 A profit-sharing pact between Enbridge and a B.C. First Nation broke down, the company said. (QMI AGENCY FILE)
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CALGARY – In a blow to Enbridge's Nothern Gateway pipeline, a profit-sharing pact with a B.C. First Nation along its proposed route has been rescinded.
The Calgary-based company confirmed an agreement reached with the Gitxsan Nation was quashed at a Tuesday meeting of its leaders.
It reportedly fell in a 28-8 vote after opponents argued the money would be thinly-spread among the nation's membership while the pipeline would bring environmental risks.
Spokesman Paul Stanway said Enbridge wants a better understanding of the rejection of a deal that would reportedly have paid the Gixtsan $7 million over 30 years.
"While we are disappointed at this shift in stance . . . with the nation and in relation to 2011 meetings with hereditary representatives, we respect this decision," he said.
"We look forward to receiving a written communication from the Gitxsan Hereditary chiefs, so that we have greater clarity in relation to their current perspectives."
Stanway said the company still has "fully executed and endorsed equity participation agreements" with 20 First Nations groups along the pipeline's proposed route.
"We will continue to work and engage with corridor First Nations groups," he said.
After the agreement became public last month, other Gitxsan blockaded the nation's treaty office as part of a community backlash against Chief Elmer Derrick, who had backed the deal.
A Gitxsan Nation spokesmen couldn't be reached for comment.
But Emma Gilchrist of the environmental group Dogwood Initiative said the news adds to pipeline opponents' momentum since hearings on it began Jan. 10.
"It just keeps coming,” she said. “We've seen an unprecedented surge of support.”
Virtually all the First Nations that have endorsed the pipeline are in Alberta, she said, while those in B.C. have maintained solidarity against it.
"Over 70 First Nations who are declared bands are holding strong and are continuing to hold strong," said Gilchrist.
Chief Derrick had argued the 1,177-km pipeline to carry oilsands bitumen to the west coast would mean both jobs and cash for the Gitxsan.
The public consultation process on the project could take 18 months to complete.
bill.kaufmann@sunmedia.ca
On Twitter: @SUNbillkaufmann
