Benefits agreement asks First Nation to discourage members from hindering B.C. pipeline project

by Chantelle Bellrichard · CBC News

‘No municipality would be allowed to sign off on such civil restrictions,’ says band member

Community members and legal experts are concerned about provisions in a signed benefit agreement between a B.C. First Nation and a pipeline company that asks leadership to dissuade their community members from speaking out against the project.

The specific provision appears in a leaked benefits agreement between Nak’azdli Whut’en, a First Nation located roughly two hours northwest of Prince George, and TC Energy’s Coastal GasLink pipeline.

The $6.2-billion Coastal GasLink pipeline will transport natural gas along a 670-kilometre route, from northeastern B.C. to a yet-to-be-constructed liquefied natural gas facility on the coast in Kitimat. The pipeline is a key part of a larger $40-billion project being headed up by LNG Canada that aims to open Canada up to the growing global LNG market.

Coastal GasLink often promotes the fact it has signed agreements with the elected leadership of 20 First Nations along the proposed pipeline route as evidence of support for its project.

But the specifics of these individual agreements have been kept out of the public eye.

Among the benefits to Nak’azdli in the leaked agreement are education and training, contracting and employment opportunities, annual legacy payments over the lifetime of the pipeline, and “general project payments” to be paid in three instalments.

But there’s also a condition that the band will “take all reasonable actions” to dissuade its members from doing anything that could “impede, hinder, frustrate, delay, stop or interfere with the project, the project’s contractors, any authorizations or any approval process.”

That includes dissuading band members from taking part “in any media or social media campaign.”

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That part of the contract is drawing concern from people in the community and legal experts who say this kind of language is becoming the norm in contracts put before First Nations by project proponents.

Nak’azdli band member Nicholette Prince said she was shocked when she saw that provision in the contract.

“To me, it speaks to the fact that they really don’t think we’re full human beings, to be honest,” she said.

“We’re just in the way — like the spotted owl or the caribou. I have no idea how somebody could put that in writing. No municipality would be allowed to sign off on such civil restrictions.”

full story at https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/coastal-gaslink-nak-azdli-whut-en-agreement-1.5238220