By The Canadian Press

Elected Wet’suwet’en council members defend Coastal GasLink agreement

Jan 20, 2019 | 11:03 AM

SMITHERS, B.C. — Two elected council members within the Wet’suwet’en First Nation say they signed deals allowing a natural gas pipeline through their traditional territory in order to build a better future for their members.

Joseph Skin, a councillor in the Skin Tyee band, says many members live in poverty and it’s not uncommon for four or five families to share one home.

He says it was a difficult decision to approve the pipeline — but a necessary one — and he encourages anyone critical of the choice to try living on a reserve.

Elected Chief Ray Morris of the Nee Tahi Buhn band says the benefits sharing agreement provided by Coastal GasLink means funding for things like elder care and education.

Coastal GasLink says it has signed agreements with all 20 elected First Nations councils along the pipeline route from northeastern British Columbia to LNG Canada’s export terminal on the coast in Kitimat.

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The project has sparked protests around the world in support of five Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs.

The hereditary chiefs say they — not the elected chiefs — have jurisdiction over the traditional territory, and they have never given consent.

(The Canadian Press)