Chiefs support Eagle Spirit pipeline
$14 billion project would connect Fort McMurray with Prince Rupert
CA LG A RY As other pipeline proposals from Alberta’s oilsands to the West Coast appear stalled, Eagle Spirit Energy Holdings Ltd. claimed Tuesday it now has the support of every First Nations chief along the route of its own proposed oil pipeline through northern British Columbia.
A group of aboriginal chiefs in northern B.C. declared their support for a pipeline corridor that would connect Albertan oil and gas plays with the Pacific in a letter delivered Tuesday to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the premiers of Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan.
The company also indicated in a release that those chiefs supported natural gas pipelines along the proposed “pipeline corridor.”
“Eagle Spirit’s proposal fairly compensates First Nations for the risks posed to our traditional territories through meaningful revenue generation, business, employment, education, training and capacity building opportunities promoting economic selfsufficiency for our communities and their members,” said the letter signed by the chiefs.
It added the First Nations along the pipeline “recognize the importance of alternative oil export markets to our national economy” but would “continue to steadfastly oppose all other oil pipeline proposals.”
The chiefs maintained that Eagle Spirit would consult with First Nations on the design, engineering, construction and operation of the pipeline and corridor to ensure the project exceeds regulatory requirements.
Eagle Spirit is backed by the