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Heiltsuk leaders say BC government's announcement today changes nothing.
Heiltsuk Tribal Councillor Jessie Housty calls Premier Clark's announcement today 'nothing but more ambiguity and avoidance.' Photo: K. Nagata.
Kitimat critics unconvinced by double hulls, super-tugs and fast response spill promises.
"The Heiltsuk will never support this pipeline." Standing on the Bella Bella breakwater overlooking Lama Passage, Chief Councillor Marilyn Slett is calm but emphatic. No amount of reassurance or compensation, Slett says, will change her community's stance on the proposed Northern Gateway project.
"We're here to stay. We'll do anything that we need to, to protect our land and sea. And I can say that with the spirit of the nation."
People in this community of 1,500 say they have relied on the surrounding ocean passages since time before memory. Like many places in B.C., the coastal ecosystem provides Bella Bella with food, transportation, and jobs in fishing and tourism -- a way of life residents fear would be wiped out in an instant by a tanker spill.
Heiltsuk leaders are unimpressed with B.C. Premier Christy Clark, who until today refused to take any clear position on Northern Gateway.
In a statement delivered this morning by provincial Environment Minister Terry Lake and Aboriginal Relations Minister Mary Polak, the B.C. government laid out five loosely worded conditions for future approval of oil sands pipelines.
"It's not surprising to me that the position that was declared isn't really a position," says Heiltsuk Tribal Councillor Jessie Housty. "It's nothing but more ambiguity and avoidance."
'No amount of risk is acceptable to us'
Without bringing up specific numbers, the province says it wants a bigger cut of pipeline revenues. Premier Clark has been increasingly vocal about B.C. being asked to assume a risk disproportionate to potential rewards.
The premier is also calling for the implementation of "world leading" response practices for oil spills both on land and at sea. Clark says support from her government would depend on new environmental measures.
"She has conditions in there around making this safer," says Housty. "That's not the same as making it safe. We've been very clear as coastal peoples that no amount of risk is acceptable to us with this project."
The province's fourth condition is that "legal requirements regarding Aboriginal and treaty rights are addressed."
Says Councillor Housty: "Christy Clark talks about First Nations rights and title and about duty to consult. She shouldn't be trotting those out as though we ought to be congratulating her for including that. That's an absolute bare minimum requirement."
Finally, the province said today it won't approve projects until they pass a federal environmental review. In the case of Northern Gateway, that process is being carried out by the Joint Review Panel, a body of the National Energy Board.
"For the B.C. government to wait to take a strong position until a decision has been reached by the JRP -- that's fine on paper," says Housty. "But in practice we all know that the JRP's decision has been completely undermined by the Harper government already."
JRP hearings this week in Shearwater
Bella Bella was to host a second round of Joint Review Panel hearings on Northern Gateway this week. The session was scheduled after hearings were cancelled in April amid alleged security concerns. With support from the RCMP, the Heiltsuk strenuously deny that the Bella Bella community poses any threat to National Energy Board staff.
Moving hearings out of Bella Bella is 'really disrespectful to our community' says Heiltsuk Chief Councillor Marilyn Slett. Photo: K. Nagata.
Nonetheless, the panel has decided to move this week's hearings across the water to Denny Island, at a hall in the predominantly white community of Shearwater.
In a letter sent to Chief Councillor Marilyn Slett, JRP secretary Sheri Young says "in selecting locations for hearings, the Panel considers which locations would be conducive to a respectful, accessible, efficient and effective process in which to receive evidence. In the case of the hearings for 26 and 27 July the Panel has concluded, using the above criteria, that Bella Bella is not the optimal location for collecting the remaining oral evidence and oral statements from the Heiltsuk."
People in Bella Bella interpret the move as a deliberate slight. Chief Slett calls it "really disrespectful to our community. We feel as though our voice isn't being heard in this process."
