Page 6 - NorthAmOil Week 01

NorthAmOil COMMENTARY NorthAmOil
Coastal GasLink construction
resumes despite indigenous
opposition
Work resumed on the Coastal GasLink pipeline this week, amid opposition from some chiefs of a local First Nation
BRITISH COLUMBIA
WHAT:
Work has resumed on the Coastal GasLink pipeline, which will connect to the LNG Canada project.
WHY:
A court granted Coastal GasLink an interim injunction against blockades by those opposing the pipeline, though some opposition continues.
WHAT NEXT:
The development comes as operator TC Energy sells a 65% stake in the project to KKR and AIMCo.
WORK resumed this week on the Coastal Gas- Link pipeline in British Columbia, which would link gas fields in the Dawson Creek area to the LNG Canada export terminal, which is cur- rently under construction in Kitimat. This comes despite several chiefs of a local First Nation issu- ing an eviction notice to the pipeline’s operator, TC Energy. The eviction notice was announced at the start of January, shortly after the British Columbia Supreme Court granted Coastal Gas- Link an interlocutory injunction against mem- bers of a local First Nation and others opposing the pipeline’s construction.
The interlocutory injunction expands on an existing interim injunction that was issued by the same court around a year ago, after opponents of the pipeline obstructed a road leading to a con- struction site near Houston, BC.
Justice Marguerite Church said in her rul- ing that Coastal GasLink had the permits and authorisations necessary for the project to pro- ceed and had satisfied the requirements for an interlocutory injunction. She added that there was evidence to indicate that the defendants had engaged in deliberate unlawful conduct for the
purpose of preventing construction work on the pipeline.
However, hereditary chiefs representing all five clans of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation said in a statement that they rejected the court’s deci- sion. Undeterred by the ruling, the chiefs sent a letter to TC Energy on January 3, in which they said they were withdrawing from an agreement signed in April 2019 and told the company to vacate a camp by January 10.
Tensions
The letter and eviction notice exacerbated ten- sions within First Nation communities in the area, as some elected chiefs and councils in these communities support the Coastal GasLink pro- ject and have signed impact benefit agreements. Their support for the project stems from expec- tations that it will bring jobs and long-term financial benefits to the region. The five Wet’su- weten hereditary chiefs, however, maintain that the project has no authority without their consent.
On January 6, a spokesperson for the group of opposed chiefs, Jen Wickham, said the eviction
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w w w. N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 01 08•January•2020