B.C. grand chief walks back Northern Gateway pipeline support, apologizes for ‘confusion’

The president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs apologized Wednesday and walked backmost comments helium made earlier this week suggesting helium supported reviving the Northern Gateway pipeline project.

“I bash not enactment resuscitating dormant projects specified arsenic the failed Northern Gateway pipeline, which would person been an implicit catastrophe for our lands and waters,” Grand Chief Stewart Phillip said successful a connection released by the union.

“I sincerely apologize for immoderate disorder connected this point.”

Phillip said helium viewed his information successful protestation movements and ineligible challenges against the pipeline program that was scrapped successful 2016 arsenic “an implicit honour and privilege,” and helium wanted to commend the thousands of others who besides opposed it.

The national said successful the connection that the reply to the Northern Gateway pipeline from Alberta to the Pacific “is inactive no,” aft Alberta Premier Danielle Smith suggested reviving the task successful airy of U.S. President Donald Trump’s menace of tariffs connected Canadian exports.

“The Union of BC Indian Chiefs has a agelong past of resolutions from the Chiefs Council opposing large-scale destructive assets projects including Enbridge Northern Gateway and the projected Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline,” the connection said. “This mandate has not changed.”

On Tuesday, Phillip had been astatine a quality league astir Smith’s proposition to revive Northern Gateway, and the main responded that Canada had “no choice” but to reconsider specified projects fixed the existent presumption of relations with the United States.

“We are staring into the abyss of uncertainty close present with clime change, the clime situation and the American threat,” Phillip had said, describing past efforts opposing the pipeline arsenic a “different time.”

“I would suggest that if we don’t physique that benignant of infrastructure, Trump will,” helium said, adding that the caller U.S. president would bash truthful without “consideration for the situation oregon the regularisation of law.”

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Phillip besides said connected Tuesday that a fig of assets improvement agreements since Northern Gateway had yielded “clearly evident” benefits for Indigenous communities.

But connected Wednesday, the main said that portion everyone should beryllium readying for the anticipation of U.S. tariffs, it did not mean gathering much pipelines.

Other B.C. First Nations leaders successful the national besides stated their continued absorption to Northern Gateway.

“Our radical were connected the beforehand lines and fought hard to successfully halt the projected Northern Gateway pipeline,” said Chief Marilyn Slett, elected main councillor of the Heiltsuk Tribal Council and an enforcement astatine the union.

“The biology risks to our territories were and are excessively great. Nothing has changed and we are not going to backmost down.”

Slett said temperatures proceed to inclination higher successful B.C., highlighting the urgency of continued absorption against non-renewable vigor projects and infrastructure.

“We indispensable bash everything successful our powerfulness to halt the satellite from warming more,” she said. “This includes ensuring we bash not enactment fossil substance extraction and transmission done pipeline, nary substance what benignant of threats Trump makes.”

Smith had suggested that projects specified arsenic the Northern Gateway are needed to diversify Canada’s export markets, alternatively of being “so reliant connected a azygous trading partner” specified arsenic the U.S.

“That’s truly the mode that, done those kinds of large infrastructure projects, that we tin commencement diversifying our lawsuit basal astir the world,” Smith said successful an interrogation from Washington, D.C.