WHO: Draw the Line Coalition (campaign spokespeople available for media interviews and commentary)

MEDIA CONTACT: Gur Tsabar and Alicia Parker, [email protected]

OTTAWA, ON - Today, Mark Carney's announcement of the first projects “of national interest” to be approved and fast-tracked under the Building Canada Act confirms the government’s approach to major projects, which fails to respect the hard-won protections and meaningful engagement of civil society, workers, and Indigenous Peoples. 

“We want to build, too – but we want to build the future, not preserve the past,” warns Caroline Brouillette, Executive Director of Climate Action Network Canada. “Today’s announcement includes dangerous initiatives that further entrench us in a fossil-fueled North American economy.”

We are drawing the line today on this top-down approach, which, as the Building Canada Act demonstrates, assumes that only Premiers and C-suite executives are the voices that need to be listened to. The Draw the Line campaign stands firm that prioritizing new oil and gas projects like those on the list–such as LNG Canada Phase 2 and the Alberta-based Pathways Plus carbon capture and pipeline project–is unacceptable, as they directly counter a core demand to end the era of fossil fuels and protect Mother Earth.

On September 20, tens of thousands of us will mobilize across Canada to reject this very approach. We will not stop until our government prioritizes communities and a liveable future over corporate profit. The MPO's reliance on the flawed Building Canada Act gives the federal government the power to disregard meaningful engagement, a process that risks jeopardizing and delaying projects rather than accelerating them.

The Draw the Line mobilizations in Canada are organized by Seniors for Climate, Migrant Rights Network, Indigenous Climate Action, Sacred Earth Solar, Climate Action Network Canada (CAN-Rac), 350.org, World Beyond War Canada, For Our Kids, Climate Reality Project Canada, Climate Emergency Unit, Greenpeace Canada, Council of Canadians, Music Declares Emergency, and Palestine Solidarity Network, and endorsed by over 200 organizations representing millions of Canadians. From rallies to strikes, marches to gatherings, this September 20th, communities will mobilize across the country and demand that Prime Minister Carney and the Canadian government pick a side: injustice, violence, and climate destruction- or a just and safe future for all of us.

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