Enbridge is trying to pipe tar sands bitumen through Southern Ontario and Quebec, threatening the health and safety of our communities and waterways, and allowing for the expansion of the most destructive project on the planet, the tar sands. Enbridge’s Line 9 is a 38-year old pipeline that is almost identical in build and age to the Line 6 pipeline that ruptured in the Kalamazoo River in Michigan. In total, Line 9 passes within 50 km of an estimated 9.1 million people, including 18 First Nation communities, and directly through 99 towns and cities.

But instead of opposing or even carefully considering Enbridge’s proposal to send tar sands through aging infrastructure, the project is being pushed through without as much as an environmental assessment. In fact, the National Energy Board (NEB) is doing everything it can to shut out voices from the public in the approval process, while First Nations communities say that they have not been consulted.

With the Kalamazoo River and countless other spills, we have witnessed the devastation caused by bitumen spills to homes, wildlife, waterways, and people’s health. Chemicals specific to the transport of bitumen poison the air, while the heavier bitumen sinks in waterways, making it nearly impossible to clean-up.

Beyond the very real threat to our communities and waterways, pipelines allow for the expansion of the tar sands. At every level of production, tar sands is a disaster. From the extraction of bitumen, to the transport and refining of the thick toxic substance, this industry is creating sacrifice zones everywhere it operates. In particular, operations in Northern Alberta are poisoning surrounding people, land, water, and animals, threatening the health of many Indigenous communities, some of whom are experiencing high rates of rare cancers. What’s more, the tar sands giga-project is Canada’s largest source of greenhouse gases, accelerating climate change, which is leading to droughts, floods, and other extreme weather conditions.

For more information on Line 9, please see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tK83lr7doA