The hottest debate in Canada currently is the Kinder Morgan pipeline, which is the focus of a new documentary, Directly Affected: Pipeline Under Pressure, that will be playing at the Salmar Classic on Tuesday, May 29 at 7 p.m.
Vancouver filmmaker Zack Embree will be in Salmon Arm to introduce Directly Affected, his latest film, and answer questions afterwards.
Five years ago, Embree set out on a mission: to understand the impacts of the Kinder Morgan pipeline on local communities and give a voice back to those who had been ignored in the National Energy Board review process. He interviewed residents affected by the 2007 Burnaby oil spill and covered the protests on Burnaby Mountain. He journeyed to First Nations communities such as Fort McKay, Alta., to witness the impacts of fossil fuel extraction, to New Brunswick where many of the energy workers are from, and to France for the Paris Climate talks.
What Embree found was a growing storm of opposition from all walks of life, and confusion over Prime Minister Trudeau’s climate plan. How can Canada expect to reduce carbon emissions while at the same time build a major oil pipeline?
The film serves both as a primer and a history lesson on the pipeline project, that began as part of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s attempt to make Canada an oil superpower. Laws were loosened and the approval process streamlined at the bequest of the powerful oil lobby. Everyone thought the tide was changing when the Trudeau Liberals came to power, but now they are pledging tax dollars to entice Texas-based Kinder Morgan to move forward with its plans.
The dichotomy between the growing impacts of climate change, including floods, fires, severe weather events and ocean acidification, and the insatiable demands of the fossil fuel industry are well covered in the film. As well, Embree documents the economic fallacies behind the bitumen bubble that is poised to burst as alternate energy sources expand exponentially.
Everyone is welcome to attend this community screening, sponsored by the Shuswap Environmental Action Society. Tickets, $10 for adults or $5 for students and seniors, will be available at the door. For more information, contact 250-679-3693.
-Submitted by the Shuswap Environmental Action Society.