UBCIC Calls for Halt on Proposed West Coast Oil Pipeline

The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) has called for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to immediately halt plans for a new oil pipeline to the West Coast.

Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) is backing the UBCIC's call, stating 'if the B.C. chiefs say no, I respect what the B.C. chiefs want.'

The proposed pipeline would be a one-million barrel a day tar sands pipeline, following a similar route to the existing Trans Mountain pipeline.

UBCIC Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, Gitxaala Nation Chief Councillor Linda Innes, and Heiltsuk Tribal Council Chief Councillor Marilyn Slett signed an open letter to Carney and Smith, arguing that the project threatens both the inherent rights of First Nations and accelerates the expansion of the fossil fuel industry.

They also claimed that Canada's adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2021 is being violated by not obtaining free, prior, and informed consent from affected communities.