vancouver. The land is disputed, claimed by indigenous groups at the forefront of the protest, with some of the most pristine country in Canada is scheduled to be dug up with incalculable damage potentially occurring to the environment in the future, especially water supplies. Opponents do not see this pipeline in the interests of Canada, and would prefer to see more leadership at the federal level with respect to investment in clean energy to meet the needs of a world threatened by climate change already in progress.
Tens of thousands of travelers have had their plans disrupted after rail service between Toronto and Montreal as well as Ottawa was canceled, trains stalled, some ports all but closed, the Land Defenders declare that they have no plans to give up and claim that they are going to stop this pipeline without fail.
One is reminded of Standing Rock in the USA, and the Dakota Access protests of a few years ago. Those protests were ultimately unsuccessful, and more ground has been lost still under Trump. One might have expected more progressive leadership from Trudeau, and many are disappointed. One gets the sense that when it comes to fossil fuel pipelines and corporate power, little difference exists between the liberal and conservative wings of North American capitalism.
