SASKATOON — Power, not pipelines, was the rallying cry of climate and environment advocates during their rally on Sunday, June 1, a day ahead of the First Ministers’ meeting in Saskatoon. Over 50 of their members marched to and from Vimy Memorial in Kiwanis Park and the Delta Bessborough Hotel in Spadina Crescent.
Prime Minister Mark Carney and members of his cabinet met with the country’s premiers on Monday, June 2, to discuss building a stronger Canadian economy. The talks focused on a list of infrastructure projects pitched by the premiers that would help diversify the country's markets and drive economic growth through partnerships with Indigenous communities.
Premier Scott Moe and his counterpart, Alberta’s Danielle Smith, support building a coast-to-coast pipeline to transport oil and natural gas from Western Canada to Eastern ports for export to new European markets, making the country an energy powerhouse. A pipeline would also make it easier for Eastern provinces to access oil and natural gas from the West.
Carney and the premiers had agreed to start the nation-building projects presented during the meeting. However, the prime minister did not provide specifics on which projects the federal government would focus on when asked after the meeting. One of the projects could be beneficial to the energy, oil, and gas sectors.
Lawyer and climate activist Glenn Wright, a volunteer organizer with the Saskatoon Climate Hub and Climate Justice Saskatoon, said that Carney has not clearly outlined his plans, as his administration is still in the honeymoon period following his leadership of the Liberal Party to a fourth consecutive victory in the last federal election.
“He's still trying to think, ride the wave of being everything to everyone all at once. However, some tough decisions are ahead. We hope they will make the right decision to focus on power lines, not pipelines. I mean, even under Prime Minister Trudeau, we saw more investment in fossil energy than we have in a long time,” said Wright.
“We bought the TMX pipeline, which was over $30 billion; it was spent on our public dollars on dirty energy. That's going to be a stranded asset. We need to build [infrastructure for] wind and solar [energy]. We need to build power lines between provinces so we can trade power and be more resilient to climate change.”
He added that expanding the technology for harnessing clean energy and implementing responsible mining practices in the production of rare earth minerals used for electric vehicles would be beneficial for the province, as it would create jobs and other opportunities in the future, which Saskatchewan residents can be proud of.
“We know that the transition from the fossil fuel age to the age of electricity is going to rely on more minerals, rare earth minerals, like lithium, copper, nickel, all of that stuff. But we want to do it responsibly. So, this is where I think we have some reservations about pre-approving projects without having environmental assessments,” said Wright.
“There must also be proper consultation with Indigenous, First Nations and Métis folks. We want to move in the right direction, but we must do so responsibly and with appropriate consultation. I believe there is significant potential in every province in Canada to adopt the clean technology we need. Hydroelectric opportunities are available in specific locations.”
He added that Saskatchewan has the opportunity to capitalize on its rare earth mining industry. By building infrastructure to harness the sun’s power and capitalizing on the chance to interconnect with Alberta and Manitoba, the West can become a major source of solar energy in the country.
“We also need to focus on the North, which is not served as well as it could be in terms of transportation and other infrastructure, such as power lines. Helping to provide those services to the North, to open up the areas we need for responsible mining, to produce the critical minerals necessary for that electric economy,” said Wright.
