Indigenous Peoples

First Nation whose territory is directly affected by pipeline development sign on to oppose tar sands development

The former mayor of the Lax Kw’alaams First Nation is upset that his successor is backing Pacific NorthWest LNG’s plans to build an $11.4-billion terminal.

Garry Reece, who lost to John Helin in November’s mayoral race, said the new mayor overstepped his authority in declaring the elected Lax Kw’alaams Band Council’s conditional support for exporting liquefied natural gas from Lelu Island in northwestern British Columbia.

The Tsleil-Waututh Nation said Tuesday they have no intention of backing down in the face of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recently revealed support for Kinder Morgan’s $5.4-billion Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project.

The National Post reported Monday that the prime minister has told his senior lieutenants to draw up plans to make the Energy East pipeline and the Trans Mountain expansion a reality.

Native leaders of a protest camp are lashing out at the Port of Prince Rupert by unveiling plans to build a cultural centre on Lelu Island, the site of a proposed LNG terminal.

Two Lax Kw’alaams First Nation hereditary leaders have written a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, complaining about the federal port’s support for Pacific NorthWest LNG. The consortium, led by Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas, is seeking to construct the $11.4-billion terminal to export liquefied natural gas to Asia.

Hereditary chiefs, Simoyget Yahaan (Donnie Wesley) and Gwishawaal (Ken Lawson) have officially responded to demands from the Port of Prince Rupert, that occupiers of Lelu Island in protest of the proposed Pacific NorthWest LNG terminal, halt construction activities. 

A letter signed by both chiefs is addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, Transport Minister Marc Garneau, and New Democrat Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen. 

News Release 

For Immediate Release: 

April 7, 2016

Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, BC – First Nations Summit (FNS) leaders call on BC Hydro to abandon recent arguments to ignore the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) made by their legal counsel in the Federal Court of Appeal in their response to an Amnesty International application for leave to intervene in a federal case opposing the Site-C Dam.

News Release

 For Immediate Release

First Nations leaders have rejected BC Minister of Natural Gas Development Rich Coleman's recent comments that the BC Government has the full support of First Nations impacted by the Petronas LNG project proposed for Lelu Island.