PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — So-called “kayaktivists” are out on the Columbia River to protest the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project this Labor Day.
The Port of Vancouver will bring cargo ships transporting pipe for the pipeline’s expansion in Canada.
After Friday’s announcement, about a dozen kayakers rallied in front of the first cargo ship that was unloading pipe supplies. Some of the protesters climbed up the machinery to hang a banner that read “#StopTMX: No Tar Sands.”
Samantha Krop with the Mosquito Fleet said the kayaktivists are out on the Columbia River to demonstrate their opposition to the “dirtiest fossil fuel project on Earth.”
She said the reason this came to light is because “community members saw the pipes” coming through the Port of Vancouver. Gov. Jay Inslee “has explicitly come out in opposition to the construction of this project,” she told KOIN 6 News.
They plan to hang another massive banner at this rally to bring attention to the growing disdain for the project. Yet, the Canadian federal government has pledged to begin construction regardless of the opposition they’ve faced.
The kayaktivists, who departed from Kelley Point Park, are out there to “raise the alarm so everyone knows this is happening.” Krop said she doesn’t know why they chose the Port of Vancouver, but said communities in Oregon and Washington oppose this project.
Asked how long they’ll keep going, she said, “We’ll be here until we win.”
KOIN 6 News will update this story as soon as possible.
