Enbridge Screws The Pooch With First Nation It Desperately Needs To Complete BC Pipeline

When Enbridge Inc. officials went to scope out a terminal site for their proposed Northern Gateway pipeline in Kitimat, they needed access to Crown land that is subject to land claims by the Haisla First Nation. With a provincial permit in hand, their crews pulled out chainsaws and felled ancient cedars to help with their mapping. Fourteen of the trees that were cut down had been marked in some way by the Haisla people long before British Columbia became a colony.

The trees were regarded by the Haisla as living evidence of their aboriginal rights and title, and the destruction was a serious breach.

The relationship might have been salvaged, but Enbridge officials made a hash of it. They offered some cash and requested a cleansing ceremony to address the loss of legally protected, culturally modified trees. The Haisla dismissed the company’s response as presumptuous and condescending. Today, Enbridge officials are unwelcome on the land where they hope to build a new marine terminal at the end of their proposed $7.9-billion pipeline project. “They have been asking for meetings. We have refused everyone,” said Chief Councillor Ellis Ross. “So many mistakes had been made, we had been so angered, but I think that was one of the biggest mistakes they made. You might as well have come into our archives and burned our documents.”

This is the same First Nations community that is at the centre of development for liquefied natural gas, having worked amicably with both the B.C. government and LNG proponents. The Haisla have said “yes” to a partnership in developing one fossil fuel and “no” to another.

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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/a-relationship-cut-short-in-bc-with-one-fell-swoop-by-enbridge/article19285392/