TransCanada pipeline contractors 'evicted' again in BC's north
"Your equipment will be confiscated if you try to return," said a masked protester to contractors doing prep work for pipelines to proposed LNG terminals.
Camp members believed the workers had come to work on Coastal Gaslink, a 650-km natural gas pipeline that TransCanada plans to build for the $12-billion "LNG Canada" terminal in Kitimat, proposed by Shell, PetroChina, Korea Gas and Mitsubishi.
In response to the eviction, TransCanada says:
"Consultants working for the Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project were conducting non-intrusive environmental field studies, which we believed we had permission to do."
"This environmental survey work allows us to properly understand the wildlife, cultural, traditional and habitat of the areas along the pipeline route so that we can develop plans in a thoughtful and respectful manner," wrote a media spokesperson in Calgary.
"We have been working with all of the hereditary and band leadership along the proposed pipeline route, and we have been consulting with the Dark House and We’suwet’en leadership regarding our activities," the company added.
Aboriginal contractor offended
Confrontations increasing
“We would never conduct any work without the proper regulatory authorizations,” wrote spokesperson Davis Sheremata from Calgary.
Story updated with latest TransCanada response on Friday.