First Nations Celebrate Win Against Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion
The expansion would have tripled capacity of the existing Trans Mountain pipeline, allowing it to ship up to 890,000 barrels of bitumen oil every day from Alberta’s tar sands to a terminal in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The court decision cited the Trudeau government’s failure to consult with Canada’s First Nations, specifically the government’s insufficient treatment of oral traditional evidence, lack of sufficient time given in the consultation process for affected groups to inform themselves well enough to participate, and failure to consult about the environmental assessment.
The court decision cited the Trudeau government’s failure to consult with Canada’s First Nations.
The decision comes after months of indigenous-led opposition to the pipeline. Efforts suffered a big blow back in May, when the Canadian government announced it would purchase the project for $4.5 billion when Kinder Morgan struggled to fund the expansion.
“Without question today is a day of celebration,” said Grand Chief Stewart Philip of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs in an interview posted on Facebook. “But also it’s a day that we must reflect on our journey up to this point in our opposition to the Kinder Morgan Trans mountain expansion project. And I’d like to take this opportunity to thank that massive infrastructure that was pulled together in terms of grassroots people, indigenous leadership, and rank-and-file British Columbians and Canadians.”
Here’s what that leadership has looked like.
Coast protectors
In British Columbia, indigenous coast protectors led direct actions of allies, environmental activists, and local residents to stop pipeline expansion. Over 200 people have been arrested in direct actions over the past several months.
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