By Canadian Press

Pipeline talks with hereditary chiefs resume for second day in northern B.C.

Feb 28, 2020 | 12:19 PM

SMITHERS, B.C. — The hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en are meeting for a second day with senior federal and provincial ministers as they try to break an impasse in a pipeline dispute that’s sparked national protests and led to disruptions in the economy.

Federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett and British Columbia Indigenous Relations Minister Scott Fraser began the long-sought talks Thursday afternoon before returning Friday to the meeting at the Wet’suwet’en office in Smithers, B.C.

The hereditary chiefs have described the meeting as a first step, noting that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and B.C. Premier John Horgan declined invitations to discuss the Coastal GasLink project.

Bennett appeared to leave the door open Friday to a meeting involving the prime minister and premier in the future.

“I think we need to do some hard work. We would want any meeting with the prime minister and the premier to be a good meeting, and therefore we have to do the work,” she said before entering the Wet’suwet’en office for the talks.

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“It’s really important that minister Fraser and I have been delegated by the premier and the prime minister to do this work and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Horgan said Thursday that he has met with the hereditary chiefs in the past and is prepared to meet with them again, but there need to be conditions for constructive dialogue and the best way forward is for the Indigenous relations ministers to be at the table.

Fraser noted that he had 25 hours of initial conversations with the chiefs several weeks ago and the province has been working closely with them so they have a relationship already.

“The important thing is we are willing to roll up our sleeves and get to the complex and difficult issues and we began that yesterday and we’re going to continue that today,” he said.

The talks were expected to wrap up Friday but the ministers said they are open to all options and might remain in Smithers over the weekend.

The hereditary chiefs’ opposition to  a natural gas pipeline cutting across their traditional territory, coupled with their efforts to limit police presence on their lands, have sparked shows of support across the country that have halted rail service for the past three weeks.

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake proposed Friday that its Peacekeepers head up a temporary Indigenous police force to patrol the Wet’suwet’en territory. Grand Chief Joseph Norton said the measure would allow the RCMP to withdraw from the area.

Before the meeting began, the RCMP committed to ending patrols along a critical roadway while the negotiations unfold, while Coastal GasLink consented to a two-day pause in its activities in northwestern B.C.

The dispute over the Coastal GasLink pipeline project began months ago, but tensions began to rise on Dec. 31 when the B.C. Supreme Court granted the company an injunction calling for the removal of any obstructions from roads, bridges or work sites it has been authorized to use in Wet’suwet’en territory.

The RCMP moved in to enforce that injunction on Feb. 6. Hours later, protesters started holding up railway traffic outside of Belleville, Ont., in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs, thwarting freight and passenger rail travel.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2020.

Hina Alam, The Canadian Press