A couple of northwest First Nations’ chiefs have signed on to the proposed Eagle Spirit pipeline but the MP for Skeena Bulkley Valley is skeptical about the announcement.
Nathan Cullen says while a couple of Gitxsan leaders have backed the approximately 15 billion dollar project, he doesn’t think everyone is on board.
“As a nation it doesn’t seem like they’ve had that broader conversation yet about not just this project but the idea of oil and bitumen pipelines crossing the territory,” he says. “I suspect that will be next, because I think there will be some chiefs that are very much opposed.”
Cullen adds this project is still in the very early stages and they haven’t applied for federal approval yet.
Eagle Spirit Energy, an aboriginal owned company, plans to build a pipeline from the Alberta oilsands to the coast to carry light crude oil.