Movement rises against XL oil pipelines

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The movement to oppose Keystone XL is huge in Canada. It ranges from activists and scientists to indigenous peoples of the threatened Canadian plains and boreal for­ ests, where the tar sands are located. It in­ cludes rural farmers and ranchers, and im­ portant sections of the labour movement.

Dave Coles, President of the Communica­ tions, Energy and Paperworkers’ Union, spoke to 5000 people on Oct. 23, 2012, at the Defend Our Coast rally in Victoria, Brit­ ish Columbia, explaining why his members are “diametrically opposed” to Tar Sands pipelines that would extend to BC’s coast.

A representative of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers echoed those concerns, citing the loss of fisheries jobs in Alaska fol­ lowing the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Most recently, the December-January up­ surge of popular solidarity with aboriginal rights, voiced in part by the Idle No More movement, targeted federal government legislation to eliminate federal protection of lakes and waterways. Rallies held across the Canadi­ an state also opposed pipeline construction to trans­ port Alberta crude to China and other destinations.

Opposition to XL unites everyone to the left of the Stephen Harper Tories. Where the unity fractures is over energy alternatives. Sadly, the labour-based New Democratic Party federal leader Thomas Mul­ cair argues for building a pipeline eastward to deliver the tarry fuel to Atlantic Canada, at a cost of billions, rather than invest the money in green energy op­ (Above) Some 1400 join Portland, Maine, protest on Jan. 26 against proposal to pipe in tar sands oil from Canada.

tions—climate change be damned.

Protests in Canada dovetail with actions against the construction of oil pipelines in the United States. The most significant project is the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry Alberta tar sands petroleum 1700 miles through environmentally sensitive areas of the Midwest to refineries in Texas. In January, hundreds of Native Americans, including supporters of Idle No More, gathered at the state capitol in Lincoln, Ne­ braska, to oppose the line, pointing out that it would endanger their ancestral lands. attracted over 20,000 participants, was planned months in advance. The OPSEU event rallied less than 200.

Today, the labour leadership has vir­ tually abandoned the fight against the capitalist austerity agenda. The labourbased New Democratic Party has like­ wise played a pathetic role. Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has failed to defend workers publicly. She focuses her criticisms on the financial costs to be incurred by government in defending the legality of the actions of the big business On Jan. 26, some 1400 marched in Portland, Maine, to protest a proposal to move tar sands oil via a pipeline through eastern Canada to ports in New England.

And on Feb. 17, tar sands and the pipelines will be a major focus of the Forward on Climate mass rally in Washington, D.C. The U.S. State Depart­ ment is expected to release its Environmental Impact Statement on the Keystone XL pipeline very soon, and the Obama administration will make its decision on the project later this year. According to Oil Change International, emis­ sions from tar sands extraction and upgrading are between 3.2 and 4.5 times higher than the equivalent emissions from production of con­ ventional oil in North America. On a life cycle basis, the average gallon of tar sands bitumenderived fuel embodies between 14 and 37 per­ cent more greenhouse gas emissions than the average gallon of fuel from conventional oil. Reasons to oppose pipelines and bitumen extraction do not stop there. Do you know the story of petcoke? It’s a leftover from refining tar sands bitumen. Petcoke is sold as coal, but since it is cheaper and dirtier, it helps keep coal-fired plants running and polluting our atmosphere. A ton of petcoke yields, on average, 53.6 percent more carbon dioxide than a ton of coal. The proven tar sands reserves of Canada will yield rough­ ly 5 billion tons of petcoke—enough to fully fuel 111 U.S. coal plants to 2050.

The situation is critical. That is why socialists say: No to tar sands oil! No to the pipelines! Nationalize Big Oil under workers’ and community control. To combat climate change, governments should radi­ cally reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and implement a systematic plan for the development and use of sus­ tainable green energy alternatives. n tins, guest speakers at local events, and educational conferences on what capitalist austerity is, and how to fight it. The union should have focused on a clear message, such as “no concessions,” or “we didn’t create this crisis, and we won’t pay for it.” Members require the tools to fight back.

That is what the union should have pro­

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