Updated

Anti-pipeline leaders restate resistance to Trans Mountain pipeline project

First Nations leaders and city mayors speak in Vancouver a day after the B.C. and Alberta premiers met with Trudeau in Ottawa to discuss the future of the pipeline project.

First Nations leaders and mayors react to Sunday's summit in Ottawa

Karin Larsen · CBC News ·
Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs vice-president Chief Bob Chamberlin, left, and president Grand Chief Stewart Phillip join anti-pipeline protesters at an entrance to a Kinder Morgan property in Burnaby, B.C., on April 7. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

First Nations and municipal leaders restated their opposition to the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project in no uncertain terms Monday in Vancouver. 

"This is about recognizing the human rights of the Indigenous people of Canada," said Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs Vice-President Chief Bob Chamberlin.

The media conference comes the day after the duelling premiers of B.C. and Alberta met Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa to discuss the future of the Kinder Morgan project — a meeting during which Trudeau and Notley reiterated their commitment to seeing the project through, while Horgan maintained his opposition.

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, centre right, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, and vice-president Chief Bob Chamberlin, back right, march with others against the Trans Mountain pipeline extension on April 7. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan said he expects resistance to the twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline to grow after Trudeau reiterated the federal government's resolve to get the project built.

"We'll continue in the city of Burnaby to fight this project to our last breath," said Corrigan. "This has become ground zero for who is controlling our democratic institutions — is it the people of our country or is it the multinational corporations?"

NDP MP Kennedy Stewart, who is facing charges for defying a court order to protest outside Kinder Morgan property, called Trudeau reckless.

"The prime minister has failed on this project. He is blowing this into a national crisis because of the mishandling of this file, said Stewart.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the effort to see the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion through to completion isn't about punishing people from B.C., but about ensuring a project of national interest gets built. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)

It's been just over a week since Kinder Morgan announced it was stopping all non-essential spending on the pipeline project. The company gave the Trudeau government until the end of May to reassure its investors the pipeline would be built.

After yesterday's summit Trudeau said the federal government may consider investing in the project to help get it completed. 

"The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is of vital strategic interest to Canada,'' he said. "It will be built.''

Horgan has staked his government's survival on opposing the pipeline, while Notley says her province's economic health depends on the project.

With files from The Canadian Press

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