Environmentalists try to butt in at Bipole protest

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This article was published 20/09/2011 (5202 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Bipole protest at the Manitoba legislature got testy Tuesday afternoon after environmentalists tried to butt in and the NDP failed to show up.

About 75 people, mostly farmers, rallied in the rain against the NDP’s plans to build the Bipole powerline down the west side of the province instead of through the boreal forest on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. The farmers decried the extra cost, the damage to productive farmland and the lack of consultation.

At one point, the Wilderness Committee’s Eric Reder shouted from the back, saying an east side line would damage one of the most important intact forests on the planet. He was quickly booed and protesters then surrounded him to stop him from hoisting a banner. Angry words ensued.

The crowd also had little love for a Green Party candidate who spoke about the need for more conservation, not more energy infrastrucure. The NDP did not send a representative, but Tory Leader Hugh McFadyen made a cameo, telling the crowd he was on their side.