"Despite the circumstances," says Chief Slett, "we're going to be there and we'll provide our testimony. We do have to go on record."
Plans are now being put together to ferry community members over to Shearwater. ![[Tyee]](http://thetyee.cachefly.net/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
Read more: Aboriginal Affairs, Energy, Politics,
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Hakuin
43 weeks ago
let the writs fly then
the BC gummint has said they don't need any Indian approval.
Hakuin
43 weeks ago
let the writs fly then
the BC gummint has said they don't need any Indian approval.
weezul
43 weeks ago
There goes the neighbourhood
It's unfortunate that our government (Prov & especially Fed) continues to fail to protect us (environmentally and financially). The short sighted behaviour is truly astonishing. Greed and short term gain is the norm, while the uber-wealthy continue to amass their fortunes on the backs of the poor and middle class.
Flange
43 weeks ago
they must think we're stupid...
to not see through the posturing and impression management.
They must think we have no idea about the huge money to be made and how thinking people are in the way.
What a joke, the way the provincial government behaves and the Feds.
So obviously in the pockets of the corps and China.
pmagn@yahoo.com
43 weeks ago
I stand 100% behind them!
And from the lower-mainland, I reject any Tar-sands oil shipped through my home area. I do this due to local risks and threats and also for what I think is even more essential, to ensure that we as BCers and Canadians ensure that we reduce CO2 emissions.
I have 3 kids and I am truly ashamed at 'my' primer and Harper and the woses that are his government for not tackling this issue.
I am also angry.
pmagn@yahoo.com
43 weeks ago
so we are only down for 8% wow!
I can believe that she is not asking for 50%. I mean we have nearly a 100% of the risk.
So what are they aiming for ?
Sask Resident
43 weeks ago
Risks?
Every day people take risks, especially when getting into a fishing boat. However some tribal councilors claim 'No amount of risk is acceptable to us'. What do they really mean, especially since they live in a place where boats burning fossil fuels deliver food and fuel, where fossil fuel burning boats are used to go fishing and where ferries and ore haulers burning fossil fuels ply the waters. Those are all risks they accept. BTW the biggest two spills in the area are the sinking of a government owned and operated ferry and the leaking of a fuel storage tank.
Sask Resident
43 weeks ago
pmagn@yahoo.com
You already have oil from the oil sands flowing through a pipeline to the lower mainland, and has for years. Perhaps your problem is being afraid of the dark through ignorance.
"So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."
Hakuin
43 weeks ago
yep, we do
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/10/03/bc-burnaby-oil-spill-guilty.html
alive
43 weeks ago
Guess she must be a politician?
Well poor Christy had to eventually say something, so she spouted some obvious minimum requirements, but basically committed herself to nothing!
andsbc
43 weeks ago
Sask Resident
"Every day people take risks, especially when getting into a fishing boat. However some tribal councilors claim 'No amount of risk is acceptable to us'."
Don't be obtuse. They're referring specifically to the risk of a bitumin spill, not other risks such as running with scissors.
As for fear, fear of further economic decline is a popular motivator in neo-con campaigning. Which is interesting, given the health of our economy in the 80s and 90s vs the health of our economy now, after 30 years of gradual cutbacks to our social services.
OhCanada
43 weeks ago
Sask Resident
Whose side are you on? And do you actually know what you are talking about?
We in BC fight for our environment that gives us many pleasures - hiking, sailing, fishing relaxing in a beautiful environment. This environment also gives food and jobs to many people. We hosts visitors around the World.
Why on Earth do we want to risk all that?
But how would I expect you to understand that ...anything that came out of your mouth on this article is just gibberish.
Go and look into the mirror....who do you see?
OhCanada
43 weeks ago
No amount of money...
would ever give back what we could lose in an event of an oil spill. Ever.
Anyone supporting this pipeline idea is an idiot and should be dipped in a barrel of oil then hanged on a cloth-line for drying. Maybe then they would understand why the majority of people are against it.
