From the Calgary Herald – May 10, 2011

by Dina O’Meara

CALGARY — Representatives of B.C. First Nations
and union groups gathered in Calgary to protest a proposed bitumen
pipeline from Alberta to the coast of B.C., setting the stage for a
colourful Enbridge annual meeting.

The
Calgary-based pipeline and energy company is promoting the $5.5-billion
pipeline, with associated marine terminal, as a nation-building project
which will open needed new routs to Asia.

Opponents
say the massive 1,172 kilometre line threatens pristine lands and key
waterways along its proposed route across the Rocky Mountains, as well
as the challenging waters of the northern B.C. coast.

A
group will be marching through downtown Calgary Wednesday morning to
Enbridge headquarters to voice their concerns ahead of Wednesday’s
annual meeting.

“I’m very concerned about the
risks that the Enbridge pipeline and the tankers off the north coast
post to the industry and our communities as a whole,” said Arnie Nagy,
president of Prince Rupert’s Local 31 United Fishermen and Allied
Workers Union.

Nagy’s family has been fishing
the region for generations. The coastal waters are known to be
treacherous, and any tankage break would decimate marine populations as
well as put thousands of people out of work, he said.

Nagy,
also a member of the Haida First Nation, was in Calgary along with the
Yinka Dene Alliance, a group of five First Nations with territories
spanning the proposed route, to raise awareness about their concerns
over possible oil spills on the proposed pipeline.

In
December the Alliance publicly rejected Enbridge’s offer of an equity
stake in the project, and banned the pipeline from its traditional
territories.

Members of the alliance met with Enbridge executives and board members Tuesday to discuss their views.

Concerns
were heightened last year after an Enbridge oil pipeline ruptured in
Michigan, spilling 19,000 barrels of sour oil into waterways leading to
the Kalamazoo River. Weeks later, another Enbridge line ruptured in the
Midwest, further bruising the company’s reputation.

And
on Tuesday Enbridge confirmed a segment of its Norman Wells pipeline
system in the Northwest Territories, sprang a small leak, releasing
about 407 litres of oil in the remote area.

While
the Yinka Dene group declined commenting on Tuesday’s meeting with
Enbridge until the following day, an company spokesman characterized it
as a dialogue.

“This is part of an ongoing
process,” Paul Stanway said. “We’ve been talking to Aboriginal
communities and Aboriginal representatives now for a number of years
about Northern Gateway and this is a continuation of that process.”

Chief
executive Pat Daniel, John Carruthers, president of Northern Gateway,
and the 13-member Enbridge board met with alliance members, he said.

The
meeting was an opportunity for executives and board members to hear
concerns from communities along the proposed pipeline route, and tell
Enbridge’s side of the story, Stanway said.

Read original article