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| Prince Rupert's Highliner Inn will be the venue for Day One of a two day tour of the Northwest. The Senate Committee is in the region reviewing Bill C-48 the proposed Oil Tanker Moratorium on the North Coast |
A two day tour of the Northwest for the Senate Committee tasked to review Bill C-48 will start their work in Prince Rupert on Tuesday morning with a full day of hearings starting at 8:45 AM, they take their travels to Terrace the following day.
The Bill which would prohibit oil tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric tons of crude oil from stopping, loading or unloading at ports on the North Coast, has been championed by both MLA Jennifer Rice and Skeena Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen, is in its final stages of review by the Upper Chamber.
The Senate Hearings of next week will offer a chance for a range of presenters from across Northern British Columbia, with some familiar names set to attend the Prince Rupert and Terrace sessions, featuring a number of Northwest officials both in government and outside of it, along with a number of representatives of area First Nations.
Among some of the set to provide comments to the Senate panel in Prince Rupert will be:
Nathan Cullen, MP Skeena-Bulkley Valley, (speaking as an individual)
Jennifer Rice, MLA North Coast (speaking as an individual)
Lee Brain, Mayor of Prince Rupert
George Heyman, BC Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy
Des Nobels, Friends of Wild Salmon
Luanne Roth, T Buck Suzuki Foundation
Joy Thorkelson, President UFAWU
Ken Veldman, Port of Prince Rupert
The Two Prince Rupert sessions shape up as follows:
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| Click to enlarge the line up of speakers for the Prince Rupert leg of the NW tour from the Senate members |
The Terrace leg of the tour of the Northwest follows on Wednesday at the Best Western in Terrace , among those that will appear at the Senate hearings are:
Phil Germuth, Mayor District of Kitimat
Eva Clayton, Nisga'a Nation
Dean Roberts, Chief Councillor Kitsumkalum Band
Lori Ackerman, Mayor City of Fort St. John
Dale Bumstead, Mayor City of Dawson Creek
When the Prince Rupert hearing takes place next Tuesday, you will be able to hear the testimony of those taking part through an audio webcast available here.
On Wednesday, the Senate hearings were held in Ottawa and among those who contributed to the process were a number of representatives o Eagle Spirit Energy, including Chairman and President Calvin Helin who has been championing a pipeline from Alberta to the Grassy Point area near Lax Kw'alaams where an Oil shipment terminal would be constructed for export shipments.
Mr. Helin spoke to the Senate Committee listed as an individual.
The long time proponent for the project opened his fifteen minute presentation to the hearing by making note of his attachment to Lax Kw'alaams through his father a hereditary Chief and brother, who is currently Mayor of the community.
The opening theme of his comments was to highlight the reality of unemployment in First Nations communities and how many of the First Nations governments are growing weary of those who arrive on their territory to tell them what to do, or what is best for them.
He outlined the frustration at understanding why the North Coast has been targeted for an oil tanker moratorium, while areas such as the Salish Sea and St. Lawrence River and Gulf area have no similar restrictions.
Towards the development of the proposed terminal, Mr. Helin returned to a frequent theme that if the Grassy Point option is not allowed, they will just shift their attention to their Hyder proposal and let the Canadian government deal with the American government.
He also called attention to what Eagle Spirit officials and their supporting Chiefs call the lack of true consultation on the Moratorium plans and the creation of the Great Bear Rainforest.
The theme of Western alienation also factored into some of his presentation, noting the frustration that is being felt across the West, where there is a belief that Ottawa doesn't understand that the Western provinces are a natural resources based economy and how his group has been working with the three Western provinces and two territories on a natural resources accord..
"We will be signing an accord between those entities, essentially laying out responsible resource development the way that that we think it should be done. We think that Bill C-48 should be rejected in its entirety,. It's probably, as a lawyer just on the surface of it, in breach of Charter Rights by singling out a single area in Canada, which creates economic harm and it doesn't anywhere else in the nation. We think this can be done in a way that creates huge amounts of employment and economic opportunity, not just for Indigenous people but for all Canadians"
You can review the presentation to the Senate session here, Mr. Helin's testimony starting at the 19:51 PM mark.
Also speaking with Mr. Helin was Kenneth Brown a Spokesperson for the Eagle Spirit Chiefs Council Group, he outlined why they were in opposition to Bill C-48, following up on many of the same themes as were outlined by the Eagle Spirit Chair.
The panel members then followed up with a number of questions related to their testimony and other elements related the proposed pipeline and terminal project.
One theme that made for some interesting back and forth was related to those that are in opposition to the project and how many of them are located far away from the North Coast and Grassy Point and should have no say in what happens in the traditional territory of the Lax Kw'alaams.
Some background on the introduction of the Eagle Spirit plans as well as the course of the tanker moratorium to the Senate Committee can be found from our item of mid December.
Further notes on the Eagle Spirit Energy plans can be found from our archive page.
To follow the progress of Bill C-48 in the Senate see the webpage for the Standing Committee on Transport and Communication here.
The Oil Tanker Moratorium has been a frequent theme of debate for Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen, many of his past contributions to the topic can be explored through our House of Commons archive page here.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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