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Native groups protest Enbridge pipeline
News Articles Featured | Vancouver Sun | May 11, 2011
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CALGARY — Aboriginal groups in Western Canada have united against a proposed bitumen pipeline to British Columbia’s northern coast, saying the $5.5-billion Northern Gateway project has no future without the approval of communities along the route.
The Yinka Dene Alliance, representing aboriginal communities along a quarter of the Enbridge pipeline project in B.C., were in Calgary Wednesday to attend the company’s annual meeting and argue the threat of oil spills on traditional lands and in the ocean outweigh any benefit the project could have.
“We were not there to negotiate,” said Chief Jackie Thomas, of the Saik’uz First Nation. “We were there to deliver a message that this project does not have our consent. We asked them to look in good conscious at this project and how it would affect us, and we told them what those effects were.”
A spill on the pipeline, which would stretch from Bruderheim, Alberta to a marine terminal in Kitimat, B.C., could destroy the waterways, fish and fauna critical to Aboriginal livelihood and culture, Thomas said.
Aboriginal and environmental groups have fiercely opposed the Northern Gateway project for years, with the disastrous BP oil spill off the U.S. Gulf Coast heightening calls to legislate a ban on tanker traffic on the northern B.C. coast.
Enbridge chief executive Pat Daniel has promoted the pipeline as being in the national interest as it will open markets in Asia for Canadian oil currently landlocked and captive to markets in the United States.
Earlier Wednesday, he expressed optimism that Ottawa agreed with the company’s vision.
“The Conservative government has understood the very important strategic value of Gateway to this country and we’re very appreciative of that and we would hope to continue to win their support by showing that we can safely and effectively develop the Gateway pipeline project,” Daniel told analysts during a conference call Wednesday morning.
Enbridge reported adjusted net income rose five per cent during the first quarter to $334 million, or 89 cents per share.
Public hearings on the project have been set by the National Energy Board for January and June 2012, leading Daniel to expect a decision by the regulator by early 2013.
Alberta’s Alexander and Lubicon First Nations, Blood Tribe and Manitobas’ Roseau River Anishinabe First Nations joined the Alliance at a news conference, prior to walking through downtown Calgary to the company’s headquarters.
The five B.C. communities will not allow the project to move ahead without a full guarantee of zero spills, something Enbridge has recognized is not achievable, said Peter Erickson, hereditary chief of Nak’azdli First Nation.
Erickson said the alliance would rely on the judicial system, as well as First Nations laws to promote its voice, rather than resort to road blocks.
“I think Enbridge and the Canadian government will get our message prior to any action,” he said, following the news conference. “We’ve used the Canadian courts before, and that was a very positive result.”
In 2006 the Carrier Sekani First Nation successfully filed a writ against Enbridge building on its land.
Erickson said the coalition was in Calgary to raise public awareness of their opposition to the project rather than up the financial ante.
“There has been a lot of play on the economics, but we’re not here to negotiate or trying to hedge for a better position,” he said.
Enbridge has offered First Nations communities along the proposed pipeline a 10 per cent equity stake in the project, as well as numerous benefit packages. None have publicly accepted the offer.
domeara@calgaryherald.com
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Tagged with: pipeline, first nations, enbridge, northern gateway, british columbia
