After Troy Pattersonsa国际传媒檚 petition against the Coastal GasLink pipelinesa国际传媒檚 construction gained over 23,000 signatures, the teen earned himself enough attention to get a meeting with B.C.sa国际传媒檚 environment minister.

The Greater Victoria area 15-year-old met virtually with George Heyman, minister of environment and climate change strategy, for about 30 minutes earlier this month.

sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 glad that somebody finally agreed to speak with me because I think itsa国际传媒檚 good for the government to be able to see young peoplesa国际传媒檚 perspective on this,sa国际传媒� Patterson said. sa国际传媒淚t is our future, right.sa国际传媒�

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The conversation included Indigenous consent for the project and how itsa国际传媒檚 being built.

sa国际传媒淚 am, of course, nowhere near convinced that this will do more good than bad,sa国际传媒� the Claremont Secondary student said.

Once completed, TC Energysa国际传媒檚 670-kilometre Coastal GasLink pipeline will transport natural gas from the Dawson Creek area to the LNG Canada export facility in Kitimat, where the company says itsa国际传媒檒l be converted into liquefied natural gas and shipped to global markets.

One of Pattersonsa国际传媒檚 main worries when he started the petition was the potential impact on wildlife if the pipeline increases tanker traffic off the provincesa国际传媒檚 northern coast.

He was slightly relieved to that hear that three tugboats will help large tankers traverse tight channels on their way to Kitimat.

Heyman told Patterson that B.C. will still be able to meet its 2030 emissions reduction targets with the pipeline operational, but itsa国际传媒檒l be by a slimmer margin than without it. Patterson said the government should be more proactive and pursue projects that drive emissions down and create jobs in the renewable sector to fuel the economy.

sa国际传媒淭he point is not, we have a target and wesa国际传媒檙e going to go as close to that target as possible,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淲hy do we protect grizzly bears, well itsa国际传媒檚 because we nearly drove them to extinction. Well how about we donsa国际传媒檛 nearly drive our environment to extinction sa国际传媒� how about we protect it now.sa国际传媒�

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A ministry-provided response said liquefied natural gas sa国际传媒渕ust fit withinsa国际传媒� B.C.sa国际传媒檚 climate targets and theysa国际传媒檙e focused on reducing emissions from LNG extraction, production and liquefication.

Patterson said he told Heyman hesa国际传媒檚 concerned that the province isnsa国际传媒檛 putting enough focus on training current oil and gas workers for jobs in sustainable industries.

sa国际传媒淲e are, in a sense, saying that in five years yousa国际传媒檒l be unemployed, whereas if we start retraining them now, we can make sure that everybody has a job,sa国际传媒� he said.

With the goal to one day see the Great Bear Rainforest, Patterson hopes the province will protect the area until he gets a chance.

sa国际传媒淭his is my future and this is our future,sa国际传媒� Patterson said. sa国际传媒淏y preserving this stuff now, we are preserving it for generations to come.sa国际传媒�

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