Coastal First Nations in British Columbia have issued an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, asking him to reject any new proposal for a crude oil pipeline to the northwest coast.
The move comes at the same time that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is pushing for a brand-new private-sector pipeline that would bring crude oil to the northern coast of British Columbia for export to Asia. In a news release, Marilyn Slett, president of the Coastal First Nations-Great Bear Initiative, states that their group would not accept any pipeline or oil tanker project, and any proposal to transport crude oil through their coastal waters is a “non-starter.” The group is asking Carney to uphold the 2019 Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, which prohibits oil tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric tons of crude from stopping, loading, or unloading at ports or marine installations along the north coast. The act is Canada’s recognition of more than 50 years of effort to protect the north Pacific coast, which includes the Great Bear Rainforest and Haida Gwaii, from the risks of an oil spill, the nations say. According to the group, the cold-water marine ecosystem on the north Pacific coast is one of the richest and most productive on Earth. It continues to provide coastal communities as well as all residents of British Columbia with food, culture, and a means of subsistence. Instead, the group has requested a meeting with the prime minister to “better comprehend the credible ecological treasure that is the north Pacific coast.” The letter comes less than a week after Carney met hundreds of First Nations chiefs, where he faced resistance to the Building Canada Act, which allows the government to fast track major projects that it deems to be in the national interest, including by sidestepping existing laws.
Coastal First Nations call on Carney to reject new B.C. pipelines
