North Vancouver's Tsleil-Waututh Nation is calling on Adrian Dix and the provincial NDP to clarify that a "made in B.C." assessment of the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline would also apply to Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline project. The native band is opposed to the Kinder Morgan pipeline, which would terminate in the heart of their territory.
Dix announced this week that if elected premier, he would withdraw from the federal government's Enbridge Northern Gateway Project review process and establish his own environmental assessment "within a week of taking office."
Chief Justin George of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation said, "We commend Adrian Dix's decision to withdraw from the federal government's Enbridge Northern Gateway review process. We, too, feel that the federal process is flawed.
"However, his announcement falls short. We need to know if the NDP's proposed assessment would also apply to Kinder Morgan's plans."
Gabriel George, sacred trust manager of Tsleil-Waututh Nation, expressed disappointment that although his nation had voiced its concerns to the B.C. NDP on several occasions, Kinder Morgan's pipeline was not addressed in Dix's announcement, nor was there mention of First Nations' legal rights.
Tsleil-Waututh opposes Kinder Morgan's pipeline project as it says it has experienced the results of crude oil handling and refining on Burrard Inlet for decades and has decided the risks associated with the pipeline are too great to accept.
"Kinder Morgan is proposing that we become an oil port city. Oil port cities throughout the world become waterway dead zones," said Chief George.
"This is not just a First Nations issue. People from all backgrounds enjoy Vancouver's great quality of life. We need to unite to protect this environment for all of our future generations. We are as much alive as we keep the earth alive."
