Blog Archives
Unist’ot’en Call for Physical Support and Solidarity
Members of Unis’tot’en camp, November 2012.
July 18, 2015
Dear Friends and Supporters,
Thanks to everyone who responded to our Action Camp and Chevron PTP update. It is becoming clear that the situation here is moving toward an escalation point.
Today at one o’clock a low flying helicopter flew over the ridge line and crossed the river a couple kilomoters south of the bridge. It followed a route that corresponds to the path of the proposed PTP pipeline, then circled back and flew in a northern direction following the river toward Houston. They flew low enough to take photos of activity happening at bridge and our camp. Read the rest of this entry
Assembly of First Nations to host national energy forum in February
Members of the Public Safety Unit guard the site of the Enbridge Northern Gateway hearings in Vancouver, BC, Jan 24, 2013.
The future of Canada’s two largest pipeline projects hinges on the cooperation of First Nations throughout the country.
by Christopher Curtis, Montreal Gazette, July 8, 2015
With billions of dollars and swaths of aboriginal territory at stake, the Assembly of First Nations will try to leverage their legal rights and force a negotiation with Canada’s energy producers and the federal government. AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde said Tuesday he plans on hosting a national energy forum in February with the goal of getting big oil, Ottawa and First Nations at the table. Read the rest of this entry
TransCanada Trespasses in Unist’ot’en territory – June 2015 update
Throughout May and June, TransCanada has made repeated attempts to survey for their CoastalGaslink pipeline by trespassing in Unist’ot’en territory. A new checkpoint has gone up on the Chisolm Forest Service Road, while supporters at the main camp encountered a helicopter that landed without the clan’s consent and kept it grounded until the hereditary chiefs could be reached. The clan continues to make sure that no pipelines will be built on their unceded territores.
Lax Kw’alaams First Nation opposes Eagle Spirit Energy pipeline
The Eagle Spirit Energy company meet with representatives of 30 First Nations over the weekend. (Photo by Eagle Spirit Energy)
Company claims its pipeline has support from 200 representatives of 30 First Nations
CBC News, June 4, 2015
A First Nation in B.C. is contradicting recent claims from Eagle Spirit Energy about its support for a pipeline that would transport crude oil through its territory from Alberta to B.C.’s northwest coast.
Eagle Spirit Energy met with dozens of First Nations communities last weekend. On Tuesday, it announced that 200 representatives from 30 First Nations, including the Lax Kw’alaams, spoke out in support of the company’s proposed pipeline project.
But Lax Kw’alaams Mayor Garry Reece says that’s not entirely correct. Read the rest of this entry
Prince Rupert LNG pipeline clearing expected by fall
Gitxsan Madii Lii camp.
by Chris Gareau, Smithers Interior News, Feb 16, 2015
Pre-construction clearing for the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project is expected to start before the leaves start falling this autumn. The LNG pipeline route travels just north of the Hazeltons on its way from northeast B.C. to Lelu Island near Prince Rupert.
Project president Dean Patry told the crowd gathered at the Smithers District Chamber of Commerce Thursday that prime contractors for the TransCanada pipeline will likely be hired in the second quarter of this year. Community outreach for local subcontractors and employees for the pre-construction is set for the third quarter. Read the rest of this entry
How To Stop An Oil And Gas Pipeline: The Unist’ot’en Camp Resistance
Published on Nov 5, 2014
Over the past four years, the Unist’ot’en clan of the Wet’suwet’en nation have literally built a strategy to keep three proposed oil and gas pipelines from crossing their land. Concerned about the environmental damage a leak could cause on land they’ve never given up, they’ve constructed a protection camp to block pipeline companies. As opposition to the development of Alberta’s tar sands and to fracking projects grows across Canada, with First Nations communities on the front lines, the Unist’ot’en camp is an example of resistance that everyone is watching.
Kinder Morgan’s Western Canada Pipeline Plans Hit A Mountain Of Opposition
Kinder Morgan Westridge Marine Terminal gate – photo by Mychaylo Prystupa, Vancouver Observer.
By Julie Gordon, Huffington Post/Reuters, Oct 21, 2014
VANCOUVER, Oct 21 (Reuters) – A Western Canadian pipeline once seen as the best near-term hope for sending more of the country’s controversial tar sands crude to Asia has hit another snag: aboriginal communities intent on using the courts to block the proposed expansion.
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners’ C$5.4 billion ($4.8 billion) Trans Mountain expansion would twin a 60-year-old line running from the oil-rich province of Alberta to the coastal city of Vancouver, tripling its capacity.
The pipeline expansion had been seen as sure bet because it uses an existing route. But a surge in municipal opposition in recent months has fueled industry worries that it will enter legal and regulatory limbo along with the unbuilt TransCanada Corp Keystone XL and Enbridge Inc Northern Gateway pipelines.
RCMP tracked movements of Indigenous activist from ‘extremist’ group: documents
Jorge Barrera, APTN National News, Oct 17, 2014
The RCMP closely monitored the movements of an Indigenous environmental activist as it tightened surveillance around possible protests in northern British Columbia targeting the energy firm behind the controversial Northern Gateway pipeline, according to “confidential” documents obtained by APTN National News.
Documents from the RCMP’s Suspicious Incidents Report (SIR) database show police closely monitored the movements of a member of the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) during the summer of 2010 in northern British Columbia. According to the documents, the RCMP considers IEN an “extremist” group and a trip by an IEN member to a direct action camp in July of that year created a flurry of database activity involving RCMP officers with the force’s national security operations in B.C. and Ottawa. [* The IEN is an Indigenous non-governmental organization (NGO) more similar to Greenpeace than an actual resistance group]. Read the rest of this entry
Video: Karistatsi Onienre: The Iron Snake
Published on Jul 9, 2014 by Clifton Nicholas
The tar sands are the most polluting resource extraction operation in the world today. This film discusses some of the issues surrounding the tar sands and the impending development of pipelines in eastern Canada and pipelines in western Canada to open markets for this dirty energy. This documentary concentrates on the Indigenous struggles against the tar sands and the impending expansion of this operation if the western and eastern pipeline projects succeed. This film was made possible with generous donations film footage of independent filmmakers from submedia.tv and Greenpeace Canada as well as support from Indigenous Tar Sands Campaign and Idle No More Winnipeg.
Conflicting messages about conflict: the “battle” against Enbridge
by Zig Zag, Warrior Publications, June 22, 2014
With the federal government’s approval of the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline on June 17, 2014, there arose a chorus of angry disapproval from many people in BC. Some talked about waging a “war against Enbridge,” while others proclaimed the beginning of the “battle.” Predictably, the political parties opposed to the Conservative government promised to put a stop to Enbridge, if elected. Those who have worked to oppose Enbridge over the past 5 years renewed their pledges to carry out court cases, referendums, voting campaigns, as well as civil disobedience.
In fact, the “Hold the Wall” campaign initiated by the Yinka Dene Alliance claims that over 22,000 people have pledged to do just that, “using all lawful means.” But what if a court decides its unlawful to “hold the wall”? Those with perhaps the most realistic grasp of the situation have renewed their calls for direct action, if and when necessary, to physically stop the construction of the pipelines.
Clearly there are mixed messages being transmitted. Read the rest of this entry
Warrior Publications 