Reacting the the Liberal government decision to press ahead with the Trans Mt. pipeline, Mayor Lisa Helps says this city will remain on the frontlines of climate change action.
Helps says our fragile coastline is a defining feature on which our economies depend, and the reason we choose to live here -- which is one of the reasons this city has a bold climate leadership plan phasing out fossil fuels by 2050:
" So given these commitments and our community values, many Victorians have expressed strong opposition to the Trans Mt. pipeline. And we have very serious concerns about the impact of that increased tanker traffic on the long term ecological health, and economic health of our coastline."
Helps says there's no doubt the increase in the number of tankers will increase the likelihood of a spill.
She says while the federal government builds pipelines, this region is taking significant steps to end dependence on fossil fuels by 2050 at the latest, and to get to carbon neutrality by 2030.
Meantime, Helps says she sees 2 silver linings:
" One is the federal government declared a climate emergency yesterday, so that's going to put some impetus under their future decisions. And the other things is the money from the pipeline will be reinvested in clean energy. So I guess that's a bit of a silver lining. I suppose the $4.5-Billion they used to buy the pipeline could have been invested in clean energy as well."
Helps says it gives her hope that Ottawa will be strong partners in helping this City mitigate the immediate impacts of climate change and protect it in the future.