CALGARY— Chants of “build the pipe” could be heard outside McDougall Centre Tuesday as hundreds of Calgarians rallied to demand government action on building the Trans Mountain pipeline.

On Sunday, Kinder Morgan suspended spending on the expansion of its Trans Mountain pipeline project, citing frustration with delays from the B.C. provincial government.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called an emergency cabinet meeting on Tuesday to discuss the Trans Mountain expansion.

Sandy Horning showed up to the protest with her dog, Alberta, because she has felt frustrated over the delay on the pipeline.

“It just feels like there’s no level of government that’s doing what it can to get this pipeline built, so it’s going to take people – like all the people who are here today – to get it done.”

Horning had a construction company for over 25 years and said the past few years have hit her business hard.

“We’ve laid off half our staff from five years ago. We are hoping that we don’t have to take further action. People are not getting good paying jobs. There’s just not a lot of building going on.”

Jocelyne Johnson shares similar concerns. Johnson works in the energy sector and has is worried about job security. She says she wants to see more support from the government.

“Our premiers here and in B.C. need to be working together to get this project across the board and Justin Trudeau, federally, needs to stand up and understand how valuable Alberta resources are to his country.

Calgary Nose Hill MP Michelle Rempel said Kinder Morgan’s decision and the lack of response from the federal government was the “last straw” for Albertans in favour of the pipeline.

“I am frustrated. This has been two and a half years of people calling into my riding. My community has been decimated by the lack of support for our energy industry,” said Rempel.

She said that conversation on the pipeline has heavily-favoured voices against it, but that doesn’t represent the “hundreds of thousands of people” in support of the project because of the economic gains it would bring to the country.

“It’s time that Canadians wake up,” said Rempel. “You know if this was a ketchup plant closing in southwestern Ontario or Bombardier losing a contract, or if this was a shipyard in Atlantic Canada, there would be mass outpouring of rage and immediate government response and yet what has the government done with the energy sector? Nothing except make it worse.”

University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe said the pipeline has huge economic implications for the province.

“The Alberta economy is large – it’s over 300 billion dollars per year in terms of its GDP. The pipeline would add billions to that and $1.8 billion of which would be an additional royalty revenue.”

Tombe notes that corporate profits and investments would be higher also.

“The economy is much more diverse than people appreciate, but that’s not to say that the pipeline doesn’t have benefits,” said Tombe.

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He said that the impact the pipeline would have on climate change due to increased emissions would be significantly smaller than the benefits that the pipeline would create.

Rempel said she wants to see the provincial and federal government be more proactive around this issue.

“It’s time for the government to say if we believe in Canada this project is important for it.”

Mary Getaneh is a Calgary-based reporter covering arts, culture and diversity. Follow her on Twitter: @marygetaneh

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