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CBC
12 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
First Nations on B.C.'s North Coast say they would not support a new pipeline
The president of an organization representing First Nations along the north coast of B.C. says it would not support any new pipeline projects in northern B.C. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told Bloomberg News Tuesday that she expects a private company will bring forward a proposal to build a new oil pipeline to B.C.'s North Coast within weeks. Smith wants to revive a plan to bring oilsands crude to the northern B.C. coast for export to Asia, with the endpoint in Prince Rupert, B.C. "There is no project or proponents that would be acceptable to us on the North Coast," said Marilyn Slett, elected chief councillor of the Heiltsuk Tribal Council, about 479 kilometres north of Vancouver, and president of the Coastal First Nations' Great Bear Initiative (CFN)—an alliance of nine First Nations on the north Pacific coast of B.C. to Haida Gwaii. "Anything that proposes to send oil through the coast is a non-starter," said Slett. Many of the CFN First Nations were parties to a B.C. Supreme Court appeal that stopped Northern Gateway pipeline plans to ship crude oil from the port of Kitimat, B.C. The Enbridge project was scrapped because the court ruled Ottawa failed to properly consult with First Nations affected by the pipeline. Slett said that CFN does support reliable energy projects like solar and hydroelectric. "[The] north Pacific coast is one of the richest cold water marine ecosystems on earth and it's a source of our sustenance, tied to our culture and the livelihoods of not just our communities but many British Columbians," said Slett. "We can't have one livelihood at the cost of another," she said. A University of British Columbia Study estimated that a major oil spill cleanup on the North Coast could cost up to $9.6 billion, and cost the region's commercial fisheries, port, ferry transportation and tourism industries more than $300 million. B.C. premier won't take position B.C. Premier David Eby has not given a firm position on whether he would support a pipeline through northern B.C, telling CBC The Early Edition on Thursday, "I won't speculate about a project that doesn't exist." But did say he would not support a publicly funded pipeline to the North Coast. Premier Eby discusses possibility of northern oil pipeline 1 day ago Duration 13:36 Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says a proposal to build an oil pipeline to B.C.'s North Coast could be just weeks away. For his part, B.C. Premier David Eby has said he opposes a publicly-funded pipeline, but may consider a privately backed project. He joined CBC's Stephen Quinn to respond to Smith and discuss the possible proposal. Eby told CBC that his government is in support of the federal oil tanker ban on the North Coast. The Oil Tanker Moratorium Act prohibits oil tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric tons of crude oil, or persistent oil products, from stopping, loading, or unloading at ports in a restricted area covering nearly the entire North Coast. Slett said she would like Eby's government to take a position on a potential pipeline. "Theoretically or not, these discussions are happening," said Slett. 'Knee-jerk reaction' The B.C. regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations, Terry Teegee, said that First Nations have a right to be concerned about Eby's comments, but that these discussions are premature. Teegee said that this is a "knee-jerk reaction" to tariffs from the U.S. administration, which has led the province to diversify its trade relationships. Eby recently returned from a 10-day trade mission to East Asia, where Japanese conglomerates expressed interest in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the province. "We've got partners over there that prefer to buy B.C. LNG because it comes from a politically stable jurisdiction, but also because it is the lowest carbon LNG in the world," Eby told CBC. LNG has started producing liquefied natural gas that is being transported by the Coastal GasLink pipeline to an export facility in Kitimat, B.C. "It is really concerning because some of these projects will have long-lasting impacts to many First Nations that would affect their territories [for] decades, if not hundreds of years," said Teegee. Teegee said First Nations need to be part of the decision-making process when it comes to large energy projects being considered and approved. "This one is, as we've seen previously, it failed," said Teegee. "Perhaps it's a pipe dream."
Global News
07-06-2025
- General
- Global News
Lost for over a century, Heiltsuk Nation celebrates return of bentwood box
The Heiltsuk First Nation is celebrating the return of a precious piece of history, lost to their people for more than a century. The nation held a special reunification ceremony for the bentwood box last Friday that coincided with a feast to mark the ratification of their written constitution. 'I was very emotional,' said Christine Smith Martin, CEO of Coastal First Nations, who helped facilitate the return of the box from an American family to the Heiltsuk Nation. 2:03 Heiltsuk Nation ratifies new written constitution through celebratory feast 'We really want to tell art collectors or whoever may have boxes similar to this, the right thing to do is to bring it home, to make sure those boxes make it home if they can because its an important piece for us, there' s a lot of teachings on that box, there's a lot of things artists might not have seen yet.'' Story continues below advertisement Bentwood boxes were specialized, watertight containers fabricated from a single piece of cedar wood that has been steamed and curved, then fastened shut with wooden pegs. Elroy white, an archeologist, hereditary chief and elected councillor with the Heiltsuk, said they were used to carry trade goods up and down the coast, as well as for the storage of important items like instruments or regalia. They were also used to store and prepare food. He said the Heiltsuk became well known for their skill in crafting the boxes in the 1860s, after their population was decimated by smallpox and came together in a single community. Ethnographers who visited the community documented them and spread the word, and soon collectors and academics from around the world began seeking them out. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'That was their premise, that they were going to preserve this cultural way of these First Nations, they were called Indians back then,' he said. 'They were either sold or they were coerced from the owners.' The provenance of this particular box is unknown, Elwood said, save that it passed through collections and galleries before being purchased in Vancouver in 2020. He believes it was made some time in the 1880s, but said that when items pass through galleries their back history is typically not shared, and information like the artist who made them is lost. Story continues below advertisement That's when Janet and Dave Deisley, a couple from Salt Lake City, Utah, purchased it at the Douglas Reynolds Gallery on Granville Street. 2:11 Heiltsuk Nation celebrates 'powerful, emotional' return of historic chief's seat 'After Dave bought the box we had we had it in our home for a couple of years,' Janet Deisley told Global News. But the item never felt right in the couple's collection, and they decided to return it — free of charge — reaching out to Coastal First Nations for help in connecting it to the Heiltsuk. 'The community in which those artifacts were created is where they belong from a spiritual sense,' Dave Diesley said. 'I would imagine they felt what we felt when we had it in our office for that short time. You can feel. It's like a piece of an ancestor wanting to come home … you look at it and you see that history in there,' Martin said. Story continues below advertisement 'I would imagine they felt that yearning, because it's not just a box, there are spirits that are attached to it, there are ancestors that are attached to that.' Coastal First Nations accepted the box, but it stayed in their office for some time as they worked to arrange an appropriate return. White came to Vancouver to authenticate the box and work on the best way and time to get it home safely. 'I knew it would have no back history, but the important part was …. it was still important to the Heiltsuk,' he said. 'Elroy came down and did some ceremony in our office, and we had a talk to the box and let them know they are going home now. It's been a long journey as you can imagine, since the 1800s, since this box has been away from their territory.' 2:11 Heiltsuk Nation hold constitution ratification ceremony Last week, the box was honoured in the Heiltsuk big house in Bella Bella as a part of the constitution ceremonies, and members had the opportunity to get up close and see a piece of their lost history. Story continues below advertisement 'It was so heartfelt to see that, seeing the artists looking at it and sort of pointing out different things,' Martin said. For White, it is just one step in the ongoing process to repatriate Heiltsuk culture that was taken from the community and now resides in museums, galleries and private collections around the world. The nation has spent decades building a database of items and has identified 34 institutions around the world that house more than 1,000 Heiltsuk items. They've repatriated four items since 2022, including a historic chief's seat that was returned to the community last summer. It's work that White intends to continue, and that Martin hopes will have more success. 'I hope that we have many more of these boxes,' she said.
