To keep the Enbridge pipeline from coming in
The town would be the western terminus of the pipeline. It is already in a major boom with preliminary work on liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects and the construction of a new aluminum smelter.
The Haisla First Nation have the most to lose if there is an oil spill along the shores of Douglas Channel. They have lived in the area for hundreds of years and after studying the issue for a decade, the choice was clear to them – they favour LNG over oil in their territory and they will go to court if necessary to keep the Enbridge pipeline from coming in.
“We’re not trying to hold out for a better deal,” said Chief Ellis Ross from the Haisla First Nation. “We know the potential for wealth here. We’ve been doing it for 10 years, we know how to negotiate but there’s no real price we can put on an oil spill happening in these waters.”
For 60 years, the Haisla have looked across the channel to see the industrial opportunities that have passed them by. Now with prospect of at least three LNG plants in Kitimat, with the companies and B.C. government inviting them to play a partnership role, the band’s economic future is bright and it seems everyone has a job.
“You just have to look through our community where young people, as young as 25 years old, are buying their first vehicle, brand new, financing,” said Ross. “My daughter is early 20s, she has a mortgage.”