LandKeepers News Archive
Coast First Nations Reject Northern Gateway
March 23 2010 | News Articles | CFTK TV
A coalition of BC First Nations is unanimously rejecting Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway project — and is vowing to ensure it never goes ahead.
Coastal First Nations executive director Art Sterritt says Enbridge’s plan to construct a super tanker port at Kitimat, and dual pipelines linking it to the Alberta tar sands, is too dangerous.
“We commissioned scientific reports and held community consultations, and we have found at this point that no good can come of an Enbridge project,” said Sterritt, adding “We all believe that the Enbridge Gateway Pipeline Project is a threat to the very existence of our culture and our way of life. And there is some who believe that the Enbridge pipeline project is a done deal. It isn’t! It is over!!”
In the BC Legislature yesterday, NDP Environment critic Rob Fleming says the proposal poses too many risks. “Maybe the Premier would like to hear the science on this,” said Fleming. “Environment Canada lists the Douglas Channel and the north coast interior passages as the fourth most dangerous in the world. The risk of human error, the harsh weather – those things can’t ever be taken care of by the Premier’s assurances that we’ve just heard. Again to the Premier: will he reject this unacceptable risk to B.C.‘s environment and say no to the Enbridge pipeline?”
But Premier Gordon Campbell said it should not be pre-judged — and there will be plenty of consultations with First Nations.“Unlike the opposition,” Campbell told the Speaker, “I can guarantee the member opposite this: we will work with first nations, we will work with community leaders, and we will generate investment in jobs that meet our environmental objectives in British Columbia.”
Campbell says if approved, the pipeline project could result in billions of dollars in investments, some of which would help spur economic development for First Nations.
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