Straight Talk

Indigenous leaders plan to voice legal concerns at Kinder Morgan's annual general meeting in Houston

by Charlie Smith on May 7th, 2018 at 7:10 AM
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      Two of the leaders in the fight against Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain Expansion Project hope to speak to the corporation's shareholders later this week.

      Neskonlith Chief Kukpi7 Judy Wilson and Rueben George of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation Sacred Trust Initiative plan to fly to Houston to attend the Kinder Morgan annual general meeting on Wednesday (May 9).

      Wilson is the secretary-treasurer of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs.

      "Kinder Morgan stockholders have not been properly advised that Indigenous rights are recognized in the Canadian constitution and have won again and again through the courts," Wilson said in a news release. "Kinder Morgan does not have the required consent of Indigenous nations along the pipeline and tanker route, and it never will. The executives at Kinder Morgan have a responsibility to make these facts well known to its stockholders."

      In the same news release, George said that his First Nation has "denied our free, prior, and informed consent" for the $7.4-billion project to proceed.

      Chief Chief Kukpi7 Judy Wilson says Kinder Morgan executives are obliged to tell shareholders that the company doesn't have the required consent of all First Nations along the route of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion.

      In 2015, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation released a major legal assessment that included six expert reports.

      These documents highlighted, among other things, the negative impact of an oil spill in Burrard Inlet on the food chain, estimating that it could lead to the death of 500,000 birds.

      The Tsleil-Waututh name means "children of the inlet" and George has maintained in the past that the pipeline "goes against the laws of our culture and our spirituality".

      "It goes against our laws of our lands and our waters, and that's why we're saying no," George said when the legal assessment was publicly released in 2015.  

      The two First Nations leaders have obtained a proxy to appear on behalf of the New York State Common Retirement Fund. It plans to present a "shareholder proposal on sustainability reporting" at the May 9 annual general meeting.

      “There is nothing that the Canadian government can do to eliminate the risk and uncertainty inherent in this project," Wilson insisted. "We will continue fighting against this project until it is abandoned."

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