On Saturday, May 30, residents of Red Head are inviting their fellow New Brunswickers and Canadians to join them in a march to show support for the protection of the beautiful Bay of Fundy, the province’s precious freshwater systems, and the health of their own coastal community.
The March to the End of The Line gets underway at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 30 beginning at the intersection of Hewitt Road and Red Head Road. The event is being organized by The Red Head Anthony’s Cove Preservation Association, a new community group formed in opposition to the Energy East oil pipeline project.
Energy East is a proposal of Alberta-based TransCanada Corporation to ship up to 1.1-million barrels per day of crude from the oil sands to export terminals in Eastern Canada. Not only would it be the largest pipeline ever connected in North America (and the first oil pipeline to span the length of New Brunswick), it also involves the construction of 18 large storage tanks (a ‘tanker farm’) directly across from homes on Anthony’s Cove Road, and a marine export terminal at nearby Red Head outside of Saint John.
Residents of Red Head say they oppose the pipeline project and the associated tanker farm and export terminal due to the risks the project poses to people living in the community and the ecosystem of the Bay of Fundy.
The Saint John-based Citizens Coalition for Clean Air says the tanker farm and terminal will add more air pollution – including cancer-causing chemicals like benzene – into an already burdened air shed. Independent research into the health impacts of existing industrial activity in the Saint John area show people in the region are already exposed to 38-times the industrial pollution as released in Fredericton and 243-times the amount released in Moncton.
The Red Head Anthony’s Cove Preservation Association is also concerned the increase in supertanker traffic needed to ship the oil to foreign markets will negatively impact the diverse ecosystem of the Bay of Fundy, home to an abundance of wildlife and up to 12 species of whales, including the North Atlantic Right whale, among the top 10 most endangered whales on the planet.
“We are standing for fisheries, First Nations, a clean environment, and renewable jobs to turn our province in the right direction,” association spokesperson Lynaya Astephen said in a recent news release.
The event on Saturday, May 30 involves a 2.5 kilometre walk down Red Head Road and ends along the shore of the magnificent Bay of Fundy. Following a smoke ceremony and speeches, there will be family-friendly activities, a barbecue, live music and a bonfire into the evening. Find the event on Facebook.