Enbridge Northern Gateway Protest Rallies Held Across B.C.

Organizers of rallies in B.C. are expecting hundreds of people to turn up against the Enbridge Northern Gateway project, which received federal approval Tuesday afternoon.

The “No Enbridge” rally in downtown Vancouver brings together First Nations and other communities who are opposed to the pipeline, which is proposed to link Alberta’s oilsands to a northern port on B.C.’s coast. The protest starts at 6 p.m. across from the main Vancouver Public Library.

“Whether the decision is to approve the pipeline or to delay the decision, people will be sending Prime Minister Stephen Harper the message that B.C. still says “No” to the Enbridge pipeline — the battle has just begun and it will be taken to the streets, the blockades, and the courts,” said a news release.

At least two other rallies were planned in Kitimat, the city where the 1,200-kilometre pipeline would end. B.C. Premier Christy Clark was in the region Tuesday to announce a land deal with the Haisla First Nation.

Douglas Channel Watch rallied at the “Downtown Kitimat” sign on Tuesday morning, and plan to hold another gathering in the afternoon after Ottwa’s announcement, reported Northwest Coastal Energy News.

Enbridge’s $7.9-billion project was approved by the National Energy Board and Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency last year with 209 conditions.

B.C. Premier Christy Clark has said the project still has not met the five conditions the province has set out for approval. Those conditions include strict environmental protections, adequate consultations with First Nations, and that B.C. receives a “fair share” of the benefits.

While approval is a federal decision, Clark has said the project will still need about 60 permits from the province for construction to proceed.

A coalition of groups announced Monday that they will help organize a provincial citizens’ initiative — similar to the campaign that forced the province to revoke the unpopular harmonized sales tax — should the province issue those permits. If successful, the petition would force the B.C. government to respond either with a vote in the legislature or by holding a non-binding province-wide plebiscite.

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip called on people to gather outside the CBC building on Hamilton Street in downtown

Vancouver at 5:30 p.m. on the day of the announcement. He said on Monday that an approval of the project would “poison” relations between federal government and BC’s First Nations, the majority of whom have opposed the project.

“We fully expected the Harper government to make every effort to ram this project through,” Phillip told CTV on Sunday.

“But…there’s enormous solidarity here in British Columbia between First Nations people, British Columbians, Canadians, and we’ll do what’s necessary and whatever it takes to stop this project.”

With files from The Canadian Press and vancouverobserver