A delegation of First Nations leaders from British Columbia have come to Calgary to relay a message to\u00a0pipeline\u00a0executives face-to-face \u2014 steer clear of investing in a new bitumen\u00a0pipeline\u00a0to the northwest coast or risk a prolonged legal fight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Haida Nation President Jason Aslop, who also goes by Gaagwiis, said he and fellow community leaders are obliged to look after the ocean and the food security it provides. Crude tankers sailing northern B.C. waters would risk that, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are prepared to use all the tools available to us to uphold that responsibility,\u201d he said in an interview Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that makes investment in a\u00a0pipeline\u00a0to the north coast a significant risk \u2014 legal risk, financial risk.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chief councillor Arnold Clifton of the Gitg\u2019aat First Nation recalled the \u201cDavid and Goliath\u201d fight northern B.C. communities won against Enbridge Inc., whose Northern Gateway proposal to Kitimat, B.C., was scrapped a decade ago amid fierce Indigenous opposition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s going be a lot stronger now if anything would come up because we\u2019ll have everyone involved to fight,\u201d he told The Canadian Press.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The delegation had a meeting in a downtown Calgary hotel on Wednesday with senior leadership from Pembina\u00a0Pipeline\u00a0Corp. and Trans Mountain Corp.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pembina\u00a0Pipeline\u00a0is mainly focused on shipping natural gas in western Canada and has partnered with the Haisla Nation on the Cedar LNG liquefied natural gas project currently under construction in Kitimat. Pembina has not expressed interest in pursuing a new bitumen\u00a0pipeline.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Trans Mountain, a Crown corporation, operates a\u00a0pipeline\u00a0connecting Alberta crude to the Vancouver area. It is one of the companies advising the Alberta government on its early planning work on a new oil\u00a0pipeline, but has been focused on expanding its existing infrastructure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The province aims to submit a proposal to the new major projects office this summer for a new B.C.\u00a0pipeline, looking to de-risk the project enough for a private-sector firm to take it over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The First Nations delegation extended invitations to Enbridge as well as crude shipper South Bow Corp. and natural gas\u00a0pipeline\u00a0operator TC Energy, Aslop said. The group was unable to schedule meetings with those companies, but they delivered letter advising them of the risks of backing a B.C. oil\u00a0pipeline.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Alberta and federal governments announced a sweeping energy accord late last year that lays out a path forward for a new B.C.\u00a0pipeline, to be built in tandem with massive carbon capture and storage project in Alberta. The\u00a0pipeline\u00a0would require the lifting or changes to legislation that would bar a new oil tanker port on a stretch of the northern B.C. coast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Alberta government has expressed a preference for Prince Rupert, B.C., as the pipeline\u2019s end point, given its deepwater port and shorter shipping distance to Asia. The Globe and Mail reported earlier this week that it\u2019s considering a southern route to Vancouver that could face fewer environmental hurdles and less opposition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think its better for us,\u201d Clifton said of a plan that would avoid northern waters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hereditary Chief Darin Swanson of the Haida Nation, who also goes by Ginaawaan, said no amount of money would convince him to support a bitumen\u00a0pipeline\u00a0and tanker port.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur beaches are pristine. You could walk down the beach, you could pick up crab off the beach to eat. You can dig for clams. There\u2019s halibut grounds right there, that rear their young,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo any risk is not worth it. It doesn\u2019t matter how much money or how many jobs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n