Update Nov. 18, 2014: TransCanada freaks out, plays dirty

In towns across Canada, troupes of mischievous activists, dressed as TransCanada reps (with "SaveCanada" logos instead), successfully derailed the attempts of TransCanada (the company building the stalled Keystone XL pipeline) to ram through another Tar Sands pipeline, Energy East, which would bring over a million barrels of oil to the East Coast for export, primarily to Europe and Asia.

During previous pipeline projects, stakeholders were able to express concerns in front of their whole community. To impede this type of opposition, TransCanada changed the format of community consultations, turning them into trade-show-like promotional events where stakeholders could only speak one-on-one with company representatives, or with PR contractors hired for the occasion. 

To outwit this ploy, local activists all along the pipeline route swarmed the events dressed just like TransCanada reps, but with lookalike "SaveCanada" name tags and brochures. Instead of promoting the pipeline, the SaveCanada reps communicated the risks. They even used TransCanada's map for an impromptu game of Pin the Spill on the Pipeline.

"Since TransCanada has come up with a new way to lie to the public, we had to come up with a new way to tell the truth," said North Bay farmer Yan Roberts, who helped to launch the unusual protest. "We're friendly folks, so our solution is to dress like them, outnumber them, and ‘out-friendly’ them in every community they're trying to scam.”

Visit www.save-canada.com for more.

Selected press:

• Global Montreal: Pipeline protest in Montreal
• Canadians.org: TransCanada schooled in North Bay
• The Progressive: TransCanada gets pranked