I am 1000% behind any First Nation that is against this pipeline.
freebear
43 weeks ago
Just what do they talk about at Bilderburg Conference?
Heavy bitumen oil transport; Tarsands development; painting naysayers as radicals and terrorists?
pwlg
43 weeks ago
3 of the government's 5 conditions will not be met
1. Enbridge admits it won't have a world class prevention and spill response up and running for many years.
2. Alberta nixs Christy's demand for more money. Robyn Allan shows current financial expectations are a mere fantasy based on speculative assumptions without considering other scenerios.
3. First Nations along the route through BC are opposed to the pipeline.
A majority of the conditions announced by Chisty's government will not be met. So when will Christy or one of her minions call the whole thing off?
NickS
43 weeks ago
Fishing Treaty Rights Case
There's a case coming up in Chiliwack which could also have a bearing on the fate of Northern Gateway. Patricia Kelly/Kwitsel Tatel was first charged with possessing fish unlawfully in 2004. She plans to defend herself with the help of Prof. Anthony Hall, who has written a very detailed article on the case. http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/07/10/criminality-and-law-on-the-north-american-frontiers-of-indian-country/
Anybody who lives around Chiliwack should avail themselves of the opportunity to see Canadian justice at work at the Chiliwack Court House on July 26/27.
snert
43 weeks ago
Get out the paddles
and quit being hypocrites.
"'No amount of risk is acceptable to us'"
lynn
43 weeks ago
True Vision
"The Heiltsuk will never support this pipeline......We're here to stay. We'll do anything that we need to, to protect our land and sea. And I can say that with the spirit of the nation."
In a world, and in a country, led by the reckless, by the perverse, and by those devoid of vision, the courageous resolve and the intelligent foresight of the Heiltsuk is a lesson to all.
snert
43 weeks ago
OhCanada
Tourism is not any more of an environmentally sound endeavour than the pipeline.
Hakuin
43 weeks ago
here's the deal:
take the chocolate - or not.
And the people of BC should remember who offered those terms and what it means to be allied with him.
Skywalker
43 weeks ago
Give us more of the loot and we'll talk says Christy!
Any "benefit" from a pipeline will go directly into provincial coffers. Remember the price of gas will increase to the domestic consumer if this goes ahead. Yet all the risks will be borne by locals who live in the areas and coast effected by a spill. There lies the irony. Christy is just thinking of a way to BC out of the financial hole we are in so she can take credit before the next election. Consider why it is taking sooo long to get rid of the HST. It is all a con and we are the ones they are trying to con. Why not, the resident from Sask. believes it all. Christy just thinks we are no smarter.
Jeffrey J.
43 weeks ago
Congratulations to Bella Bella
Congratulations are in order. To the Bella Bella First Nation. To the courageous leaders and people of Bella Bella. And to the Tyee and Kai Nagata for covering the crucial stories that will define the future of BC.
As to the MSM (Mainstream Media). Sadly, not so much. Or none at all, if you really think about it.
We live in very pivotal times. Citizens across BC are prepared to stand with our First Nations brothers and sisters. Shoulder to shoulder. For what we know is right.
The 1% need to heed this warning. We live in a democracy, whether they like it or not. The people WILL speak.
Great coverage!
wvdk
43 weeks ago
Who cares
what Christy thinks. She's as good as gone. Dix has been (fairly) clear on his party's stand. Personally I suspect China's economy will continue to falter and the market for our toxic sludge will evaporate like a dilutant spill on a hot day. Maybe that's wishful thinking - my home is not too far downhill from the proposed line.
And snert, Yes, everyone jetting about and making giant circles in cruise ships, etc. is bad for the enviro, but what's that really got to do with preserving our land? Nothing much.
snert
43 weeks ago
wvdk
If you say so but the word hypocrisy comes to mind very easily and all too often in this debate.
wvdk
43 weeks ago
snert
Yes, tourism promotes wasteful use of fossil fuels for amusement. (I travel much less now).
