Coastal GasLink, elected Wet'suwet'en council call for resolution to conflict
Coastal GasLink says supplies like water are at risk of running out for more than 500 workers who have been stuck for three days behind blockades near a pipeline work site in northern B.C.
The natural gas pipeline company says it is very concerned for its workers, as the road is unsafe and impassable, obstructing access to medical care in the event of an emergency.
The blockade was erected Sunday by members of the Gidimt'en clan, one of five in the Wet'suwet'en Nation.
A spokesperson for the group has said the hereditary chiefs have never ceded or surrendered the territory, and the Coastal GasLink workers were given eight hours' notice to peacefully evacuate before the road was barricaded.
However, the Wet'suwet'en First Nation, which is one of several elected councils in the area, issued a statement Wednesday saying those clan members do not speak for everyone and its people are among the workers.
The statement says elected Wet'suwet'en councils support the project and the First Nation calls for an immediate end to the escalating conflict.
“Even though we are also members of the Gidimt'en Clan, the protesters at the 'Coyote Camp' and other protest sites have never consulted us about their actions and cannot claim to represent us or any other members of the First Nation,” the statement says.
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said Tuesday talks between Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs, the B.C. government and Coastal GasLink were at a “critical junction” toward a resolution.
In both 2019 and 2020, conflict over the pipeline escalated when RCMP enforced court injunctions issued to Coastal GasLink and arrested project opponents.
Supporters of the hereditary chiefs held nationwide protests that stopped railways last year and put a spotlight on Indigenous rights and jurisdiction.
A memorandum of understanding signed since then between the federal and provincial governments and Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs had eased tensions, but Sunday's statement from the Gidimt'en clan said an “eviction notice” served to Coastal GasLink by the chiefs in January 2020 is being enforced again.
The natural gas pipeline project is more than half finished with almost all of the route cleared and 200 kilometres of pipeline installed so far, the company has said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 17, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Biden and Harris call the Israeli strike killing Hezbollah’s Nasrallah a 'measure of justice'
The Israeli strike that killed Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah was a 'measure of justice' for victims of a four-decade 'reign of terror,' U.S. President Joe Biden said Saturday.
SpaceX launches rescue mission for 2 NASA astronauts who are stuck in space until next year
SpaceX launched a rescue mission for the two stuck astronauts at the International Space Station on Saturday, sending up a downsized crew to bring them home but not until next year.
LGBTQ2S+ minister Pascale St-Onge to make history with parental leave
Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge is set to make history by becoming the first openly lesbian cabinet minister to take parental leave when her wife gives birth in the coming weeks.
At least 52 dead and millions without power after Helene's deadly march across southeastern U.S.
Hurricane Helene caused at least 52 deaths and billions of dollars of destruction across a wide swath of the southeastern U.S. as it raced through, and more than three million customers went into the weekend without any power and for some a continued threat of floods.
Why Will Ferrell wanted a doc about his friendship with a trans woman to release before the U.S. election
Will Ferrell said in an interview with Variety that it was important for him to release his documentary, 'Will and Harper,' before the U.S. election so people could have conversations about trans people.
They hit it off on vacation but then he went silent. So she decided to pick up the phone
When a few weeks passed and Nana Prempeh still hadn’t heard from the guy she met on vacation, she turned to her friends for advice.
What is open and closed this National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
This Monday, Sept. 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (NDTR), a federal statutory holiday and day of remembrance for the Indigenous children who never came home from Canadian residential schools, as well as those who survived them.
Sima Sistani, who embraced Ozempic, is out as CEO of WeightWatchers
WeightWatchers CEO Sima Sistani, who pushed the company into embracing weight-loss drugs, is leaving the position after a two-and-a-half year stint.
Scientists discover hidden ancient forest on treeless island
Trees haven't grown on the Falkland Islands for thousands of years. But tree trunks and branches preserved in peat suggest the islands were once home to a forest.