The Gitxaala Nation (Kitkatla) says there are too many unanswered questions about Enbridge’s Northern Gateway project.
And until it gets those answers, it wants the Joint Review Panel to put its process on hold.
The information which the Gitxaala says it needs relates to the risks posed by the project, including an oil spill that it says would impact Gitxaala lands, waters and Aboriginal rights.
It maintains that, to date, Northern Gateway has failed to look at the effects the tanker traffic would have on “the resources, culture, well-being and health of the Gitxaala people, something Northern Gateway is required to do as part of the public review process.”
Chief Elmer Moody said this information is an essential part of the public review process: “It is needed so that everyone can fully understand the potential risks associated with the project, and the steps Northern Gateway is planning to take to address these risks. This is particularly important in relation to the risk of an oil spill, which, given where we live, would be devastating for us. Without this information, we can’t know how our communities would be affected by an oil spill.
“They’re rolling the dice with the future of our communities and we need to know they’ve considered everything they’re legally required to consider.”
Therefore the Gitxaala asked the panel to put Northern Gateway’s application on hold until the missing information is provided and Northern Gateway complies with the requirements of the public review process.