Gordon Sebastian, executive director of the Gitxsan Treaty Society, speaks at a rally outside the Vancouver Law Courts on Sept. 30. Mr. Sebastian says the group wants 'a safe place for dialogue,' where they can talk about all of the issues at hand.BRENT JANG/The Globe and Mail
A B.C. pipeline project touted by the Nisga’a Nation as a prime example of economic reconciliation has instead become a thorny issue marked by rising tensions and complications with nearby Indigenous groups.
Construction of the 750-kilometre Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) project across Northern British Columbia is proving to be controversial. In particular, the Gitxsan Nation and Gitanyow Nation both have traditional territories that the natural gas pipeline would cross.
On Monday on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a group of Gitxsan hereditary chiefs held a rally in downtown Vancouver to draw attention to their concerns, including what they fear could be heavy-handed RCMP enforcement of potential court-ordered injunctions to quell protests in northwestern B.C.
The BC Energy Regulator decided in April to grant a permit for one section of the PRGT pipeline, but it wasn’t publicly announced until July.
PRGT, co-owned by the Nisga’a and Houston-based Western LNG, began construction on the pipeline’s Section 5B in August on Nisga’a territory on the West Coast.
The Gitxsan are seeking greater consultation with the B.C. government and the Nisga’a to better understand the pipeline route’s environmental effects on a 120-kilometre stretch that crosses the Gitxsan’s traditional territory.
“We want a safe place for dialogue, where we can talk about all of the issues at hand,” said Gordon Sebastian, executive director of the Gitxsan Treaty Society. “We don’t want militarized RCMP at the blockades.”
The pipeline is designed to feed the $10-billion Ksi Lisims LNG project, which is undergoing an environmental review in hopes of becoming Canada’s second-largest facility for exporting liquefied natural gas. The facility would be located on Nisga’a-owned property on the West Coast.
The Nisga’a, Western LNG and a group of natural gas producers called Rockies LNG are partners in the Ksi Lisims project near Gitlaxt’aamiks, which is home to the Nisga’a Lisims government led by elected president Eva Clayton.
“Differences of opinion are a natural and healthy part of any relationship, including between Nations,” Ms. Clayton said in a statement to The Globe and Mail. “The Nisga’a Nation is committed to working together with right-of-way Nations in good faith to address concerns and integrate valuable insights. We are eagerly anticipating upcoming discussions with these Nations during which we will present new opportunities to join us in leading these projects.”
PRGT would transport natural gas from northeastern B.C. to floating production facilities to be opened by Ksi Lisims in 2029, with other vessels exporting LNG to Asia.
About 50 kilometres of the pipeline’s right-of-way would cross the Gitanyow’s traditional territory. Combined, portions of the route on Gitxsan and Gitanyow lands would account for nearly 23 per cent of PRGT’s total 750-kilometre length.
Jeremy Barretto, a Calgary-based partner at the Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP law firm, said Indigenous backing of energy projects in general should be viewed as a positive for economic reconciliation, but there inevitably will be issues arising to disrupt best-laid plans.
“Indigenous governments are not identical, so we shouldn’t be surprised when there’s a diversity of opinion and there’s a diversity of viewpoints,” said Mr. Barretto, who has expertise in Indigenous legal and regulatory cases.
PRGT’s Section 5B, currently under construction, is near the Nisga’a Memorial Lava Bed Park, which the Nisga’a and the B.C. government established in the 1990s.
A report in 1997 jointly produced by the Nisga’a and the B.C. government said the provincial park serves as a sacred place to honour more than 2,000 Nisga’a people who died after a volcanic eruption in the 1770s.
The flow of lava buried three villages near the Nass River, resulting in a “profound and tragic impact on the Nisga’a people,” according to the report. “After the volcanic eruption, most of the survivors relocated in new villages along the river.”
While tourism spurred economic spinoffs after the park’s creation in the 1990s, Nisga’a leaders view PRGT and Ksi Lisims as vital to produce prosperity for the next generations in the region.
The BC Energy Regulator has not yet granted a permit for Section 5A of the pipeline, where 12 kilometres of the route would cross a right-of-way corridor adjacent to the provincial park.
“Section 5B is completely within Nisga’a land set out under their treaty,” the regulator said in an e-mailed statement, adding that requirements for cumulative effects assessments have not been finished yet for the rest of the sections.
Other Indigenous groups in northwestern B.C. that are worried about PRGT include the elected Lax Kw’alaams Band near Prince Rupert.
The Lax Kw’alaams have expressed climate concerns, saying they are skeptical about the goal of net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases from Ksi Lisims. To help reduce emissions, Ksi Lisims plans to use two floating platforms to produce LNG, with hydroelectricity from BC Hydro powering motors that would drive compressors in the liquefaction process, instead of the industry’s traditional reliance on turbines powered by natural gas.
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Indigenous hereditary chiefs belonging to the Gitxsan and Gitanyow previously signed agreements to support the PRGT project. But Gitanyow leaders now say they are opposed to PRGT, citing potential environmental damage.
