While climate change is a hot topic among policy-makers and pundits alike, climate change does not affect everyone equally. Broadly defined, climate justice is a movement and a vision to alleviate these disparities, and fight in solidarity with those who will be most affected. The Daily spoke with Robin Reid-Fraser, a member of Climate Justice Montreal, on climate justice, recent pipeline proposals, and the need for direct resistance in order to prevent projects that are harmful to the environment.
Climate Justice Montreal is an organization that focuses on the impacts of climate change and resource extraction in Quebec and around the country. The group combines elements of education, awareness, and activism, and attempts to fight alongside communities that are most affected by, and least responsible for, the effects of climate change.
The group recently published a communiqué on the proposed construction of the TransCanada Energy East Pipeline, which, if built, would be the largest energy infrastructure project in Canada. The project seeks to reverse the flow of several pipelines that currently flow west, as well as to construct several new pipelines between Alberta and New Brunswick, with the ultimate aim of carrying over 1.1 million barrels of crude Alberta tar sands oil a day to newly-built refineries in Quebec and New Brunswick.
The proposal of the Energy East Pipeline, along with other oil pipeline projects like the renovation of Line 9 (which runs through Ontario and Quebec) and the proposed construction of Keystone XL (which would run through the U.S.), have been part of what Reid-Fraser describes as a larger shift toward the prioritization of economic and energy security over the environment. On this broader issue, Reid-Fraser suggested that the root causes are due to the oppression of certain genders, races, and socioeconomic classes.
As an example of this oppression, Reid-Fraser explained that the people “who shape the political agenda, who are heading the well-funded lobby groups, and continue to push government toward these projects” are most often “rich, white men.” The impacts of climate change would be felt mainly by those “who are poor [...] which generally means communities of colour.”
“Taking examples from the West Coast, Indigenous communities have been constructing camps to disrupt construction of oil pipelines, and only through these types of direct action have we seen any change occurring.”
Specifically, she pointed to the National Energy Board, which under the current government has been directed to move away from environmental regulation of energy infrastructure projects. On the Energy East Pipeline, she pointed out that “they are explicitly not considering climate change as an impact” anymore. And, as the communiqué suggests, it is Indigenous communities, whose people would benefit least from the pipeline, which would be directly affected, facing additional health risks, like an increased risk of cancer.
This separation of cause and effect highlights a central idea of both the communiqué and of climate justice groups around the world, the idea Reid-Fraser calls “an unequal burden, where the people that are causing climate change [... and] who have the political and economic power can continue to ignore climate change [...] while those who are least responsible are the ones that are most severely impacted.”
Asked about the future of climate activism, Reid-Fraser cautioned, “Realistically, the people who occupy positions of political control now aren’t likely to change their positions.” As a result of this, she said that climate activism is currently the only option available.
“Taking examples from the West Coast, Indigenous communities have been constructing camps to disrupt construction of oil pipelines, and only through these types of direct action have we seen any change occurring.” Reid-Fraser noted the recent success achieved by Climate Justice Montreal in lobbying for the creation of a moratorium on fracking in Quebec as another example of successful climate activism.
Ultimately, despite these positive results, Reid-Fraser suggested that broader social change must occur for the issue of climate justice to be fully resolved. “While it is important to continue this resistance in the short-term, it is also important to have a real discussion about what kind of world we really want for ourselves.”
On eventually halting the construction of the TransCanada Energy East Pipeline, Reid-Fraser was cautiously optimistic. “I think it is possible, but there are so many factors involved, be it direct action, or the political climate, the social and practical ability to operate on the ground, and economic factors like the price of oil. And, there is always the political dimension, the different governing parties at each level of government and what they’re willing to stand up for.”