Tar sands campaign director Ben West speaks at the Vancouver #NoEnbridge Rally. Image © Zack Embree
It’s been more than a week, but I’m still smiling from the big rally we held on Sunday, November 16 against the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway tar sands pipeline, part of Canada’s nation-wide Defend our Climate day of action. It rained so hard the day before I felt like I was crossing streams and rivers getting home. Luckily the clouds parted and the sun came out for this beautiful day.
It would be hard to stand on a stage like that and look out at all the people and not feel like we are going to stop this pipeline from being built. Over five thousand people turned out and stayed for hours listening to passionate speakers, inspiring and determined First Nations leaders and funky music that kept us warm on an unusually chilly day.
This didn’t feel like a protest. It felt like a celebration.
Why is that? We should all be fired up, after all, that British Columbia’s premier, Christy Clark, seems like she might flip-flop on the Enbridge pipeline and that Prime Minister Harper has made his support for tar sands pipelines no secret. But the tone of the rally wasn’t angry. It was confident, even victorious. I think that’s because we know we are united and strong against this irresponsible tar sands pipeline project. Politicians and industry have all the money and can announce “agreements,” but the fact is that the First Nations of this land and the people of this province do not, and will not, give consent to Enbridge.
This issue is as black and white as the orcas threatened by Enbridge. Politicians issue permits, but only the people can issue permission. And Enbridge will not get our permission.
That’s the strong feeling I had in the crisp fall air earlier this month, and it was a privilege to stand with several thousands of you.
What we need is for government decision-makers to start listening to what the people want instead of the big oil companies. Industry giants Enbridge and Kinder Morgan’s plans couldn’t be more shortsighted. It’s time we take a longer view, and start working toward a future beyond fossil fuels.
We aren’t going to win these campaigns overnight. They are epic struggles with some of the most powerful corporations on Earth and the politicians that support them.
The flip side is that this is growing to be one of the biggest and most important social movements of our generation. The fight against the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline has become a symbol of the fight against the gateway to more global warming. We can and must succeed.
We all have different roles to play and there will be many different moments within this campaign. What is paramount is our dedication to the task and to helping the movement continue to grow and gain strength.
This is why we are asking you to pledge to be part of this fight for the long haul, and to ask your friends to join us. We have set up a declaration calling for a tar sands-free West Coast. Please sign the declaration and share it with your friends.
When we look back on any significant social movement over the years, it isn’t one particular piece of legislation that we remember. It’s the symbolic moments when we came together and demonstrated the difference between right and wrong. We remember Rosa Parks refusing to move to the back of the bus; we remember Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in front of a massive crowd in Washington DC; we remember the suffragettes marching together for women’s right to vote.
In the global climate movement, the rally last week in Vancouver may just be one of those moments we look back on. If you were there, I am glad I was there with you. There will be more moments like this. Together, we will stop Enbridge and stand up for a better future.
