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Nadleh Whut’en First Nation Chief Martin Louie leads about 300 anti-pipeline protestors from the courthouse to the Civic Centre Monday afternoon.
Protest outside pipeline hearings Delynda pilon
newsroom@pgfreepress.com
The joint review panel for the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline project brought nearly 100 people to the Civic Centre Monday afternoon, with a few points earning applause which was quickly quashed with an admonition that each presenter
had a specific amount of time to speak. One presenter talked passionately about his First Nations home, which lies directly along the pipeline route, and what it would do to the culture of the place if industrialization came to town. His people are hunters and gatherers, he said, who have
been in that area thousands of years. Industrialization is not the answer for them. Instead of running to a sports game or corner store after school, the children go hunting and fishing. He added First Nations settlements where industrialization has taken place have suffered, many with statistically higher rates of suicide and alcoholism.
“We can’t just simply pick up and move,” he said. “Is our culture as a First Nations people worth the sacrifice? We are not willing to change who we are. Why should we change our values, our morals that have been passed on down for generations.” Another presenter spoke about the unanswered questions he
feels are hanging in the air even though he’s visited several presentations by Enbridge. He asked what the potential for oil spills are between pumping stations and pumping values. He asked how oil spills are currently contained and wondered aloud why so many are reported turn to PAGE A3