About 30 people showed up in front of Abbotsford West MLA Mike de Jong's constituency office at noon on Wednesday to join in a province-wide rally to 'Defend Our Coast.'

The day of action took place at MLA offices across B.C. to highlight the growing opposition to the risks posed by tar sands pipelines and oil tankers.

"I just really believe in protecting our planet as a whole," said Kathleen Brueckler, who came with a hand-painted sign.

"We need to clean up the mistakes we've made, like with the pipeline, and clean up our beautiful earth. We can't keep destroying our lakes and rivers all for profit."

The day of action followed a mass sit-in on Monday at the provincial legislature in Victoria, which was endorsed by community, union, business and aboriginal leaders including David Suzuki, Stephen Lewis, Michael Moore and others.

Valley resident Anne Lalande lent her support to Wednesday's action.

"We should be looking for alternative energy sources and not exporting to China. I'm against that," she said.

Daniel Bryce, a member of the Green Party, briefly addressed the group.

Later he explained that when he worked in northern Alberta looking for oil last winter, he had to keep people informed when they discovered natural areas of bitumen.

"I can imagine a spill of a concentration of this would have a greater impact on health," he said. "I will be supporting the Green Party's policy against pipeline expansion in the coming provincial election."

At the end of the rally, people held hands and linked arms to symbolize their unbroken wall of opposition.

De Jong did not appear, as he was out of the town on Wednesday.

JKonda-Witte@abbotsfordtimes.com