Leaked document reveals Chevrons oily intentions for the Pacific Trials Pipeline Unistoten Camp uncovers proposed deal between Moricetown Band and PTP by Brett Rhyno DiggThis Also posted by Brett Rhyno: “My generation has stood up and said, No more” • Idle No More: Where the Mainstream Media Went Wrong • • First Nations paddle to protect Salish Sea from pipeline plan A document leaked to the Unistoten, which this reporter has seen, provides direct evidence that Moricetown Band Council has been negotiating to become part of the First Nations Limited Partnership (FNLP). FNLP is the body created by Pacific Trails Pipeline (PTP) to garner indigenous support by providing shares in the pipeline project and financial benefits. The document in the form of a letter dated July 28, 2014 is addressed to the chief of the Moricetown Band Council and signed by a Pacific Trail Pipeline vice president with Apache and Chevron letterhead. It claims to outline Apache and Chevrons understanding of the terms discussed. These include • financial payments totalling 20.4 million dollars over 35 years • numerous contract opportunities for Moricetown based companies, including the contract for clearing and creating road access for the eastern 380 kilometres of PTP • training opportunities and incentives • a security bridge to be established by a Moricetown based-company on the Morice River West bridge (current site of the Unistoten Camp) • a “no oil covenant” which would prohibit PTP from selling the pipeline to an oil company for five years Regardless of the content of the proposed agreement, even if it were to be finalized, it is illegal by Wetsuweten law, according to Freda Huson, Unistoten Clan member and spokesperson for Unistoten Camp. “No Band Councils or Tribal Councils have jurisdiction over Unistoten territory. The only people that can make a decision on Unistoten territory are Unistoten people. We have jurisdiction, have proved it in the Dalgamukh, and weve never given over that juridiction to the province, the federal government, band councils or tribal councils.” Furthermore, Huson suspects that many of the people in attendance at the meetings didnt actually consent to any of the terms being put forward by PTP. “Ive actually phoned people who were in attendance at that meeting because they were falsely trying to say that Knedebeas was in agreement because they were talking about our territory. Hes our head chief and when I spoke to him he didnt say he had agreed to anything in those meetings. I spoke to another one of the chiefs that were invited to the meeting and he said that he was attending the meetings to ask legitimate questions. He wasnt agreeing or saying no to either parties side. So theres some shady stuff happening because Im getting conflicting messages from the various people that were in attendance at these meetings.” The document has also served as a source of some startling revelations, including the possibility of converting the pipeline to carry oil. “One of the major clauses that caught our attention in that agreement is that it is explicit that the company can sell their pipeline assets to a bitumen company after five years,” says Toghestiy, a Wetsuweten hereditary chief from the Laksamisu clan. “That immediately tells me that there is a larger game going on here, that there is something much like a trojan horse with the LNG projects to get the bitumen pipelines through.” Toghestiy has long been critical of the way NGO and mainstream environmental campaigns have been fixated on specific projects in isolation, such as Enbridge Northern Gateway. “Weve been quite insistent that were not stopping one pipeline, were stopping all of them. Because theyre one big machine. Its obvious now with the disclosure of this agreement that oil and gas are basically the same. The Pacific Trails Pipeline was planning on selling their assets to a bitumen company that was interested in transporting bitumen after five years. And if Enbridge decides to admit defeat, who are they going to go to buy the pipeline from, and whos gonna sell it? Its really obvious now.” In terms of the ability of the Moricetown Band to establish a security gate on their territory or being able to allow PTP access to the territory, Freda Huson is adament that is not going to happen. “They wont be crossing our territory. Weve already said no. No means no. Theres no negotiating. Were not holding out for them to give us some money. We dont want their blood money because were protecting our waters, our wildlife, our land for generations ahead.”
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 22:48:05 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015