BC’s Trans Mountain conditions leave significant gaps in spill response – Tsleil-Waututh Nation

Tsleil-Waututh Territory- On Thursday, February 24, the BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy and Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation issued their changes to the province’s Environmental Assessment Certificate of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project (“the Project”),

səl̓ilwətaʔɬ/Tsleil-Waututh Territory, February 22, 2022 – Announced today, Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s Sacred Trust Initiative is calling the economic viability of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project a delusion, following a construction cost update from Trans Mountain this past Friday February 18th. The estimated cost is now $21.4 billion. This represents a 4-fold increase in cost since the project was purchased by Canada in 2018 for $4.5 billion.

Despite gaps in Indigenous consultation and questions around inadequate engineering surveys, Trans Mountain has applied for a route change on the Fraser River crossing of their oil pipeline. Trans Mountain recently had a significant setback on their horizontal directional drilling (HDD). Problems with soil stability and equipment resulted in a spill into a fish bearing creek and sink holes on the Mary Hill Bypass in Coquitlam.

The Canadian Energy Regulator (CER) is allowing Trans Mountain to hide the names of the insurers of the pipeline over the express concerns of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN). In February, Trans Mountain applied to the Canadian Energy Regulator (CER) requesting they keep the names of their insurers secret, arguing that public pressure makes it more expensive and harder to insure the project.

This week, Tsleil-Waututh Nation participated in a multi-agency full-scale oil spill response drill at Westridge Marine Terminal, the terminus of the Trans-Mountain pipeline project. Participants included the Canadian Coast Guard, Western Canada Marine Response Corporation (WCMRC), the Province of British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and Trans Mountain. The drill included practice deployment of containment equipment and booms in and around docks and shoreline,

Today, Dr. Thomas Gunton and his team of researchers at SFU released a damning report that estimates Canada will lose $11.9 Billion Dollars on the Trans Mountain Expansion project (TMX). This report re-confirms what Tsleil-Waututh Nation has been saying for years: TMX’s economics are bad, and are getting worse. The SFU report succinctly outlines how the economic analysis of the project was flawed to begin with,

Trans Mountain has applied to the Canadian Energy Regulator (CER) requesting they keep the names of their insurers secret, arguing that public pressure makes it more expensive and harder to insure the project. Tsleil-Waututh submitted a letter of comment to the CER opposing Trans Mountain’s request, which would remove one layer of transparency from a company with a culture of secrecy.

“Today we remember three years ago, when thousands of people gathered together with the same purpose in mind: to express their opposition to the Trans Mountain Pipeline. We walked to Burnaby Mountain, the location of the terminus of the pipeline, towards the Watch House. While the Watch House was not a project of TWN, we support the rights of those opposed to the project to voice their opposition.

For years, Tsleil-Waututh Elders and Nation members have observed erosion on the shores of Burrard Inlet coinciding with increased marine traffic. This erosion affects the Tsleil-Waututh community in innumerable ways as it compromises important cultural places, damages archaeological sites, and degrades key shorelines and beaches. This week, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN) is applauding the publication of new research reporting the relative contributions of vessel-generated wakes and wind waves to the overall wave energy in Burrard Inlet,

Yesterday, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN) officially unveiled a major new solar power installation. The 350 solar panels will supply power to the TWN Administration building, saving an estimated $29,000 in energy costs each year, and making it the largest ground-mount solar power project in Metro Vancouver. This is the second solar power project in the Tsleil-Waututh community,