Coastal GasLink has agreed to a two-day pause of construction activities in the Morice River area, to facilitate dialogue between the Hereditary Chiefs and government representatives. The pause is expected to begin on commencement of talks.
We fully support the efforts of all parties and are committed to finding a peaceful resolution to the current issues.
Today, Coastal GasLink is under construction across northern British Columbia with over 1,200 women and men at work, 30 percent of whom are Indigenous.
After the Interlocutory Injunction was granted by the Supreme Court of British Columbia on December 31, 2019, Coastal GasLink paused work for five of the last seven weeks in Wet’suwet’en territory in the area near the Morice River, which is covered by the injunction. By pausing work Coastal GasLink provided time for engagement and dialogue with the hopes of finding a path towards peaceful resolution to the issues of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs.
The Morice River area is extremely important to our construction schedule. The Wet’suwet’en territory has ungulate winter range and migratory bird restrictions that prohibit work during certain periods of the year. Work is also limited during the winter periods due to heavy snow. Combined, these constraints limit the time available for Coastal GasLink to work and to make progress towards our committed in-service date. Therefore, loss of construction schedule in this area has an impact on our overall schedule and our ability to meet our required in-service date.
However, Coastal GasLink recognizes the importance of dialogue in solving the issues of the Hereditary Chiefs and will provide time for dialogue to occur by temporarily pausing construction in the Morice River area. We wish the parties well as they undertake this important engagement and will continue to offer our support in search of a peaceful resolution that will bring lasting benefit to the Wet’suwet’en people.
