The Council of Canadians has made a contribution to support a Secwepemc’ulecw Assembly taking place next month that is being hosted by Elders and women from the Secwepemc Nation in British Columbia.
One of the key issues to be discussed at this Assembly is the Kinder Morgan 890,000 barrel per day Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline. On November 29, 2016, the Trudeau government announced it had approved the pipeline – without the free, prior and informed consent of the Secwepemc people.
The pipeline would cross 518 kilometres of Secwepemc territory.
The Assembly is rooted in the vision of Secwepemc leader Arthur Manuel. Shortly before he passed away in January, Manuel wrote Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, “We do not accept that the federal government can make this decision unilaterally and without the prior informed consent of the Secwepemc people as the rightful titleholders.”
Furthermore, two-thirds of the 120 First Nations along the pipeline route have not given their free, prior and informed consent for the pipeline.
The Secwepemc’ulecw Assembly will take place on the land close to where the pipeline is proposed to cross.
The Council of Canadians has been opposing the Trans Mountain pipeline since August 2011 by participating in marches, protests and civil disobedience actions, supporting chapter activism, petitions and a court action, writing blogs, and organizing numerous public events and a six-community speaking tour.
The Council of Canadians has also long supported Indigenous rights and a nation-to-nation relationship to address the legacy of colonialism in this country. In September 2007, we called on the federal government to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which articulates as a key principle the right to free, prior and informed consent. In December 2013, Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow signed the Save the Fraser Declaration and stated that we recognize the right of First Nations to ban tar sands pipelines from their territories.
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