Picture Credit: Neal Anderson

The Trans Mountain (TMX) pipeline and tanker project is a threat to our Salish Sea, our climate, our economies, and our communities. It would expand the capacity of the current pipeline that traverses Canada to 850,000 barrels of tar sands oil/day, making it larger than DAPL and KXL. If approved, the project would increase tanker traffic in shared Washington/British Columbia waters sevenfold. 

This campaign is centered and led by First Nations leadership. We've partnered with the Tsleil-Waututh, Coldwater, and Squamish to help with the legal actions they filed in federal court to stop Kinder Morgan. Indigenous legal challenges are a strategic and morally-sound way to stop this pipeline and supporting their leadership has made this movement that much stronger. 

Together we have organized events that have brought communities together to raise over 640K to support their fight. In 2018, the Pull Together fundraising effort succeeded and the project was “quashed” under their many legal victories The Canadian federal court of appeal found that the Canadian government failed to adequately consult with First Nations and that the assessment of how tanker traffic impacts southern resident orcas were deficient.

Unfortunately in 2019, the Canadian National Energy Board went back to the drawing board and found that the issues brought forward in the legal cases ran true, but chose to greenlight the project anyway. In July of 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada denied hearing the Nations cases, a decision which sets a terrible precedent on how consultation is conducted in Canada and demonstrates the ongoing systematic mistreatment and racism against Indigenous peoples. 

As First Nations face struggles with their legal actions against TMX, we’re moving to make sure that this project doesn’t get the backing it needs to ever become a reality. Pipeline and tanker projects need insurance in order to operate -- so we’re intercepting executives plans to push dirty fuels for profit.

First Nations are standing up for indigenous rights, for the water, for whales, for the land and for the climate. We will continue the walk towards justice with them, in making sure this pipeline and tanker project never sees the light of day. 

Current status:

In the midst of a global pandemic, the fossil fuel industry is accelerating its planet-wrecking agenda. Despite social distancing measures, construction on TMX has already started. With construction comes the installment of “man camps” which have been linked to violence against Indigenous women and to the spread of COVID-19 in Native communities.

Tar sands pipelines are the epitome of risk: for Indigenous communities, waterways, the climate, and public health. But without insurance, new tar sands pipelines cannot be built, and existing infrastructure cannot continue to operate. We’re targeting the three US-based companies that are providing insurance to Trans Mountain -- Liberty Mutual, Chubb and AIG -- to get them to pull their insurance for the project.

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(Select "Stopping Fossil Fuels" and mention "TMX" to get involved)

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