The head of the group representing the first nations along the coast of British Colombia says that they will not support the new pipeline proposed by Alberta, and nothing can be done to change this.
Marilyn Salet, chief adviser to the Hayiltsuk tribal council and president of the initiative of the coastal first nations, says that the first nations fought for decades to get a federal moratorium, which holds oil tankers in their waters.
She says that “no support” from the coastal first nations for the pipeline and oil tankers.
Prime Minister Alberta Daniel Smith says that her government will transfer the pipeline to the federal government, but admitted that the laws, including the ban on the tanker, should be canceled or created a cutout.
Smith says that Albert's officials have already begun to turn to the indigenous countries in Albert and British Colombia for early talk about the project, which, according to her, will unlock Canada’s “economic potential” with partners in indigenous peoples.
Said says that she recently spoke with the Minister of the indigenous peoples of Alberta Rajan Saukhni to repeat the opposition of the first nations by the pipeline.
“I told her … that there is no support from my community, from Coastal First National Communities that our position has not changed and that this is a project that we cannot support and will not support,” said the Settte on Wednesday.
She said that any potential supporter of the pipeline, including the Alberta government, should be “notifying” that the first nations are not ready to take raw oil through their waters.
“This is not a starter for us. We said this before, and our position has not changed and has not changed for any other reason, ”she said.
“We will use every tool in our tool box, at our disposal to make sure that our coast remains free from tankers.”
The Medvet Medvetwater Initiative in coastal nations includes the first nine nations on the coast of the northern part of the Pacific Ocean
This report of the Canadian press was first published on October 1, 2025
