Page 4 - NorthAmOil Week 07

NorthAmOil COMMENTARY NorthAmOil
Coastal GasLink pipeline fight intensifies
Protests against the planned Coastal GasLink pipeline have escalated, disrupting transport networks across Canada in solidarity with hereditary chiefs of a British Columbia First Nation that oppose the project
CANADA
WHAT:
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is under pressure to resolve a dispute over a planned gas pipeline.
WHY:
Blockades by protesters have disrupted operations on one of Canada’s busiest rail corridors.
WHAT NEXT:
TC Energy could see signi cant delays to Coastal GasLink unless the dispute can be resolved quickly.
TC Energy’s planned Coastal GasLink is run- ning into new di culties a er protests broke out across Canada in support of hereditary chiefs of a First Nation in British Columbia that oppose the project. e protests have blocked railways, bridges and ports, causing major disruptions to transport across the country.
TC Energy – formerly TransCanada – is no stranger to opposition to major pipeline projects, and now the company risks signi cant delays to the timeline for Coastal GasLink unless the stando can be rapidly resolved. e fact that the pipeline is required to supply the LNG Canada project, which is currently under construction and due to enter service in 2023, adds urgency to the need for a resolution.
Escalating tensions
e 20 elected indigenous band councils along the route of the Coastal GasLink pipeline all support the project, on expectations that it will bring job creation and economic activity to the region. However, a certain amount of opposi- tion to Coastal GasLink has existed for some time, including among hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation. is opposition has come even as elected Wet’suwet’en representa- tives support construction of the pipeline.
Indeed, opponents of the project dismiss the authority of elected representatives on the grounds that they are the product of a colonial system that lacks legitimacy. In addition, the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs assert title to a 22,000-square km traditional territory, arguing that the band council only has authority over reserve land.
In December 2018, TC Energy filed for a court injunction against a protest camp in Wet’suwet’en territory in order to gain access to the pipeline corridor. An interim injunction was issued, and was subsequently expanded at the end of 2019 as members of the Wet’suwet’en continued to block access to a construction site for the pipeline.
However, hereditary chiefs representing all ve clans of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation said in a statement that they rejected the court’s deci- sion. Protesters continued to block access to a service road needed for construction on Coastal GasLink, leading the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RMCP) to carry out “major enforcement operations” of the court order.
This, in turn, sparked protests and block- ades across Canada by indigenous groups and environmentalists, in solidarity with the Wet’su- wet’en hereditary chiefs. e country’s rail net- work has been hit particularly hard by these blockades. Canada’s national rail carrier, Via Rail, shut down nearly its entire national net- work on February 13, saying scheduled services would resume a er a protest in Ontario blocking the tracks comes to an end.
e suspension of Via’s service was reported
by February 14 to have a ected the travel plans
of more than 63,000 people, with 299 passen-
ger trains having been cancelled up to that
date. Cargo rail tra c has also been a ected, Canada’s with Canadian National (CN) Rail cancelling
over 400 trains last week. On February 18, CN
said it was temporarily laying o about 450
workers in Eastern Canada as a result of the
disruptions.
Looking for resolution its entire national
Debate over how the crisis can be resolved is now intensifying. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has urged for a negotiated resolution, He has maintained thus far that he will not direct police to break up the protests as some industry groups have called on him to do.
Trudeau’s approach has been criticised by Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer, who, by contrast, stepped up calls to use the police to end the protests. Scheer denounced the protest- ers as “radical activists” holding Canada’s econ- omy hostage, in a speech that led to Trudeau not inviting him to a meeting with opposition leaders to discuss the crisis. In comments to
network on February 13.
national rail carrier, Via Rail, shut down nearly
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 07 19•February•2020