TMX pipeline route at Pipsell. The section in red represents the deviation approved by the Canada Energy Regulator Monday (Sept. 25) (Image Credit: Canada Energy Regulator)

By James Peters

Trans Mountain Expansion

‘Deeply disappointed’; Local First Nations blast federal regulator for expedited TMX approval

Sep 29, 2023 | 5:46 PM

TK’EMLUPS — On the eve of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a local Indigenous community is blasting the federal government for a decision to expedite pipeline construction on a heritage site.

Stk’emlúpsemc te Secwépemc (SSN) says it “is deeply disappointed and strongly disagrees” with a decision made by the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) on Monday (Sept. 25) to allow Trans Mountain (TMX) to open trench at Pipsell (Jacko Lake) south of Kamloops.

SSN designated Pipsell a heritage site in 2017 ahead of the provincial and federal governments rejecting the proposed KGHM-Ajax mine at the site.

Ahead of construction of the TMX pipeline expansion, SSN reached a Mutual Benefits Agreement with the company that recognized the community’s jurisdiction to protect its heritage.

Earlier this year, TMX applied to the CER to alter its route and construction method at Pipsell after encountering problems with micro-tunneling in the area. Instead, TMX asked permission to excavate with a combination of horizontal directional drilling and open trenching for a 1.3-kilometre stretch. CER granted the request Monday.

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The Commission says it will release its reasons for approving the TMX proposal in the coming weeks.

In a news release issued late Friday afternoon (Sept. 29), SSN says the newly-approved construction methods will “directly, unjustifiably and irreparably harm our rights and obligations in and to these lands.”

It says TMX plans to begin construction on Monday (Oct. 2), a day when many Canadians will have a statutory holiday to observe National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

“This approval by the CER directly undermines Secwépemc law and represents a failure to recognize the transformative change in the relationship between the Crown and Indigenous peoples that was represented through the federal government’s passing of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act affirming UNDRIP into Canadian law,” states the release.

“As Canada prepares to honour the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th, we call on Prime Minister Trudeau and all federal ministers to reflect on this truth — that despite the promises made to Indigenous peoples by this government and others, the corporate interests of a Crown corporation overseen by a federal regulator continue to take precedence over the spiritual and cultural integrity of this cultural keystone place, our inherent rights, and our unceded title.”

READ the full news release: