A convoy of big trucks from Canada's oil producing regions rolled into the capital Ottawa Tuesday as hundreds of people including "yellow vest" activists rallied in protest at government curbs on pipeline construction.

Parked outside parliament, they honked horns and waved placards reading "Canadians need pipelines and good paying jobs," as they pressed for new regulations allowing the industry to expand.

"This country was built on natural resources," Ottawa area farmer and former politician Jack MacLaren told a cheering crowd.

"What's going on in the oil industry is terrible. The world wants to buy our oil but we can't get it to them."

Nearly 50 big rigs drove almost 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles) from Red Deer, Alberta for the rally, which brought together about 500 oil workers, backed by farmers and "yellow vest" protestors.

They were met by a smaller counterprotest that included environmental activists calling for a "livable climate" and indigenous groups agitating for their rights.

Canada is the world's fourth largest producer and exporter or oil, but almost all of it is sold to the United States at a discount.

Many efforts over recent decades to build new pipelines have meanwhile faltered or failed under intense opposition from environmental and indigenous groups.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has declared building conduits to move oil to tidewater for shipping to new overseas markets a national imperative, in order to ease Canada's reliance on the US and to get a better price for its oil.

In August, the federal government bought the 1,150-kilometer (715-mile) Trans Mountain pipeline and relaunched consultations with Pacific coast indigenous groups after a court ruled the tribes should get a say in the project to move 890,000 barrels per day.

The tribes worried that increased shipping from a marine terminal at the end of the route in Vancouver would impede the recovery of killer whale populations in the area.

A new bill, currently in the Senate, also looks to break the deadlock by imposing new environmental assessment measures on mega-projects.

But that bill has upset energy workers who say onerous regulations have strangled growth in the oil sector.

The oil workers have drawn support from farmers concerned that oil is being increasingly shipped by rail, displacing grain shipments, and from opponents to a federal carbon tax.

United We Roll convoy organizer Glen Carritt told AFP: "We're tired of our energy sector not being taken seriously.

"We need pipelines to be built," he said. "There's been too much procrastination by our government, and we need action now."

Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

US military to ship Venezuela aid to Colombia
Washington (AFP) Feb 15, 2019
The US military will transport some 200 tons of humanitarian aid to Colombia to help relieve the crisis in neighboring Venezuela, a US defense official said Friday. Speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement, the official said the aid would be sent in the coming days, most likely aboard a C-17 transport plane. In a statement, the Pentagon said the US "remains deeply concerned about the crisis in Venezuela that has consequences for the entire region." Venezuela is plagu ... read more