Updated story: Pipeline protesters march up Patricia Bay Highway in traffic lanes.
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Update: Hundreds of marchers, protesting the Trans Mountain pipeline, embarked on a 20-kilometre journey from Victoria's Centennial Square this morning, travelling in the middle of downtown streets, escorted by police. They continued along Highway 17, occasionally disrupting traffic.
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Motorists are being given a friendly warning about possible traffic delays today as citizens march from Victoria City Hall up the Saanich Peninsula to protest expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline. Keith Cherry, an organizer of the march, said as many as 1,500 people are expected for the 20-kilometre march from Centennial Square up the Patricia Bay Highway to Island View Beach. March organizers say it’s expected any delays to motorists will be brief and suggested alternate routes are available and easy to find.
“We try to be courteous,” said Cherry. “We are going to do what we are going to do but we are trying to do it in a way that is loving.”
Marchers will gather today at 8 a.m. at Centennial Square and plan on leaving at 9 a.m. after speeches and songs.
They will march north on Douglas Street until they reach Uptown where they will veer eastwards to pick up the Patricia Bay Highway and stop at Saanich Municipal Hall for a 20-minute break. They will then go north along the Patricia Bay Highway to Island View Beach where a feast is to start at 6 p.m.
The event is scheduled to continue until between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Car pools and a “community action bus” have been organized to take people back to Victoria.
Cherry said the march will protest the pipeline expansion, which is seen as running roughshod over objections expressed by some Indigenous peoples.
The federal government announced Tuesday the Trans Mountain pipeline, owned by Canadian taxpayers, will be expanded to triple its capacity from the Edmonton area to Burnaby. It was the second time the project has been approved.
The Federal Court of Appeal threw out the first attempt at approval nine months ago saying the government had neither consulted enough with First Nations nor completed an adequate environmental review.
Since then, the government has promised any federal dollars earned by the pipeline will be invested in clean energy and green technology, including any money made if the pipeline is ever sold back to the private sector.
The government is also committed to a developing a marine emergency response to deal with any coastal spills, mitigating impacts on Native sacred sites. It is promising Indigenous involvement in environmental impact response and reporting after the project is completed.
