June 03, 2010
Nathan pays tribute to the Solidarity Gathering of Nations in Kitimat, BC
May 29, 2010, the Haisla and Gitga’at First Nations hosted a broad coalition of 1,000 supporters who stood up for protecting our BC rivers and coastline from Enbridge supertankers.
In attendance were representatives from the Coastal First Nations who in May issued a declaration banning oil tankers from their traditional territory. Local First Nations leaders, elected officials, business people, and prominent activists all spoke of the need to defend our coasts from risky oil supertankers and insteadwork together to build a greener energy economy that doesnt endager our environment and our economy
On June 3rd, Nathan paid tribute to this gathering in the House of Commons and called on the government to support a sustainable future
Nathan Cullen (Skeena-Bulkley Valley)Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a gathering of first nations, business, environment and community leaders that took place in Kitimat, British Columbia this past weekend.
They came together to say no to dangerous supertankers on their coast, no to 12,000 supertankers the size of the Empire State Building plying the waters and no to an 1,100 kilometre pipeline crossing many rivers and more than 50 first nations communities. They know that in Alberta in an average year, 800 failures happen in pipelines.
They said yes to creating a culture and economy based upon a clean environment and wild salmon. They said yes to a plan for building a sustainable future for our communities and yes to first nations taking their rightful place at the table.
The gulf is teaching us all an invaluable lesson. Industry cannot be allowed to self-police. When oil and water mix, the environment and the economy are devastated. The government must stop listening only to its friends in the oil lobby and start listening to the people whose very lives are on the line.
