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Indigenous nation in Washington State seeks meeting with feds on Trans Mountain

Indigenous nation in Washington State seeks meeting with feds on Trans Mountain | iNFOnews.ca
Killer whales and humpback whales are shown off Jordan River, BC, 43 miles west of Victoria, B.C. in this recent handout image. Several whale watching boats at the western edge of the Salish Sea off Jordan River on Vancouver Island spotted a group of transient orcas surrounding two adult humpback whales and a calf on Sunday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Valerie Shore

VANCOUVER – The Lummi Nation in northwest Washington state is requesting a meeting with Canadian officials regarding the environmental impacts of industrial projects on the Salish Sea off the coasts of Washington and British Columbia.

The secretary for the nation sent a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland this week, saying that projects including the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will result in unavoidable, irreversible and unacceptable harm to the nation's territorial waters.

In particular, the letter points to the effect of increased shipping traffic on fishing areas, as well as the dangers of ship strikes, noise pollution and oil spills for endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales.

The letter says so far, Canada has dismissed the Lummi Nation's concerns with respect to Trans Mountain and shows no sign of acting differently with respect to a proposed three-berth marine container terminal south of Vancouver.

The nation says Canada's actions constitute a violation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as international law that prohibits environmental harm across international boundaries.

Canada officially adopted the declaration in 2016, but legislation proposed to harmonize Canadian laws with its principles was quashed by Conservative senators last month.

A spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Kathy Michaels

Kathy Michaels has been an Okanagan-based journalist for more than a decade, working for community papers along the valley and beyond.
She’s won provincial and national awards in business, news and feature writing and says that her love for telling a good story rivals only her fondness for turning a good phrase.
If you have a story that deserves to be told in a thoughtful and compassionate manner, don’t hesitate to reach out.
To reach Kathy call 250-718-0428 or email kmichaels@infonews.ca.

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