ACTIVIST CLAIM: Stand.earth “analysis” claims Big Banks’ TMX loan funds Indigenous rights violations and climate destruction.
THE FACTS: Banks investing in Canadian pipelines means lower global environmental impacts – and support for an industry that employs nearly 14,000 Indigenous workers in well-paying jobs.
THE SOURCES:
Royal Bank of Canada, TD, Scotia, CIBC, BMO, National Bank front $10 billion to finance financially risky Trans Mountain pipeline, analysis reveals
Here are some facts and sources to have a reasoned conversation about Trans Mountain:
- This study from Navius Research shows that Trans Mountain can help lower global emissions by 1,600,000 tonnes instead of being the climate catastrophe they claim.
https://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/documents/p80061/115457E.pdf - Banks investing in the Canadian oil and gas industry means they are investing in an industry that spends the most of any other industry on cleantech.
https://cleanresourceinnovation.com/preview-pdf/resource/CRIN%20Oil%20and%20Gas%20Innovation%20Ecosystem%20Presentation%202017.pdf - The oil and gas industry employs more Indigenous people than any other sector. According to PetroLMI, 13,900 self-identified Indigenous Peoples were directly employed in the oil and gas industry, a rise of 26% from 2014.
https://careersinoilandgas.com/news/petrolmi-report-highlights-opportunities-to-support-indigenous-employment-post-pandemic-in-canadas-energy-industry/ - The oil and gas industry brings high employment income for Indigenous people. Those who work in oil and gas extraction and pipeline transportation can expect a median income of $144,034 and $142,883 respectively
https://www.canadianenergycentre.ca/research-brief-canadas-oil-sands-and-local-first-nations/ - As of January 2021, Trans Mountain Corp. has signed agreements with 73 communities along its path, include many Secwepemc communities. 120 of the 129 total communities that could be effected by Trans Mountain support or do not oppose the project.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/federal-court-appeal-trans-mountain-1.5450748
