Vancouver BC—On Friday afternoon, the Chiefs of the First Nations Summit of BC, representing a majority of First Nations and Tribal Councils in BC, stated that the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines and oil tankers project must not proceed without the free, prior and informed consent of affected First Nations.
Enbridge is seeking federal government approval to build two 1,170 km pipelines from the Alberta tar sands to the north coast of BC, where 225 oil supertankers each year would transport the oil through what Environment Canada has referred to as the fourth most dangerous seas in the world. The project, if approved, would expose the communities, cultures and economies of the coast, and of the Skeena, Fraser and Mackenzie watersheds, to the grave risk of pipeline and tanker oil spills.
Numerous First Nations have stated that the federal government’s review process for the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines project fails to meet the Crown’s constitutional duties to them. The federal government’s regulatory process for the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project was designed without First Nations involvement, and does not accommodate First Nations governance and decision-making rights, which are inherent to their constitutionally-protected Aboriginal Title. The First Nations Summit has twice made resolutions calling on the federal government to negotiate a shared decision-making process for the Enbridge project, but the federal government did not respond.
“The Chiefs have sent a clear message that the federal government must respect international law, and that it can’t approve the Enbridge project without obtaining the free, prior and informed consent of First Nations,” said Josh Paterson, staff lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law. “First Nations have the constitutional right to decide for themselves how their lands and waters will be used, and the government needs to respect that.”
Free, prior and informed consent is the international standard governing consultation with First Nations on issues such as approval of the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline project and related tanker traffic. This standard provides that Indigenous Peoples must be informed about and consent freely to resource development projects that will affect their lands and resources, prior to government approval of the project. Canada has an obligation in International law to respect First Nations ownership and control over their own territories and resources.
“A decision by the federal government to approve the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline project and related oil tanker traffic, in the absence of First Nations consent, would violate Canada’s international legal obligations, and make Canada vulnerable to an international human rights challenge,” added Paterson. “Due to the large number of impacted nations, the strength of their opposition and the ongoing nature of the Crown’s constitutional duties to First Nations, the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines project faces ongoing legal risks and uncertainty.”
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For more information:
Josh Paterson, Staff Counsel, West Coast Environmental Law: (778) 829-8973
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