ACTIVIST CLAIM: Foreign-funded Stand.earth petition for RBC to divest from Coastal GasLink claims drilling under Wedzin Kwa river will pollute ecosystem.
THE FACTS: Canada’s oil and gas sector is well regulated, well managed, and well run – they have the industry know-how to prevent issues at pipeline river crossings and minimize potential environmental impacts.
THE SOURCES:
DEMAND THAT BANKS DEFUND COASTAL GASLINK
Here are some facts and sources to have a reasoned conversation about Coastal GasLink:
- Drilling under the river ensures less of the natural habitat is disturbed than traditional methods. The compounds used to drill are water and clay.
https://www.enbridge.com/~/media/Enb/Documents/Factsheets/FS_Horizontal_Directional_Drilling.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 - 100% of elected First Nation councils along the pipeline route support Coastal GasLink and have signed benefits agreements for their communities. It is not the place of activist groups to determine what an Indigenous community can or can’t do.
https://www.coastalgaslink.com/sustainability/indigenous-relations/ - 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/
Stories that get it right
Kenney visits U.S. capital to talk North American energy security
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is in Washington in an effort to convince Capitol Hill lawmakers that his province is their best bet for North American energy security.
Kenney is meeting with journalists today in advance of his testimony Tuesday before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
That hearing, to explore the “energy and minerals” partnership between Canada and the U.S., will also feature virtual testimony from Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.
Nathalie Camden, Quebec’s deputy minister of mines, and Electricity Canada president Francis Bradley are also scheduled to testify.
Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage and Environment Minister Jason Nixon are part of Kenney’s delegation.
