Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs are going to court today in Vancouver asking the B.C. Supreme Court to overturn a decision by the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) not to consult the Gitanyow on the proposed Ksi Lisims liquefied natural gas project, or permit the Gitanyow to be meaningfully involved in the environmental assessment for the project.

Three proponents are proposing to build a large liquified natural gas terminal at the mouth of the Nass River—directly on the route salmon travel to and from Gitanyow traditional territory.

In conducting the required environmental assessment for the proposed LNG project, the EAO concluded there is no reasonable possibility the Gitanyow or their constitutionally protected rights will be affected by the project and therefore there was no obligation to consult the Gitanyow or allow them to participate in the consent-seeking provisions of the 2018 Environmental Assessment Act. The Gitanyow will argue this is not the case.

The Gitanyow are challenging the lack of meaningful engagement about the impact of the proposed project on the salmon, and particularly threatened Chinook salmon stock, upon which they rely to sustain their culture and way of life. That includes the ability to engage Gitanyow’s own water, land, and sustainability assessment processes in a collaborative and nation-to-nation dialogue with B.C., as required by legislation.

The Gitanyow will lead expert evidence highlighting the absence of (a) genetic testing of juvenile salmon at the project site and surrounding area; (b) a detailed assessment of juvenile salmon utilization of Bull Kelp habitat at the project site; and (c) a completed habitat destruction and alteration offset plan that includes evidence of efficacy of offset methods.

The Gitanyow are asking that the environmental assessment be suspended until the EAO has fully consulted the Gitanyow and involved them in the process.

Quotes:

“We’re in court to fight for our way of life. This proposed LNG project would be located next to the mouth of the Nass River and that’s where salmon enter and leave our territory.If it’s built, we’ll be facing salmon habitat destruction and concerns that its impact will push at-risk Chinook salmon, which has been declining for more than a decade, over the edge. Juvenile Chinook salmon that we depend on for our fisheries have been found at the proposed project site.”

Simogyet Malii/Glen Williams

“We agree with our fisheries expert who found that the environmental assessment office’s conclusion that the project would have no effect on our salmon to be ‘premature and scientifically indefensible’.This is a fight for life — for the salmon that have sustained our economy, culture and way of life since time immemorial and for our people.”

Naxginkw/Tara Marsden, Wilp Sustainability Director

Background:

Gitanyow territory, known as the Gitanyow Lax’yip, is located in Northwestern British Columbia and includes a small portion of the Skeena watershed in the Upper Kitwanga and Kispiox watersheds.

The Nass River, which crosses Gitanyow territory before entering into Nisga’a territory and emptying into the Portland Canal, is the “integral lifeblood of the Gitanyow Lax’yip”, providing key spawning habitat for salmon, including important tributaries such as the Meziadin River.

Rockies LNG Limited Partnership, Western LNG LLC, and the Nisga’a Lisims Government, the project proponents, are proposing to build a floating natural gas liquefaction facility and marine terminal, including related infrastructure, at Wil Milit on the northern end of Pearse Island.

The Gitanyow have been operating in accordance with the Gitanyow Lax’yip Land Use Plan for over a decade. The plan, agreed to by the province, aims to protect Gitanyow Ha’Nii Tokxw (food security, or “food table”) by protecting the Lax’yip ecosystem.

In 2021, the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs adopted the Wilp Sustainability Assessment Process, or WSAP. Under the Gitanyow WSAP,  a person proposing a project that may impact Gitanyow Lax’yip or Gitanyow Huwilp must notify the GHC Office about the details of the project. The Gitanyow have never received any notification for this proposed LNG project.

The Gitga’at First Nation also registered concerns with the EAO on the LNG project and registered a letter to initiate dispute resolution. Concerns focus on the impacts of shipping on its Aboriginal and inherent rights and traditional use activities in the area. https://projects.eao.gov.bc.ca/p/60edc23bc69c5e0023a12539/project-details

For more information and media requests:

Xbiisuunt/Chasity Daniels
Communications Coordinator
[email protected]

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The Simigigyet’m Gitanyow (Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs) are an innovative, traditional Indigenous government mandated to protect Gitanyow Nation’s lands, resources, and laws. The Gitanyow have never ceded or surrendered title to their lands, rights to their resources, or the power to make decisions within their Lax’yip (Territory). The Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs’ goal is to establish government-to-government agreements that form the foundation of a modern-day treaty through an incremental treaty approach. In 2012, the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs and the province of British Columbia signed the

Gitanyow Lax’yip Land Use Plan to guide all industrial activity. Gitanyow Nation is part of the larger Gitksan Nation, encompassing 6,200 square kilometres in the Nass and Skeena Watersheds (Kitwanga and Kispiox Rivers).

Learn more by visiting gitanyowchiefs.com and following @gitanyowchiefs on Instagram.

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Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs File Legal Action On Ksi Lisims LNG Project