'We're at a tipping point': Dozens meet for second Winnipeg rally to protest pipeline approval
'They literally lied to us,' organizer says of Liberal government
Dozens of Winnipeggers met at the intersection of Portage Avenue and Main Street Thursday evening for the second protest rally in the city since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau approved two controversial pipeline projects on Tuesday.
Armed with banners and handmade protest signs, around 40 people met on sidewalks along the busy intersection starting at 6 p.m.
On Tuesday, a smaller group met in the same spot, just a few hours after Trudeau announced the approval of two major pipeline projects, the Trans Mountain and Line 3 pipelines.
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Bundled up against the cold with a "Grandmothers unite" sign in her hand, Karla Rawluk said she felt Trudeau broke faith with his commitment to the Paris agreement on climate change earlier this year, when he promised to work toward renewable energy as a way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Rawluk said the decision should concern everybody, regardless of where they live.
"I don't think it's just Winnipeggers, I think it's the world," she said. "I have two beautiful grandchildren, and this is it. We're at a tipping point."
Event organizer Cecil James told protesters he felt sick to his stomach on Tuesday when he heard Ottawa signed off on the pipelines.
"Everybody I've talked to is literally disgusted with the way the Liberals have basically lied to us — not basically, they literally lied to us," James said into a megaphone at the protest.
"They wrote a lot of cheques in the campaign last year, on climate, on consultation with First Nations people, and none of those things are happening."