For five years, TC Energy (formally Trans Canada), the same company behind the KeystoneXL pipeline, has been trying to build the Coastal GasLink pipeline on sovereign Wet’suwet’en land. We’ve told you before about how they are doing this despite opposition from the hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en, whose rights and title require their consent, not merely consultation for a project like this.
The project is being driven by KKR, a US-based private equity firm, that purchased 65% of the Coastal GasLink pipeline. But there’s still time to pressure them to pull out of the deal. Last week, KKR tried to shut our movement down by having our Facebook page, and dozens of allies, banned from posting right before a planned action. Our account has been un-frozen, for now, but it’s clear the pressure is getting to KKR.
Can you join our communications blockade today?
- Email KKR today by using our easy messaging tool by clicking here.
- Tweet at @KKR_Co and tell them just how awful they are for ignoring Wet’suwet’en concerns about their rights, the climate, land, air and water. Need some tweet inspiration? Click here!
- Call KKR by dialing 1- 212-750-8300 and following the instructions you hear from us. Click here for some talking points for your call.
- UK callers: Call KKR by dialing (+44) 020 7839 9800 then asking the switchboard to patch you through to Johannes Huth, KKR’s Managing Director.
We know this kind of investor pressure can work: In the last few years, a number of strategic investors have pulled out of so-called liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, including Chevron, Woodside Petroleum, and even ExxonMobil. In March 2020 Warren Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway pulled out of a LNG project in Quebec following several weeks of rail blockades in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs.
KKR hasn’t made the same decision, yet. But the fight is getting more urgent and important by the day.
As COVID-19 ravage our communities, wildfires devastate the west coast and Hurricanes pummel the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, TC Energy has continued to push onwards with Coastal GasLink pipeline construction, sending workers into “man camps” and militarized police officers onto Wet’suwet’en territories. Construction and over-policing of pipelines put these communities at greater risk. Just a week and a half ago, there was a confirmed COVID-19 case at a Coastal GasLink worksite.
Last week, Facebook blocked the accounts of hundreds of affiliated people to the #ShutDownKKR campaign, just hours before we had initially planned to host this online day of action. Although accounts have been restored, many questions are left unanswered. Today, we give KKR a reminder that we will not stop fighting to shut them down, despite their censorship tactics.
KKR must be held accountable for ignoring the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs, putting the Wet’suwet’en land and water at risk, endangering Indigenous women and two spirit people by building man camps along the route, and fueling the climate crisis. Click here to send a letter, and then come back to this page and take action by phone or on social media!
KKR has a lot to answer for: They’ve invested in militarized police forces even as black Americans call to #DefundPolice and invest in our communities. They profited off tear gas, and crowd suppression in some of the most violent anti-democracy protests of the last decade, and only stopped in response to pressure from us and other allies. And they denied thousands of Toys ‘R’ Us workers severance pay in a shocking display of vulture capitalism.
We must hold KKR accountable for all of this violence. Join our online communications blockade today and stand with indigenous communities to stop the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline!
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