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In the parking lot behind Regina-Wascana MP Ralph Goodale’s office, about 40 people gathered to protest Justin Trudeau’s $4.5-billion decision to purchase Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline.

Under sunny skies on Monday afternoon, Wendy Lerat, Indigenous studies professor at First Nations University of Canada, gave a passionate speech to her fellow protesters.

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She accused Trudeau of “backroom deals” and said his decision ignores what the pipeline is doing to Indigenous people and to the land.

“He doesn’t know what he’s unleashed,” she said of the protests happening across Canada. “There’s little that motivates like betrayal.”

Organized by the Council of Canadians as part of a national day of protests, this was one of more than 100 similar protests taking place across Canada. Regina’s attendees carried signs and banners, cheering their agreement with Lerat as she spoke.

Cydney Henderson, one of the protesters, said she thought oil was becoming an industry of the past, so investing $4.5 billion into it was a bad decision.