Haisla First Nation Chief Councillor says Enbridge trying to buy Kitimat vote

This late in the day, a poll of its residents has no binding effect on the project. Next week, the District of Kitimat will seek the views of its residents on Enbridge’s Northern Gateway Pipeline Project. But to what end? If anything, it will lead to further uncertainty.

Deciding to hold a referendum at this late date is a slap in the face to all the work done by the Haisla Nation on this project. The Haisla Nation dedicated time and money toward testing Northern Gateway’s evidence and claims about safety and environmental protection, while the District stood by and did nothing.

'The Magic Canoe'

The World Indigenous Network Conference held in Darwin, Australia at the end of May brought together 1,400 indigenous leaders to explore common purpose in the face of juggernaut industrial developments around the globe.

Among them were a number of Canadians, three of whom -- perhaps unknown to many in their own country -- offered one of the most most moving and important lessons of the entire gathering.

Northern Gateway Pipeline: Haisla First Nation Members Warn Against Alberta To Pacific Project

KITIMAAT VILLAGE, British Columbia, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Aboriginal chiefs opposed to a C$5.5 billion ($5.4 billion) oil sands pipeline backed Canada's government vowed on Tuesday to stop the project, warning that it could devastate fishing and traditional life on the rugged Pacific Coast.

As hearings into Enbridge Inc's proposed Northern Gateway pipeline opened with drumming and native singing, seven leaders of the Haisla First Nation told the regulatory panel their greatest fear was the potential impact of oil spills on their community of 1,500.

At stake, they said, are the salmon, halibut and crab fishing and fur trapping that have sustained the Haisla for generations.

"It worries me to think that all of these will be lost and destroyed when there is a spill - mark my words - when there is a spill. Experience shows it will happen," Hereditary Chief Sam Robinson, 78, told the panel hearing Enbridge's application.

The oil industry and Ottawa are pushing hard for the project, especially after Washington delayed the $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline to Texas, as they seek new markets for the Alberta oil sands, the world's third-largest oil deposit.

‘We want to have a voice,’ Haisla chief pleads at Gateway hearings

The public relations battle surrounding the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline kicked up once again Tuesday, but the people at centre stage at the start of environmental hearings delivered a more quiet plea and warning.

“I know all the history, laws, ins and outs of the native culture,” said Rod Bolton, a hereditary Haisla chief who spoke at the opening of the hearings in Kitimat, B.C.

“Please, hear me. We will not be walked over again like was done in the reserve system. We want to have a voice.”

Days before the hearings began, environmentalists issued polls suggesting Canadians are opposed to tanker traffic along B.C. coastlines while an open letter from the federal Natural Resources Minister referred to some of them as “radicals” backed by big U.S. money and naive celebrities.

But the strong words from both sides were a stark contrast from the gentle opening delivered by hereditary Chief Sammy Robinson after Haisla dancers and drummers paraded into the aboriginal community’s meeting hall.

“Walk softly on our road,” he said. “We are very happy to have you in our territory. Good luck.”

The long, fjord-like channel that leads into Kitimat is the proposed site for the oil tanker port because of its deep, protected waters.