This Monday, representatives from four British Columbia First Nations, along with representatives from the Pembina Institute will kick off a week-long "pipeline road show" to help prepare communities along the proposed Enbridge Gateway pipeline route for the impacts of oil and gas development in northern British Columbia.
At least six large-scale pipeline and energy projects are scheduled for development within the next five years. The pipeline routes affect dozens of First Nations communities and could have negative impacts on British Columbia's commercial fisheries, create local land and wildlife disturbance, and contribute to global climate change. The workshop series Protecting Our Land: Resource Development in Aboriginal Communities will explore the social and environmental impacts of development and examine ways to balance these impacts with potential economic benefits.
Kitimat — the first stop on the road show — is currently designated as the end point for multiple pipeline projects and an LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal.
"On the coast, we are not just faced with potential land, air and river impacts from these pipelines, but also from the effect of the supertankers traveling in waters that our people rely on," said Gerald Amos, former Haisla Chief. "We could see as many as 320 tankers inside our coastal waters if all these projects go ahead, and this is a great concern for many of us," he added.
In 1977, the Government of Canada evaluated the risk of an oil port in Kitimat and concluded that serious oil spills would be inevitable and would likely have major adverse impacts on fisheries populations in the northern coastal region.
"Crude oil tankers have been banned from some British Columbia coastal areas in the past; however, it appears that the federal government is no longer making the protection of coastal areas a priority," said Karen Campbell, Staff Counsel with the Pembina Institute. "Decisions of this nature should be made with input from First Nations communities who will be directly affected by oil and gas development."
The workshops will tackle the complex relationship between long-term impacts from oil and gas and the benefits to communities. Cumulative impacts and long-term planning will be addressed in order to encourage a sustainable vision. Northern communities will benefit from taking a long-term approach to developments that could have irreversible impacts.
The road show continues on Tuesday in Hazelton and makes stops in Burns Lake, Fort St. James and Prince George on subsequent days.
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For more information:
Gerald Amos, Former Haisla Chief, cell 250-639-0326
Karen Campbell, Staff Counsel, the Pembina Institute, cell 604-928-2258
Download fact sheets for more information on impacts of oil and gas development to British Columbia's coast.
Next on the road show:
Kitimat Workshop: Monday Oct 16
Riverlodge Community Centre
654 West Columbia Ave. Kitimat, BC
Monday's Media Release
Monday Oct 16 - Chief Liz Logan and Diane Abel from Treaty 8 Territory share their experience and concerns about impacts to land, streams, rivers and wildlife from oil and gas development with Hagwilget and Hazelton community members. (Hagwilget/Hazelton workshop Tues Oct 17).