FNS Supports Carrier Sekani application for Judicial review of Pipeline project

Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver – First Nations Summit (FNS) leaders are voicing support for Nadleh Whut’en and Nak’azdli First Nation’s decision to seek a judicial review of BC’s issuance of an Environmental Assessment Certificate for TransCanada Pipeline’s proposed Coastal GasLink Pipeline project which would cross some 200m km’s of their traditional territories.

“We understand that Nadleh and Nak’azdli have made every effort to engage with BC in government-to-government discussions to identify and address their concerns regarding this project. Unfortunately, BC seems to have made a conscious decision to ignore Carrier Sekani concerns and fast track the project in an attempt to hop on the LNG development train”, said Robert Phillips of the FNS political executive.

“Governments can’t ignore their constitutional duty to consult and accommodate First Nations prior to making decisions to proceed on major development projects in this province. Similar to our views concerning the approval of the Site-C dam, this approach is unacceptable and an affront to the cultivation of constructive government-to- government relations between the provincial government and BC First Nations”, added Phillips.