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WSANEC First Nations oppose Malahat LNG project

Published by , Senior Editor
LNG Industry,


The WSANEC First Nations have publicly announced their opposition to Steelhead LNG’s proposed Malahat LNG project.

The Chiefs of the WSANEC First Nations located on the Saanich Peninsula (Pauquachin, Tsartlip, Tsawout, Tseycum) released the following statement: “Our Nations are the successor Nations and beneficiaries of the rights recognised and confirmed by the Treaty of 1852 with the Crown. The Treaty provides unqualified protection and recognition of our right to carry on our fisheries as formerly. This is confirmed by every level of court in [British Columbia] over many decades. Any permit or authorisation that has been provided to date to the proponent is invalid.”

The WSANEC First Nations claim that Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) granted the export license to the LNG project in 2015 without notifying them or seeking their consent. The statement continued: “We stand together to also put the government of British Columbia on notice that they do not have jurisdiction to interfere with the continuity of our treaty rights and will incur liability and put any LNG project at significant risk of cancellation should they choose to provide permits and authorisations to the proponents without our consent.”

Tanya Jimmy, Chief of Tseycum First Nation, said: “Today we work together in spirit for the right reasons for our future, this land is not for sale, there is no relationship of neighbours, seeking consent after the fact doesn't work […] We answer for Mother Earth as the warriors of the land.”


Edited from press release by

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/liquefaction/07032016/wsanec-first-nations-oppose-malahat-lng-project-2085/

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