The president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs is apologizing and walking back comments suggesting he supported reviving the Northern Gateway pipeline project, and now says he doesn’t support “resuscitating dead projects.”
In a statement released by the union, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip says the pipeline rejected in 2016 “would have been an absolute disaster” for British Columbia’s land and waters, and his participation in opposition to the project was “an absolute honour and privilege.”
The union says in the statement that the answer to the Northern Gateway pipeline from Alberta to the Pacific “is still no,” while Phillips says he wants to “sincerely apologize for any confusion.”
Phillip was asked at a news conference on Tuesday about Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s suggestion of reviving the Northern Gateway pipeline plan in light of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs on Canadian exports.
The chief responded that Canada had “no choice” but to reconsider such projects because, “if we don’t build that kind of infrastructure, Trump will,” and the president would do so without considering the environment or rule of law.
Phillip says in Wednesday’s statement that while everyone should be planning for the possibility of U.S. tariffs, it does not mean building more pipelines.
