QUOTE: ...the heart of Nak’azdli territory...where Calgary-based Enbridge wants to run its $7.9-billion Northern Gateway oil and condensate pipelines. It is also the heart of the pipeline opposition spearheaded by the Yinka Dene Alliance, a group of six First Nations, including the Nak’azdli, which has sworn they will not let the oil pipeline be built. They say their traditional territory encompasses about 25 per cent of the proposed 1,177-kilometre route from Alberta to Kitimat on the coast of B.C. ...any economic benefit from the pipeline is not worth the risk of a spill on the waterways in their traditional territory. They are most worried about the effect an oil spill would have on sockeye salmon and the Nechako white sturgeon. The Stuart sockeye runs...are an important source of food and culture for the community. For the Nak’azdli, the waterways... are an important physical and spiritual presence. So much so, that they call themselves the Dakelh, which in their language, means people who travel by water. With the approval in June of the Northern Gateway pipeline by Stephen Harper’s Conservative government, the stage has been set for a battle over the project and it is unclear what will be the outcome. The question remains: Will the pipeline get built? The conflict became more complicated with a recent landmark Supreme Court of Canada ruling that granted the Tsilqhot’in title to 1,750 square kilometres in central B.C., a first for a First Nation in British Columbia. It set out a strengthened need for government and companies to get consent for industrial development, except where significant national interest can be argued. The Nak’azdli, similar to other north-central and coastal B.C. First Nations, have said they will take whatever steps are necessary to stop the pipeline, using the courts or blocking the project directly on the land. “You look at the conflicts around the world — do we have to go to that point?” says Erickson. “At the same time, we have to ensure this land is here for our grandkids. … This project, on such a scale, cannot be allowed to come into our territory.” Enbridge has said it won’t be ready to start construction until late 2015 and says that, in the interim, it can engage First Nations opposed to the project and gain their support. The company says it has already signed equity sharing agreements with 26 of the 40 First Nations along the proposed route. That number, the company says, includes 11 of the 22 First Nations along the pipeline route in B.C., but does not count the five coastal First Nations that are so adamantly opposed. It means about 40 per cent of First Nations in B.C. directly affected by the project have signed deals to take a financial stake in the pipeline, according to Enbridge’s calculations. Lillian Sam, 75, spreads a map out on her kitchen table. It’s a copy of one made by an anthropologist in the 1940s. Obtained as part of research to trace community descendants and for the First Nation’s land claim efforts, it is marked off in large parcels of land, some hundreds of square kilometres, with family names. They delineate keyohs — areas where families had the rights to gather food and to fish, hunt and trap, but also had the responsibility for the land. An area just below the lake, to the west of the Nak’al Koh River, is marked with Kwah. Her grandfather was a grandson of chief Kwah. Lillian calls the land “precious,” as she runs her hand over the map, and says any pipeline spill will affect a lot of habitat. “Our elders have always said you cannot eat money,” says Lillian. “The food and the land is so important for us. Not only for us, for … other people. You see the devastation of the oilsands: a huge part of that land is no good. What’s going to happen to us? What’s going to happen to our children and our grandchildren?” “It’s not just fish and berries and meat — it’s our sense of where we were, who we were before we were moved onto reserves,” says Liza. “When I go to these keyohs, I get that sense of peace — that spiritual sense of where I belong.” “Our people say that we were put here to look after this part of the earth. And we take that seriously,” says Erickson. ...the Nak’al Koh River, the land has been broken into pieces from logging, road building, farming and most recently Thompson Creek Metals’ $1.4-billion Mount Milligan gold and copper mine. And while the Nak’azdli have continuing concerns about resource development, it has, over the years, become a partner. It has jointly owned lumber company T’loh Forest Products since 1995 with Apollo Forest Products. It also owns a piece of the Conifex sawmill with several other First Nations. It has signed on to Dalkia Canada’s $235-million bioenergy plant under construction. And it has a revenue-sharing agreement with the B.C. government for Mount Milligan, which is expected to provide $24 million over the life of the mine. The business interests have over time provided more jobs and money. That has been significant for the growing community of about 1,800, about half of which live in the Nak’azdli reserve. The risk of a spill is remote. Enbridge has calculated the probability of a major rupture in the B.C. Interior is once in 1,566 years (about a 0.06-per-cent chance a year). For a “pinhole” leak, the probability is once in 79 years (about 1.2 per cent a year). Enbridge also plans to install shut-off valves on either side of the Stuart River (about 3.5 kilometres apart) to limit the amount of oil that could spill into the river in the rare case of a major rupture. Chief Fred Sam stresses the Nak’azdli are not against development. “But not this one,” he says in a soft-spoken voice, referring to Northern Gateway. Sam said the community is trying to find a way to use less fossil fuels. Kwah Hall is now heated with an energy system that burns wood waste (energy from renewable sources is considering a greener alternative to fossil fuel), and the grocery store, new elementary school and an apartment they own all use geothermal heating. In Prince George...Enbridge is hosting a meeting of community advisory boards. The boards have been organized and funded by Enbridge to provide a venue for sharing information and ideas on the project. ...speaker Peter Howard, CEO of the Canadian Energy Research Institute, which is funded by industry and government. Howard’s talk encompasses both oil and natural gas, and he endorses a coterie of oil pipelines, including Northern Gateway, as necessary to get expanding Alberta oilsands production to market, including new, important markets in Asia. Among the members of the five regional advisory groups are 15 First Nation groups, including five Metis groups and five First Nations from Alberta. There are four First Nations from B.C.: the Cheslatta Carrier Nation, the Gitxsan (two groups), Hagwilget Village Council and Skin Tyee. The Cheslatta Carrier Nation has been at the advisory board table since its inception in 2009. The Cheslatta claim traditional territory encompassing about 20 to 30 kilometres of the pipeline route, to the west of the Nak’azdli. Mike Robertson, a policy adviser for the Cheslatta, said they remain neutral on the project but are in discussions with Enbridge. He would not say whether the First Nation is one of those that has signed an equity agreement, but adds that being offered an ownership stake in a resource project is a rare opportunity. “It’s easy to just come out and oppose a project, but I think we have to totally understand it before we can say no or yes,” he said. Holder, the lead on Northern Gateway for Enbridge, attended the community advisory board meeting. The equity agreements signed by First Nations — there’s an up to 10-per-cent stake available in total — will provide a share in profits as soon as the project begins operations. “I will say, though, those that have signed on are meeting with us on a very regular basis and working on ways to further partnering with us that goes well beyond equity components,” she said. Holder will not say exactly what the company is doing to convince First Nations such as the Nak’azdli to support the project, saying the company never discusses its efforts with individual First Nations. Enbridge CEO Al Monaco was in Prince George the day of the community advisory board meeting for a session with three unnamed First Nations chiefs. “I’d say there’s more (First Nations) talking to us than people probably realize,” said Holder.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 21:50:52 +0000
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