Chanting “No means No” and “No more pipeline,” the demonstrators disrupted traffic along King Street in Toronto in front of the big banks’ headquarters.
First Nations elders say they hold voting proxies for the Enbridge annual meeting to be held Wednesday afternoon, and will tell shareholders the Northern Gateway pipeline should not be built.
At a press conference and rally, the leaders insisted they could not be won over by offers of money or benefits. “It is not about money, it is about our way of life,” said Chief Jackie Thomas of the Saik’uz First Nation.
She said First Nations have often invested in business ventures, but the pipeline is not acceptable. “We make business decisions based on the evaluation of risk, and this risk is far too great.”
Protesters who can’t get into the Enbridge annual meeting will hold a demonstration outside to voice their opposition.
The First Nations leaders said they will take legal action if they have to, to stop the pipeline.
“We won’t expose our grandchildren to the risk of an oil spill,” Chief Thomas said.
Meanwhile, Enbridge reported lower first-quarter net earnings on hedging losses Wednesday.
The Calgary-based pipeline operator said net earnings were $264-million, or 35 cents per share, compared to $364-million, or 49 cents, a year earlier.
Revenues increased to $6.6-billion from $6.5-billion.
Stripped of the hedging impacts, adjusted earnings were $376-million, or 50 cents per share, versus $330-million, or 44 cents per share.
That beat the average analyst estimate of 48 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters.
Enbridge says the pipeline and tankers will be held to high safety standards. It also says Northern Gateway is important to Canada, as it would help oil producers sell their crude in lucrative Asian markets, thus reducing their reliance on the United States as their sole export market.
Original Article
Source: Globe
Author: RICHARD BLACKWELL
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