Kinder Morgan protest draws small turnout in Calgary

A small group showed up in Calgary to voice their opposition to Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion on Monday, amarked contrast to the thousands who took the streets in Vancouver the day before.

"We want to send a strong visual message to the prime minister. This is a serious decision that he must make. It affects not just Canadians, but also the global community," said Diana Izard, who organized the vigil.

• Kinder Morgan protest draws huge crowd in Vancouver
• Demonstrators for and against pipelines clash in Winnipeg

The Calgary event was one of 48 vigilsin communities across Canada organized under the banner of 350.org, a group dedicated to fighting climate change.

The federal government is facing a deadline of Dec. 19 onwhether the pipeline expansion previously approved by the National Energy Boardcan be built to the West Coast.

The NEB ruling placed 157 conditions on the approval, 49 of which were environmental. The Trudeau Liberals then appointed a three-member panel to review the recommended approval.

"We cannot have these fossil fuel projects expanded at this time," said Izard, pointing to Canada's climate change commitments in the Paris Agreement, and the costs and damage brought on by a changing environment.

She wants to see more investment in green energy and said "there's no reason why Canada can't also take part in a just energy transition."

Thousands gather in Vancouver

The gathering was small and quiet compared to the thousands who showed up in Vancouver on Sunday to voice their opposition to the project.

Canada's West Coast has been a hotbed of resistance to the expansion of oil and gas infrastructure, with concerns about coastal environmental health and the implications for First Nations in the area, and also the impact of a spill on tourism.

The mayor of Vancouver, Gregor Robertson, has been a vocal opponent of the project. Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, on the other hand, is a staunch supporter.

• Gregor Robertson warns of Trans Mountain protests 'like you've never seen before'
• Nenshi's pipeline war of words with Vancouver mayor continues

'It's not justified by science'

Not everyone at Calgary's vigil was there to protest Kinder Morgan.

George Clark, best known for organizing a failed "kudatah" against Alberta's NDP government, was there to argue that restrictions on coal use and "what you guys are claiming is happening to the world isn't justified by the facts, it's not justified by science."

"You've turned it into a belief and it's up to the ordinary working people to take a stand a say 'No, we're not going to put up with it anymore'. And that's what's happening, it's coming here too," he said.

'Hopeful, though a little skeptical'

Angela Gislason was there to register her concerns with the expansion of the project and what that could mean for the environment, with the new pipeline making it easier to extract and ship more fossil fuels for export.

"I'm hopeful, though little skeptical, I guess. Because I know how much this economy is tied to fossil fuels, and also the political paradigms and think tanks that are tied to that," she said of the ability to prevent an approval.

And as for the small turnout?

"I was hoping for more than that, butthat's pretty good considering it's Alberta and Calgary."

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