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EPIB Trail
Volume 12, Issue 3
The Canadian Pipeline Paradox By Gayatri Anguloori Earlier this year, Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, sat down for an interview on Netflix’s Patriot Act—a political commentary show hosted by comedian, Hasan Minhaj. The episode is titled, “The Two Sides of Canada”—appropriately alluding to the doublespeak and contradictory policies regarding environmental protection and climate actions that Prime Minister Trudeau has supported. Prime Minister Trudeau has arguably been celebrated as the poster child of the left. With policies supporting refugee immigration to Canada and First Nations civil rights, to name a few, Trudeau has become an influential figure for many liberals and progressives, not only in Canada, but around the world. More specifically, Trudeau has ran for his position in office in support of the Paris Agreement and combatting climate change — creating a persona of a proactive politician who is determined to make changes in protecting the environment. However, Trudeau’s rhetoric regarding environmental protection does not align with his policies. Although continuously vowing to be a warrior against climate change, accounts of Trudeau being “very interested” in pipeline agreements date back to 2014 (Gillis). More recently, the Trudeau government purchased the Trans Mountain Pipeline (TMX), a pipeline that runs from the Canadian provinces of Alberta to British Columbia, for $3.4 billion from Texas-based Kinder Morgan (Coletta). The New York Times reports that the pipeline would be transporting 890,000 barrels of crude oil every single day—posing imminent threats of water table pollution and ecosystem endangerment for the communities the pipeline runs through. With promises of pipelines and allegiances to non-renewables, is Prime Minister Trudeau being proven as an apparent liar? Well, not exactly. Although Mr. Trudeau has backed the construction of the TMX pipeline since 2016 —when he originally purchased it against proper consultation with the indigenous groups it would be affecting—he has repeatedly justified his plan by saying that the present investment in oil will generate enough money to fund non-renewable energy developments in the future. Prime Minister Trudeau claims that “every dollar earned from the expansion project will be invested in Canada’s transition to green energy” thus, generating about $500 million per year (Beaumont). Additionally, the construction of the pipeline would make way for middle class growth through thousands of new Canadian jobs. Corporate rationales promoting fossil fuels that attempt to masquerade as green policies continue to be backed by Trudeau and his administration. Amidst all the rhetoric and explanations the Greenpeace. 2019. prime minister has conveyed to