Yes, a tanker spill on the North Coast would devastate a productive ecosystem and an ancient way of life.
you posted:
Quote:
We hosts visitors around the World.
Tourism is not any more of an environmentally sound endeavour than the pipeline.
A racist(?) put down followed by a non sequitur
Mentioning a separate issue (tourism) does not invalidate the issue at hand, marine oil spills.
Hypocritical of you to try to make that dismissive association.
I've travelled the North Coast many times. I know a young First Nations man from Hartley Bay, working on his Masters degree in winter, fishing with grampa in summer. He canoed halfway down the coast with a flotilla, (low carbon ecotourism anyone?). I have a great respect for him and his family. I suspect you haven't had many such experiences or you might see things differently.
OhCanada
43 weeks ago
Snert
There are many forms of tourism. But of course the best way to protect the environment is if we would have never be born. That would be the fully natural way to protect any land.
Nature and the animals don't need us. They were here before us and will be here after we are gone. But we will not survive without the natural environment. Anyone who can't see this is ... fill in the blank.
Are you comparing pipeline with tourism? Huh? Are you nuts?
gladstone
43 weeks ago
never
Those corporate greed-heads and their political toadies will never shove that pipeline and those tankers down our throats.
When my frail, but quite sharp, 84 year old neighbour starts telling me he'll grab a rifle and kill some of those bastards if they try to lay that pipe in BC, you know that the anger is very real. People in BC will never allow it.
While I could never condone it, you can bet that some will respond to corporate violence with fierce and equally violent resistance. There will be blood.
Hakuin
43 weeks ago
I would much rather see intelligent
violence, if it comes to that. We don't need martyrs, we need to win the war.
tedcamp
43 weeks ago
The oil is going to be moved - get over it people
Canada has resources and there is a world (not just China and not just oil) waiting to buy. Several progressive Native bands have signed on to share the wealth. The Heiltsuk can also gain if they make enough noise someone might find a way to compensate them. If the pipeline fails the CNR will move it over rail by Unit Trains that is a more dangerous method and nothing for the natives! It's all about money and the Heiltsuk know it. In retrospect the Exxon Valdez turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to the west coast. As a result all oil tankers must now be DOUBLE HULLED. The Canadian Coastal Pilots are the very best in the world. I notice the critics are quiet when it comes to their expertise.
dorothy
42 weeks ago
splitting hairs - or counting them?
"The Heiltsuk can also gain if they make enough noise someone might find a way to compensate them."
But it looks like their point is that no compensation could outweigh their unwillingness to take the kind of risk with their environment that the proposed pipeline represents. It seems you subscribe to a philosophy where everything can be bought, you only need to get the price right. There are actually people who do not. I am at a loss to understand your description of your native friend. Is it because he is working on a master's degree, or is because he goes fishing with his granddad? or?? You need to flesh it out a bit more if you want the unwashed masses to grasp your point.
The thing that nobody brings up here, although it is highly relevant, is the understanding of Native rights with regard to 'consultation' Just what exactly does it mean? do we just need to sit down in some community hall and listen to their grievances, and then we can go riht ahead and please ourselves even if they don't like our options, or can they actually say 'no'? It seems to me that the idea of land rights is meaningless, if you don't truly call the shots on your own turf! OK, if the project was to do with the good for all, such as powerlines or the like, we have all learned to contend with expropriations, but there are two things missing here: the land belonging to natives has a special status in that it was never given up, and two, there is a heck of a difference between a public project, and one that simply allows a certain group of people to make money by way of infringing on the turf of others. I don't see them having any 'special rights'.
I cannot believe the mathematics that makes Exxon Valdez a happy event! If it was not for grubbers like the people running such enterprises, we might have never had to worry about the duplicity of hulls. It runs parallel to 'it's not as bad as if it was worse'.