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The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs is calling on Ottawa and Alberta’s government to halt efforts to advance the West Coast pipeline, saying expanding the oil industry will accelerate climate change and disasters.
The group said on Sunday, the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, it also wants to reaffirm that it is against the pipeline because government has not consulted and co-operated in good faith with the First Nations.
It says government has already developed the project’s corridor, named prospective development partners and is publicly promoting its economic case.
It says consultation is not meaningful when First Nations are invited only to discuss how a predetermined project will proceed.
Ottawa took a step last week toward giving the proposed project a national interest designation under the Building Canada Act, which would allow government to fast-track the pipeline and skirt some environmental laws.
The government said it is accepting public feedback until mid-September on the designation.