During protests against PRGT in August, Gitanyow hereditary chiefs and supporters set up a blockade on an access road and also burned copies of an agreement signed with Calgary-based TransCanada Corp., now called TC Energy Corp.
“The BC Energy Regulator’s decision to advance the PRGT pipeline without addressing the cumulative environmental impacts or adequately consulting front-line communities is a violation of both legal and ethical standards,” said Tara Marsden, sustainability director for the Gitanyow hereditary chiefs.
Gitanyow hereditary chiefs say PRGT’s plans date back to provincial approval first granted a decade ago, but the route has changed since the Gitanyow signed pipeline agreements with the B.C. government in 2014 and with TC Energy in 2015.
The Gitxsan Huwilp government, which represents the group of Gitxsan hereditary chiefs, and the B.C. government signed an agreement in 2014 for economic benefits from PRGT. As well, a dozen of the hereditary chiefs in the Gitxsan Huwilp government signed a project agreement in 2016 with TC Energy.
PRGT would cross the territory of 10 different house groups, or wilps, within the Gitxsan Nation. There are up to 64 wilps that in turn fall under four separate clans: Lax Seel (Frog), Lax Gibuu (Wolf), Gisgaast (Fireweed) and Lax Skiik (Eagle).
The Gitxsan Huwilp government, which also describes itself as a forum for 48 of the house groups, said individual wilps make decisions within their respective off-reserve areas.
The Kispiox Band council and other elected Gitxsan councils, which have jurisdiction within their reserve boundaries, do not have agreements to support PRGT.
Gitxsan hereditary chiefs and their supporters often cite a landmark 1997 Supreme Court of Canada case that established rights and title for the Gitxsan and the neighbouring Wet’suwet’en Nation.
The case is referred to as Delgamuukw, named after a Gitxsan hereditary chief who was one of the 48 original plaintiffs, including 35 Gitxsan and 13 Wet’suwet’en. It involved claims to different areas, with 35,000 square kilometres of Gitxsan territory, known as their “laxyip,” and 22,000 square kilometres of Wet’suwet’en territory, known as their “yintah.”
While revised route designs for PRGT will be shorter than originally planned, the pipeline would still be longer than the contentious 670-kilometre Coastal GasLink project operated by TC Energy.
Coastal GasLink began transporting natural gas in September to the LNG Canada joint venture in Kitimat, B.C., as part of the commissioning process.
A group of Wet’suwet’en Nation hereditary chiefs has led a campaign to oppose Coastal GasLink, with 28 per cent of the route crossing the Wet’suwet’en’s unceded traditional territory. Coastal GasLink reached agreements with all 20 elected band councils along the route, including five elected councils within the Wet’suwet’en Nation. But Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs say they have jurisdiction over a 190-kilometre stretch of pipeline through their unceded territory.
PRGT initially received its environmental assessment certificate in 2014, and won approval for a five-year extension in 2019, giving the project until Nov. 25, 2024, to “substantially start” pipeline construction.
This past summer, the Nisga’a and Western LNG acquired PRGT from TC Energy. Bechtel Corp. is the prime contractor for PRGT while also taking on management and oversight roles, with Ledcor Group assisting with initial work this year.
The PRGT route was originally intended to extend nearly 900 kilometres from northeastern B.C. to Lelu Island near Prince Rupert, and supply natural gas to Pacific NorthWest LNG. The B.C. government signed benefits agreements with 17 of the 19 First Nations along the pipeline route, but Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas cancelled the Pacific NorthWest joint venture in 2017.
While the Gitanyow are now fighting to halt PRGT’s construction, the Gitxsan’s views range from expressing concerns to outright opposition. A Gitxsan house group named Luutkudziiwus created the Madii Lii demonstration camp in 2014 to draw attention to PRGT’s environmental risks, back when it was proposed by the Petronas-led consortium.
Supporters of the Madii Lii camp have been gearing up for a fresh blockade to oppose PRGT.
About 35 kilometres of PRGT’s route crosses land that falls under the boundaries of Luutkudziiwus.
In a sign of internal friction among Gitxsan leaders, Mr. Sebastian, who is seeking further consultation about PRGT, is taking a moderate view about the pipeline when compared with Charlie Wright, who opposes the project. They both lay claim to being the Simoogit, or head chief, of Luutkudziiwus.
Another Gitxsan house group directly affected by the pipeline route is Gutginuxw.
“I’ve attended meetings that talked about the reawakening of this proposed pipeline, and there are a lot of voices in opposition,” said Ardythe Wilson, a Gutginuxw wing chief (subchief) who goes by the hereditary name Dimdiigibuu.
Canada’s fledgling LNG industry views PRGT and Ksi Lisims as crucial tests for whether the country will be able to become a major exporter of natural gas in liquid form.
Shell PLC-led LNG Canada, which is now more than 95 per cent completed, plans to start exporting the fuel from Kitimat to Asia by mid-2025. It will become the first terminal in Canada for shipping LNG in tankers.