'I apologize': David Suzuki says he was wrong to warn that pipelines will be blown up
Environmentalist and TV host David Suzuki apologized Thursday for comments he made about exploding pipelines.
On Saturday, while participating in a protest in Victoria, Suzuki told CHEK News that, “There are going to be pipelines blowing up if our leaders don’t pay attention to what’s going on.”
After criticism, including from the premier of Alberta, Suzuki attempted to clarify that his statements were not an indication of support for violence or destruction but simply a prediction.
On Thursday morning his foundation issued a statement containing a public apology.
“The remarks I made were poorly chosen and I should not have said them. Any suggestion that violence is inevitable is wrong and will not lead us to a desperately-needed solution to the climate crisis. My words were spoken out of extreme frustration and I apologize," the statement said.
It added that Suzuki's words were "born out of many years of watching government inaction while the climate crisis continues to get worse."
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney demanded a retraction and an apology on Tuesday, and he said most other public figures would be "cancelled" for saying such things.
"It's absolutely an implicit, or winking, incitement to violence," Kenney alleged during a news conference.
"It's like in the gangster movies, where they say you know, 'Nice little pipeline you've got there, it'd be a terrible thing if something happened to it.'"
The Alberta NDP also condemned Suzuki's comments, but Extinction Rebellion, one of the groups at the Victoria rally, defended him.
"We don’t believe he was inciting violence. He was simply making a sociological prediction that if governments fail to act, then people will get desperate and they will start blowing up pipelines," said Zain Haq with Extinction Rebellion Canada.
"It's very clear that people are getting more desperate and there are clear plans of escalation, although they are non violent."
CTV News Edmonton requested an interview with Suzuki through his foundation, but he was not made available.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW From yearning for a change to cost of living, why some Canadians have left or may leave the country
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
NEW Capital gains tax change 'shortsighted' and 'sows division' business groups tell Freeland
Forging ahead with increasing Canada's capital gains inclusion rate 'sows division,' and is a 'shortsighted' way to improve the deficit, business groups are warning Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Minister said 'hundreds' of Canadians might use Gaza visa. More than 7,500 applied.
An immigration lawyer in Toronto says new figures from the federal government show just how 'grudging' Ottawa's efforts have been to rescue Canadians' family members from the war in the Gaza Strip.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Canucks claw out 5-4 comeback win over Oilers in Game 1
Dakota Joshua had a goal and two assists and the Vancouver Canucks scored three third-period goals to claw out a 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Florida deputies who fatally shot U.S. airman burst into wrong apartment, attorney says
Deputies responding to a disturbance call at a Florida apartment complex burst into the wrong unit and fatally shot a Black U.S. Air Force airman who was home alone when they saw he was armed with a gun, an attorney for the man's family said Wednesday.
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.