A woman holds a sign in the shape of an oil tanker while listening as protesters opposed to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion hold a rally ahead of a decision by Liberal cabinet on the project, in Vancouver on June 9, 2019.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Vancouver police say about 500 people attended a rally against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion on Sunday.
It could be the last major rally against the pipeline in Vancouver before the federal government makes its final decision on the fate of the project, expected by June 18.
The event was hosted by a collective of six environmental groups, including the Indigenous-led Coast Protectors, the youth-led group Our Time and the Wilderness Committee.
They called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to “walk the climate emergency talk” and reject the expansion of the pipeline, which the federal government purchased from Kinder Morgan last summer for $4.5 billion.
Chief Judy Wilson of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs says elders in her territory east of Kamloops are resolved to continue opposing the project in the event it’s approved.
She says the Canadian government does not have jurisdiction over unceded territory, referring to land that has not been surrendered to or acquired by the Crown, and anticipates communities along the pipeline route will continue to push back.