08/25/2026
🔥 Call to Action Alert ‼ For those concerned about Canada's push to accelerate projects deemed in the national interest that will deepen climate disasters and impacts for our communities, this Elbows Up for Climate Call may be of interest. I've signed and will commit to supporting Islands Trust advocacy to other levels of government to ensure our provincial mandate is upheld and the Trust Area is protected from industrial activity. Sign here: https://elbowsupforclimate.ca
Local leaders are once again calling for the federal government to find an alternative path for nation-building projects that would:
● Build a national clean electricity grid;
● Build two million non-market, energy-efficient home;
● Retrofit all low-income homes and multi-unit residential building;
● Build a national high-speed rail and intercity bus system;
● Implement and fund a national resilience, response and recovery strategy
⛽️ Why? Because the federal government continues to invest in FOSSIL FUELS!!!! while our communities experience wave after wave of climate disasters. Drought in the B.C. interior. Flooding across northeastern Ontario and western Quebec. Heat warnings in Nova Scotia. Out-of-control wildfires in several provinces.
🏜 Climate Impacts Watch (updated August 6): Every summer we brace for another season of wildfires, deadly smoke, heat waves and floods. As leaders, we are increasingly alarmed by the effects of climate related impacts on our communities and regions. Attached is a map that snapshots the climate disasters that have swept across our country in the first five months of 2026, impacting a staggering 910+ Communities, 25+ million Canadians Affected. We cannot keep our communities safe, or our economy thriving, without our federal government prioritizing nation-building, not nation-burning projects.
❌ Personally, I am deeply concerned about Canada's current push to fast-track, expedite and export major fossil fuel projects in the Trust Area. PM Carney is frequently lauded for his commitment to energy security and rejecting Trump's tariffs, but this doesn’t mean Canada has to double down on projects that will continue to impact our climate and health, and future generations.
🛢A major example is the expansion of the Transmountain pipeline to get more of Alberta's bitumen to offshore markets. Canada (supporting Alberta) is referring the proposed "West Coast Oil Pipeline Project" to its Major Projects Office, and initiated the process to consider listing it under the Building Canada Act. This would accelerate industrial development, streamline federal approvals, and curtail required environmental approval and mitigation processes, and meaningful engagement and consultation with affected First Nations. It turns a major project from an "IF" to a "HOW". This is not consultation.
⛽️ If the West Coast Oil Pipeline and associated new delivery terminal and marine facility at Roberts Bank are deemed to be in the national interest, approvals will be fast-tracked with a shift from reviewing whether or not the new pipeline, delivery terminal and marine facility *should be built*, to *how they will be built* and how risks will be mitigated. It would be essentially a pre-approval for all regulatory requirements, with projects potentially exempted from impact assessments and from key protections under legislation such as the Fisheries Act and Species at Risk Act. (more on this coming to Trust Council in Sept 2026 as an RFD for Marine Shipping Advocacy - thanks to Islands Trust Policy Advisory staff for the solid research!)
🐟 For industrial projects of this scale to be destined for the magnificent areas of the southern Gulf Islands, homelands to many Coast Salish First Nations, in an area that is supposed to be protected by a Provincial Trust, this is insane. Even if there is not an oil spill (and it sounds like it's a calculated risk), projects like this will have unthinkable impacts on the sensitive coastal environments. A spill will more than likely will happen in our lifetimes, and it would devastate the essential food sources and livelihoods of Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples living in this populated area. In addition to the anticipated cumulative impacts and the ongoing industrialization of the Salish Sea from multiple proposed industrial projects, the acceleration of climate change will be a sure outcome. 🛶
🛢Canada cannot be allowed to continue to rely on fossil fuels for its economic surety. There must be a better way. As community leaders, mayors, counsellors and trustees, we know the stress, fear and trauma of these moments are a burden that doesn’t ever fully go away. We know that our communities live with the consequences of these climate impacts long after the headlines, or the alerts, end. We cannot keep dealing with these disasters on our own.
❌ That’s why I am joining others to call on the federal government to prioritize nation-building projects that meet the dual threats of economic uncertainty and climate change. We can do both. We can't surrender one for the sake of the other.
Islands Trust West Coast Environmental Law Vanessa Craig - RDN Director Area B Laura Patrick, Salt Spring Island Trustee Gabriola Island Shore Keepers Association Gabriola Nature Snuneymuxw First Nation Gabriola Talks
