Close X
Sunday, November 10, 2024
ADVT 
National

Horgan Says Pipeline Protests At B.c. Legislature 'Counterproductive'

The Canadian Press, 05 Mar, 2020 07:52 PM

    VICTORIA - B.C. Premier John Horgan questions what is being achieved by ongoing protests at the legislature, but he won't ask dozens of people camped at the building's ceremonial gates to leave.

     

    Horgan made the comments following a rally Wednesday by University of Victoria students who walked out of classes to attend the gathering in support of Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs.

     

    About 250 students were at the legislature to support the campers who say they will stay until pipeline company Coastal GasLink leaves traditional Wet'suwet'en territories in northwest B.C.

     

    Horgan said his NDP government is addressing environmental and Indigenous rights and title issues.

     

    "Dissent is an essential part of our democratic processes," he told a news conference. "However, I think at some point it becomes counterproductive. The pipeline is permitted. It is being built. It's being built by Indigenous Peoples to a great degree and the benefits are well known and well established."

     

    Coastal GasLink is building a 670-kilometre natural gas pipeline from Dawson Creek to Kitimat, where a liquefied natural gas export terminal is slated to be built.

     

    Horgan said the Wet'suwet'en people are considering rights and title issues and the pipeline following negotiations last weekend in Smithers between B.C. and federal government officials and the hereditary chiefs.

     

    "We are working on the range of issues that are important to the people camping here," he said. "Perhaps, if they spent some time to look at the work that's being done they might decide to go and do other things."

     

    Horgan said the government has the most progressive environmental agenda in North America and it recently adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

     

    Wet'suwet'en supporter Kolin Sutherland-Wilson told the rally that protests at the legislature and across Canada are forcing governments to act on long-standing Indigenous issues.

     

    "This is the time to take a stand," he said. "Now is the time to act. "That is the reason we cannot compromise. This is the reason why we are here on this cold concrete."

     

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Body Of Girl Found By Road In Quebec

    Body Of Girl Found By Road In Quebec
    Quebec provincial police are investigating after the body of a teenaged girl was found by the side of a road in Quebec's Laurentians region.

    Body Of Girl Found By Road In Quebec

    False Nuclear Alarm In Ontario Was Due To Human Error, Investigation Finds

    A false alarm about an incident at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station last month was the result of human error, but a delay in sending an all clear was due to several systemic issues, a report found Thursday.

    False Nuclear Alarm In Ontario Was Due To Human Error, Investigation Finds

    Chinatowns Across Canada Report Drop In Business Due To New Coronavirus Fears

    Chinatowns Across Canada Report Drop In Business Due To New Coronavirus Fears
    Most of Calgary's city councillors had lunch at a restaurant in Chinatown this week to try to help reduce fears about the new coronavirus.    

    Chinatowns Across Canada Report Drop In Business Due To New Coronavirus Fears

    Federal Government In Good Financial Shape, Provinces Not So Much: PBO

    OTTAWA - Parliament's budget watchdog says the federal government has room to increase spending and still remain financially sustainable over the long run, though the same can't be said for many provinces.    

    Federal Government In Good Financial Shape, Provinces Not So Much: PBO

    Conservative MP Questions Whether Rail Blockades Constitute Terrorism

    OTTAWA - A Conservative MP is questioning whether rail blockades in Quebec and Ontario constitute acts of terrorism, which could allow the RCMP to intervene.

    Conservative MP Questions Whether Rail Blockades Constitute Terrorism

    Tory Seeks Law Banning Sex-Selective Abortion

    OTTAWA - Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer's campaign commitment not to reopen the debate on abortion has not stopped a Conservative MP from introducing a private member's bill that would ban sex-selective abortions.    

    Tory Seeks Law Banning Sex-Selective Abortion