Hereditary chiefs said staff and contractors were expected to leave the territory immediately
A hereditary chief with the Wet’suwet’en Nation said a work site for the Coastal GasLink pipeline near Houston, B.C., has been vacated following the issuing of an eviction notice.
“We’ve tried the avenues available,” said Na’Moks, who also goes by John Ridsdale.
On Dec. 31, a B.C. Supreme Court judge granted Coastal GasLink an injunction against protestors who had blocked access to the project inside their territory.
In a letter issued to Coastal GasLink representatives, hereditary chiefs with the First Nation wrote all staff and contractors must leave the territory immediately.
“Coastal GasLink is in violation of Wet’suwet’en law, and it is our responsibility now to uphold Wet’suwet’en law to maintain the integrity of our territories for future generations,” the letter reads.
Upon receiving the eviction notice, Na’Moks said employees of Coastal GasLink initially reacted with “arrogance and entitlement.”
“But it was explained to them that we are peacefully there,” he said. “We witnessed them leaving, because we were staying there until they did. Then they left, and it was peaceful.
“We sang our songs and drummed and wished them well. These are employees, but we needed to let the decision-makers know that we do not agree with them — we follow our law.”
The company has said it signed agreements with all 20 elected First Nations councils along the path, but five hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suweten First Nation say the project has no authority without their consent.
The specifics of these individual agreements have been kept out of public.
Company requesting to meet with chiefs
In a statement, Coastal GasLink said staff discovered felled trees near the work site on Sunday, making the road impassable.
The company said it was disappointed about recent developments after a year of “successful joint implementation of the access agreement.”
“Our preference has always been to find mutually agreeable solutions through productive and meaningful dialogue,” the statement reads. “We have reached out to better understand their reasons and are hopeful we can find a mutually agreeable path forward.
“To that end, we are requesting to meet with Unist’ot’en and the Hereditary chiefs as soon as possible.”
A spokesperson said despite the notice, construction is planned to resume later this week.
The employees who left the site on Saturday were security staff, the company spokesperson said.
The site has remained vacant since the notice was served, and Na’Moks said he is unsure whether or not the eviction notice will be respected.
We needed to let the decision-makers know that we do not agree with them — we follow our law.- Na’Moks, Wet’suwet’en hereditary chief
“We do expect [RCMP and Coastal GasLink] to meet and discuss things. They’re working hand-in-hand,” he said. “We’re open to meeting with them.”
CBC News requested comment from British Columbia RCMP but did not receive a response Sunday.
Construction on the $6.6-billion Coastal GasLink project started in January 2019.
The pipeline is owned by Calgary-based TC Energy, which agreed to sell a 65 per cent stake in the project to private investment firm KKR and the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) last month. The sale is expected to close later this year.
