Trans Mountain pipeline project facing new legal challenges from First Nations
Opposition is mounting against the proposed expansion of the
Trans Mountain pipeline as three First Nations launch fresh legal challenges aimed at stymying a project they say was approved without proper consultation.
Representatives from the coastal Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish nations, as well as the Coldwater Indian Band near Merritt in B.C.’s Interior, told reporters Tuesday that the federal government failed to meaningfully include them in the planning and review process before approving Kinder Morgan Canada’s $6.8-billion project.
http://globalnews.ca/news/3187421/first-nations-take-crown-to-court-over-pipeline/
The pipeline crosses 518km of Secwepemc territory over which the First Nations assert Aboriginal title, a type of land rights that the supreme court of Canada has
recognized were never ceded or relinquished through treaties.
The Secwepemc could not oppose the original Trans Mountain pipeline being built through their territory in 1951, because it was illegal at the time for
Indigenous peoples to politically organize or hire lawyers to advocate on their behalf.
“[Kinder Morgan] either does not understand the diverse realities of Indigenous rights in
Canada or they are wilfully ignoring the consequences of those rights for the project,” the report says. “Either way, it should be a major red flag for investors, lenders, and other financial backers.”
http://www.theguardian.com/environm...bstacle-to-kinder-morgan-pipeline-report-says