The leaders of two key communities on B.C.’s North Coast met with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith this week to discuss economic opportunities and remind her of their longstanding opposition to an oil pipeline running through the region.
“Over a decade ago the community of Kitimat voted to oppose the Northern Gateway project,” a joint statement from Kitimat Mayor Phil Germuth and elected Haisla Chief Maureen Nyce said.
The leaders referred to a non-binding 2014 plebiscite held against the backdrop of the now-scrapped energy project which would have shipped bitumen from Alberta to Kitimat.
“The Haisla Nation, who were firmly against that proposal at that time, still maintain that same position today regarding an oil pipeline and export facility in their territory. This position was articulated clearly to Premier Smith during the meeting,” the statement read.
Smith’s meeting with the two leaders came two days ahead of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s expected announcement of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Alberta, which includes federal support for a pipeline through northern B.C.
Germuth and Nyce also said the meeting focused on areas where they align with Smith, including the development of a liquefied natural gas industry in the area.
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Projects like LNG Canada, which ships natural gas to the region via pipeline, has managed to win support from the Haisla, and faced less opposition than proposals for oil pipelines along the same route.
In part, this is because natural gas evaporates, lessening concerns about the impact on the environment in the event of a spill.
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The letter is a reminder of the heated opposition to an oil pipeline to the B.C. coast, which came to a head in the 2010s through protests and court cases that ultimately led to Northern Gateway — and the idea of any oil pipeline in the region — being treated as a non-starter by many politicians and industrial leaders over the past decade.
But Alberta has consistently pushed for such a project.
With a renewed emphasis on developing Canadian resources due to the economic threats coming from the United States, public support for a new pipeline has become more favourable.
Opposition has not waned, however, among key groups, including Coastal First Nations.
An organization representing the Gitga’at, Gitxaała, Haida, Heiltsuk, Kitasoo Xai’xais, Metlakatla, Nuxalk and Wuikinuxv First Nations slammed any talk of reviving an oil pipeline on Wednesday.
“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, and that this pipeline project will never happen,” Heiltsuk First Nation Chief Marilyn Slett said in a statement.
“While the details of this MOU remain to be seen, under no circumstances can it override our inherent and constitutional rights and title, or deter our deep interconnection of mutual respect for the ocean.”
B.C. Premier David Eby has also consistently stated his opposition to such a project, arguing it would undermine existing economic projects already being developed alongside First Nations, including those on the North Coast.
In an interview with BC Today host Michelle Eliot, Germuth said those were the sorts of projects he and Nyce focused on during their meeting with Premier Smith, adding that the meeting had been planned far in advance of any talk of a revived oil pipeline.
“Really, the meeting was about introducing Premier Smith to Kitimat,” he said, saying the focus was on its position as a port community.
“We talked about natural gas, we talked about ammonium, we talked about food products … it was more of a meeting just to get to know each other.”
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Germuth also said he would have limited power to stop a pipeline if the federal government pushed for one, and he’d be willing to look at a new proposal.
“If the project was done the same was as Northern Gateway, chances are it’d be a ‘No,'” he said.
Nyce said she was “disappointed” by the mayor being less than firm in his opposition, and that she might have backed out of the meeting had she known his views in advance.
But she also defined the conversation with Smith as productive overall.
“She was interested in what we were interested in,” she said.
