Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was interrupted by two environmental activists during a Q&A session at the United Nations Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial conference in Vancouver.
The two young activists challenged Trudeau for his hypocrisy on the environment, specifically for his approval of Kinder Morgan’s controversial Trans Mountain pipeline last year.
“We are here as youth who are scared for our future because of climate change,” activist Hayley Zacks, 20, said at the conference on Wednesday, according to Global News.
“We voted for you in our first election, and we were so excited for you to be prime minister based on the promise of real action on climate change and reconciliation. But then you went and approved the Kinder Morgan pipeline and we cannot be climate leaders approving horrible and dangerous tar sands pipelines, that are going through unceded First Nations territory.”
“In Paris, you promised us a two-degree future, and then you went and approved the Kinder Morgan pipeline. The Kinder Morgan pipeline is going to increase emissions from the tar sands, it is going to poison our water, our land and everything we hold dear,” Zacks added.
Zacks was joined by fellow activist Jake Hubley, 24, as the pair held signs reading ‘Protect our future’ and ‘Stop Kinder Morgan.’ Trudeau thanked the pair for their comments but did not respond to any of the points they raised.
“Thank you for your questions, for your activism, keep up the activism, please, it’s great to see young people stepping forward and sharing their concerns and views. We certainly take those very seriously,” Trudeau said as the two were escorted out by security. Hubley and Zacks were questioned by police after their protest but were released shortly afterwards.
Trudeau championed environmentalism and promised an overhaul of the review process for energy projects, including Canada’s notoriously polluting tar sands whose tailing ponds are visible from space and have polluted vast swathes of Alberta.
Trudeau approved both Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain and Enbridge’s Line 3 pipelines in 2016 in an apparent 180 on his campaign pledges. He did not, however, approve the Northern Gateway pipeline, as he was backed into a corner following promises to the First Nations communities to protect the Great Bear Rainforest.
