Residents of Victoria joined thousands of others across Canada by gathering at the office of their local member of parliament to demand action that stops Kinder Morgan’s plan to expand the Trans Mountain pipeline.
Roughly 100 people met outside Victoria MP Murray Rankin’s office Friday to show their solidarity with protecting B.C.’s coastline and defending the water against potential oil spills and extra tanker traffic.
Although Rankin was in Vancouver on business, one of the demonstrators taking part, Charlene Simon, gifted his office with a sample of water collected from an area of the B.C. coast threatened by potential damage.
The local NDP MP and former lawyer has long been an advocate for environmental protection.
“As I’ve said, it’s simply not in the national interest to play Russian roulette with Canada’s west coast and pristine environment,” said Rankin in a statement released ahead of the protest.
“I am so pleased to welcome fellow Victorians who are protesting the Kinder Morgan project. This will certainly send a clear message to the Liberals about how our community feels about the risks they are prepared to take.”
READ MORE: B.C. MP’s arrested at anti-pipeline protest
Demonstrations happened across the country on Friday in a collective Day of Action. In Victoria, many brought signs and greeted motorists as they closed down one lane of traffic on Fort St. In a demonstration that lasted one hour, many passing motorists gave cheerful honks and waved at the crowd in support.
ragnar.haagen@bpdigital.ca
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