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A small BC first nation is making a personal plea to a series of Alberta energy companies as well as China and other governments in hopes of derailing an Enbridge Inc. pipeline that would export oil-sands crude to Asia.
The campaign is a preview of a storm brewing between first nations and the backers of the Northern Gateway pipeline project. The 1,170-kilometre project would bring crude from Alberta to the northern B.C. coast, where it would be loaded onto very large crude carriers for transport to Asian refiners.
The project offers oil-sands producers an appealing alternative market to the United States, where climate change legislation has brought some uncertainty. It has, as a result, gained support from a broad swath of industry and government leaders.
But on some of the pristine, salmon-rich lands Gateway would cross - safely, Enbridge says - first nations are voicing growing concerns that the line will damage the environment and leave little in return.
One of those nations, the Wet'suwet'en, took to Calgary yesterday in hopes of persuading energy companies to boycott the project. About 140 km of Gateway would be built on Wet'suwet'en traditional territory, and the group believes the environmental approval process for the pipeline will infringe on their constitutional rights, since it does not include a mandate to look into aboriginal rights and title.
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