ABOUT JNP

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Who are we?


We, Christina Kachkarova, Miriam Abel, and Jane Kim are a team of undergraduate students at Simon Fraser University who came together in January 2020 to organize the SFU community to oppose the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion. Our work is part of SFU350, a network that advocates for climate justice and for a more sustainable university.


How can you join our team?


Our group is always happy to have more voices in the process of organising against the TMX pipeline. You do not need to have any experience in political organizing; you simply have to be willing to work together with a diverse group of people and collaborate on our common goals. We are currently deciding on our meeting times for the Summer 2020 semester - if you are interested in attending our meetings, email us at justicenopipeline@gmail.com .


How is this initiative part of a larger strategy or vision for change?


Our vision is one of intersectional justice. We oppose the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion on the grounds of environmental, social, and Indigenous justice. We are living during a climate emergency, and it seems contradictory that Justin Trudeau has declared this, yet continues to push for the expansion of a pipeline that would only increase CO2 emissions. In addition to this, the expansion threatens the health of the SFU and Burnaby Mountain community, the health of the environment, the well-being of nature, and the drinkability of our water. Indigenous groups (including the Wet’suwet’en) are fighting to protect their land and their water for everyone, but are only met with arrests. The continuous disregard for Indigenous sovereignty by the colonial government of Canada is unjust and appalling, especially in the so-called era of reconciliation. We, as SFU students who align with the university’s values of being engaged and thinking critically, want to stand in solidarity and practice active allyship. Based on all of the reasons outlined above, the larger vision for this initiative and this group is to provide SFU students with the structures necessary to engage in social, environmental, and Indigenous justice. In other words, it is to make revolutionary change.

Why do we oppose the TMX pipeline?


Justice, No Pipeline stands firmly opposed to the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion for the following reasons:

  1. In the negotiating process, Indigenous rights and sovereignty have and continue to be ignored and undermined;

  2. The project puts the health and safety of the surrounding communities at risk. Apart from obvious health concerns, especially women are exposed to extreme danger through the establishment of man camps. Man camps are the facilities where the workers live for the construction time. Reportedly, sexual violence and assault, especially against Indigenous women have spiked through man camps;

  3. The expansion poses a danger to the surrounding environment, including through water and resource contamination, potential leaks and oil spills, and deforestation to pave way for the pipeline;

  4. The measures put in place to ensure the safety of the Burnaby Mountain community in case of an emergency are inefficient and inadequate.