Activists target local MPs for national day of action
On Friday, March 23, a group of about 80 protesters, led by the on-campus activist group Fossil Free Guelph, participated in a national day of action against the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion.
The crowd consisted of community members and students who marched from The Boathouse Tea Room to Guelph MP Lloyd Longfield’s office downtown where they delivered speeches, a letter, and a sample of fresh water from Burnaby, B.C.
Longfield was in Ottawa during the protest.
“It was a very positive mood, everybody was hopeful and excited to be able to take part in something as big as this,” Ben Stuart, a representative from Fossil Free Guelph, told The Ontarion. “We also had a lot of support from drivers, some very nice honks, [and] people stopping by asking questions.”
In other cities, like Calgary, pro- and anti-pipeline activists clashed. In Burnaby, B.C. — ground zero for anti-pipeline protests — activists delivered fresh water to the office of local MP Terry Beech, who was also in Ottawa at the time.
“Even though we were only 80 people, we were joined by 50 other cities at around the same time, which was a very cool feeling,” Stuart said.
Photo by Matthew Glavin