‘HIGH HOPES’ FOR B.C. DEAL
But uncertainty lingers after long blockades
OTTAWA • Business leaders are expressing frustration because of uncertainty with a deal the federal government has struck with hereditary Wet’suwet’en chiefs to solve a pipeline dispute that led to crippling rail blockades.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he knows people are impatient for a resolution, but time is needed to respect the traditions of the Wet’suwet’en. Details of the deal are confidential until the Wet’suwet’en people are consulted through their traditional feast process, which could take up to two weeks.
Perrin Beatty, CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, wondered whether the deal had solved the issues.
“Was anything actually resolved as a result of the negotiations? We don’t know,” he said. “It just protracts the uncertainty that businesses are facing.”
While freight trains are slowly starting to move again, business leaders say they are reluctant to push full speed ahead because of that uncertainty.
“The level of business uncertainty goes up with businesses not being able to know what to expect over the future,” said Beatty.
Dennis Darby, president and CEO of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, said a recent survey of his members found that 92 per cent believed the blockades had damaged Canada’s international reputation.
“Canada has to be predictable and right now, up until the last little while, we have not looked that predictable,” he said. “When you are an export-focused country like Canada, where 80 per cent of it goes to the U.S., you have to have predictable infrastructure.” See DEAL on NP3
Darby said half of his members said in an internal survey they had been hit with extra costs because of the blockades, and 42 per cent slowed production because they couldn’t get products to market.
He said for manufacturers, these blockades came just as supply routes from China were struggling due to the coronavirus.
After lengthy meetings this past weekend, the federal and British Columbia governments announced they had come to an agreement with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs. The chiefs oppose the Coastal Gaslink pipeline in Northern British Columbia and protests in support of them led to railway blockades that crippled freight traffic across the country. The pipeline is supported by elected Wet’suwet’en band councils.
In a statement released Monday, the three sides announced the agreement and said it covered both the Coastal Gaslink pipeline and the Wet’suwet’en community’s long-standing and unresolved land claim. Blockades that went up in support of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs have mostly come down, but at least one remains near Montreal.
An elected Wet’suwet’en councillor says she has “high hopes” that internal conflict over governance issues and the pipeline can be resolved respectfully, but she’s also concerned some members will not have a chance to participate in the decision on a proposed deal.
Karen Ogen-toews, a councillor of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation, said six elected councils have historically been excluded from negotiations over land rights and she hopes all Wet’suwet’en people have their say before hereditary house chiefs return to the negotiating table with senior government officials.
“I strongly believe they need to do their due diligence and include the six communities,” she said from near Burns Lake, B.C.
Speaking to reporters in Halifax Tuesday, Trudeau acknowledged the opposition to the pipeline has led to difficult times for many Canadians over the past few weeks. He said his government has been focused on trying to find a solution, but added that current tensions stem from centuries of marginalizing Indigenous people in Canada.
“We know that centuries of marginalization, of oppressive, broken government policies have created a situation that is untenable,” Trudeau said. “It is not an easy process. It is a process we are all impatient with that needs to move forward, but we need to remain positive because the only path forward for our country is for all of us to work together and that is what we’re going to stay focused on doing.”
CN Rail, which shut down its eastern Canadian network when the blockades went up, announced Tuesday that it would be bringing back hundreds of workers.
Via Rail has restored most of its passenger service, though so far only partial service is being offered on its busiest route between Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.