B.C.’s Coastal First Nations ready to push back against expected fed pipeline announcement

Ahead of an expected announcement between Alberta and the federal government on a new pipeline to B.C.’s North Coast, First Nations in the area are prepared to protest the step.

They say they are unequivocally against the project.

In a written statement, Coastal First Nations say they are going to use all tools available to them to stop the pipeline from being built.

Neither will they allow the lifting of a ban on oil tankers off the North Coast.

“We are here to remind the Alberta government, the federal government, and any potential private proponent that we will never allow oil tankers on our coast,” said Marilyn Slett, President of the Coastal First Nations, in a written statement.

“And that this pipeline project will never happen.”

MOU will be revealed Thursday

The group says members have so far been met with a wall of silence from the federal government on what the deal looks like.

“Such conduct is not honourable and is fundamentally at odds with Canada’s constitutional, legislative, and international obligations to coastal First Nations,” Slett added.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney explains that details of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be revealed on Thursday, Nov. 27.

The deal is expected to include information on whether the federal government will lift or alter a moratorium on oil tanker traffic off the North Coast in B.C.

Tim Hodgson, the federal minister of energy and natural resources, has been holding closed-door meetings with Liberal MPs from B.C., trying to pitch them on the project.

Some of those MPs have publicly said that they would currently not support the pipeline.

Carney, however, said during Question Period on Parliament Hill that the project is about building Canada’s economy and making it more independent.

“And it’s about making Canada more sustainable. So, I would suggest that we wait until the full announcement is made tomorrow.”

Coastal First Nations counter, claiming that the MOU is “politically-motivated” and “dividing our country further.”

“Our Nations understand the economic challenges Canada is facing. This is why we much prefer to work with the federal government on truly nation-building, forward-looking projects and initiatives that are built in partnership with Indigenous peoples.

With files from Srushti Gangdev.