Blockade on Madii Lii territory.
The Council of Canadians is opposed to the Pacific Northwest liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project being proposed by the Malaysian-based consortium Petronas.
The LNG terminal would be located on Lax U’u’la (Lelu Island), which is situated about 1,500 kilometres north of Vancouver on the Pacific Coast near Haida Gwaii. It would be serviced by the 900-kilometre Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline that would begin near Hudson’s Hope in northeast British Columbia. Once that gas is piped to the terminal, it would be exported via LNG supertankers to Asia.
The project is being opposed by the Luutkudziiwus, a 600-member house of the Gitxsan Nation, given the pipeline crosses 34 kilometres of their traditional territory known as Madii Lii. They set up a protest camp there in August 2014 to block construction of the pipeline. And last May, the Lax Kw’alaams First Nation voted against the proposed Pacific NorthWest LNG terminal, despite a $1 billion offer to them to accept it. They oppose the terminal on their territory because of the potential destruction of salmon habitat, the lack of access they would have to harvest traditional plants near the terminal, and the risk that their seafood resources would be contaminated.
In mid-September, the Allied Tribes of Lax Kw’alaams filed a court challenge claiming Title to Lax U’u’la in a further effort to prevent the project from proceeding.
Despite this, the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission granted approval on Oct. 27 to TransCanada to build and operate the pipeline.
Now, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency is expected to decide on the project early in 2016. From there the company says it’s prepared to begin construction as soon as that final federal government approval is granted. The project is currently scheduled to be operational by 2018.
The Council of Canadians is opposed to LNG/ fracking projects because they: contribute to climate change; consume massive amounts of water; cause ecosystem destruction and disrupt communities; often violate the rights of Indigenous peoples; mean a high number of LNG tanker ships impacting marine safety, fishing areas and local wildlife; impact air quality, notably the plants emit sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide; require huge amounts of electricity and/or burn natural gas to generate power; could result in a disastrous LNG spill in an ocean passage; and may power destructive projects in other countries.
We have participated in numerous protests over the past year to oppose the Pacific Northwest LNG project.
Further reading
Council of Canadians co-hosts protest against Pacific Northwest LNG project (October 2015 blog)
Victoria chapter at noise demo against Pacific Northwest LNG terminal (October 2015 blog)
Lax Kw’alaams First Nation rejects LNG terminal, BC premier says it’s only a matter of time (May 2015 blog)
Gitxsan block highway in LNG protest (December 2014 blog)
DePape speaks against Petronas LNG project outside their office in Vancouver (October 2014 blog)
Gitxsan say no to LNG pipeline on their territory (August 2014 blog)
Photo: Blockade on Madii Lii territory.
