Opposition Mounts Against Kinder Morgan Pipeline in Canada as Indigenous People Reject Proposal

A First Nation in British Columbia has voted unanimously against a pipeline expansion proposal by Kinder Morgan that would carry at least 300,000 more barrels of bitumen per day from oil-rich Alberta to the BC coast, where it would be available to international markets.

But even without the consent of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN), which has existed in the territory since the last ice age and has never ceded its title, the Canadian government could still approve the proposal.

The First Nation opposes the project on environmental, cultural and legal grounds.

"You can't put a price on the sacred," Rueben George, manager of the TWN Sacred Trust, told VICE News over the phone from BC Wednesday.

"Our name Tsleil-Waututh means 'People of the Inlet' because as our story of creation, we are direct descendants of the water. We're direct descendants of the water we're surrounded with in Vancouver: the Burrard Inlet. We believe, and how I am taught, [is] that the water is sacred."

The project would increase the likelihood of oil spills in the Burrard Inlet, concluded a TWN report informed by six experts. "Because spilled oil cannot be cleaned up completely, the consequences in such circumstances will be dire for sensitive sites, habitat and species," the band council said in its resolution.

A worst-case oil spill could kill as many as 500,000 birds, the report said, and fumes from a spill could make one million people around Burrard Inlet sick. In turn any spills would also negatively affect the nation's economy and cultural activities.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson also reacted to scathing city-commissioned analysis, released this week, on the proposed project.

"Today we heard overwhelming evidence that the Kinder Morgan pipeline proposal and the oil tankers associated with it are incredibly disastrous for Vancouver," he told reporters Wednesday.

The TWN band council argues the Trans Mountain proposal isn't the best use of the land and, "has the potential to deprive past, current and future generations of Tsleil-Waututh peoples of control and benefit of the water, land, air and resources."

The Kinder Morgan proposal contradicts TWN's stewardship policy, which holds that the First Nation has a responsibility to protect the water, air and land. TWN's Treaty, Lands and Resources Department said in its report the proposal would "violate Tsleil-Waututh law because it will undermine our stewardship obligations."

The stewardship policy was enacted in 2009 and is based on traditional Tsleil-Waututh teachings.

If it goes forward, Kinder Morgan's proposed $5.4 billion expansion would allow between 300,000 and 890,000 additional barrels of oil to flow from Alberta to the BC coast each day.

On December 16, 2013, Kinder Morgan filed its Trans Mountain proposal with Canada's energy regulator, the National Energy Board (NEB). The NEB will consider all the evidence it receives for and against the project and will send a recommendation on the project to the federal government in January 2016. If the federal government approves the project, the company says construction could begin in 2016 with the pipeline operational by 2018.

In an emailed statement, Kinder Morgan spokesperson Ali Hounsell said "for more than 60 years petroleum products have been safely shipped through the Burrard Inlet."

But an oil spill in English Bay, which is the same body of water the Burrard Inlet borders, drew massive public outcry in April. Though the spill was relatively small, Vancouver's city manager said the oil spread quickly and was found at a city park as many as 12 kilometers away.

"Since our project was announced Trans Mountain has attempted to have multiple discussions with the [sic] Tseil Waututh First Nation and with the release of this new report," Hounsell also said in a statement. "[W]e once again invite the [sic] Tseil-Waututh First Nation to come to the table."

Related: This Pipeline Project Will Transport More Oil From Alberta's Tar Sands Than Keystone XL

Asked if Kinder Morgan attempted to consult with the nation, and whether any consultation between the company and TWN had happened since they submitted their proposal in December 2013, Hounsell replied, "that's correct. They have accepted our offer to meet."

However, Rueben George, the TWN representative, told VICE News his nation would "never" consult with Kinder Morgan because they were not the proper consulting body. The Crown is the proper consulting body, he said.

VICE News asked Kinder Morgan communications about this discrepancy, and they replied that it was a typo and that TWN had not accepted their offer to meet.

Wednesday was the deadline for intervenors, including the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, to file evidence and concerns with the NEB. Intervenors are any person or group that the NEB agrees is directly affected by, or has relevant information about, a certain proposal.

NEB spokesperson Tara O'Donovan said Wednesday 35 Aboriginal intervenors had submitted oral traditional evidence with the board about the Trans Mountain expansion.

When the National Energy Board finishes its report on the Trans Mountain expansion in January 2016, it will send its recommendation to the federal government, which has the last say on whether the proposal goes forward.

As O'Donovan explained over the phone, the NEB's report is "never cut and dried with a yes or a no"—it's usually a rationale mixed with conditions.

She pointed to the Northern Gateway pipeline as an example of a controversial project the federal government eventually approved. The NEB originally approved the Enbridge proposal, but they also attached 209 conditions.

"Our number one priority is the safety of the public and the protection of the environment," O'Donovan said. "So we will conduct a thorough and fair environmental assessment, and we will do everything we can to achieve that goal of safety of the public and protection of the environment."

The Tsleil-Waututh Nation, meanwhile, says it has been waiting for two years for the federal government to consult with it on Trans Mountain, to no avail.

And although the nation has jurisdiction over the land and their laws are part of the Canadian common law system, their lawyer Scott Smith told VICE News they don't have final say on whether the pipeline expansion happens.

It's an issue that could end up in the courts. In the landmark Tsilhqot'in First Nation land claim case last June, the Supreme Court of Canada said if the Crown proceeds without consent, and title is established, then the Crown may have to cancel the project.

Rueben George says his nation is willing to mount a legal challenge if Trans Mountain is ultimately approved.

"By any means necessary, we're going to stop [the pipeline]," he said.

Follow Hilary Beaumont on Twitter: @hilarybeaumont