ON Saturday, May 7, the SFSS joined hundreds of people, dozens of notable organizations, and community members across the Lower Mainland came together to “hug” Burnaby Mountain and stand in solidarity against the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) pipeline project. The SFSS organized a booth to take a public stance against the expansion and stand in solidarity with the SFU community. Vancouver City Councillor Jean Swanson also participated in the protest.

Protestors say that this pipeline is being pushed by the federal government, despite not obtaining free, prior, and informed consent from all Indigenous Nations whose territories the pipeline will go through. They say that it is important that SFU community members stand in solidarity with these Nations and Indigenous land defenders on the front lines.

According to sfu350.com, this pipeline will cause extreme safety risks for everyone on the Mountain. The Burnaby Fire Department Chief has said that the Fire Department does not have the infrastructure in place to stop a fire of such magnitude if one were to happen. With the doubling of tanks in the TMX tank farm (with limited space in between) and rising summer temperatures, the risk of a fire is very concerning. Along with these concerns and oil spills, those at SFU Burnaby would be physically trapped on top of the mountain as there is only one intersection that goes up/down the mountain and the tank farm happens to be right there.

For more information, visit https://www.sfu350.com/about-tmx