Pipeline project has been "hijacked" by "a group of five guys," the former hereditary chief of Wetsuweten told MEPs.

OTTAWA – Theresa Tait Day, a former hereditary chief of Wet'suwet'en, told MPs that a pipeline project had been "hijacked" by five male leaders and criticized Liberal ministers for entering into a secret agreement with them .

Speaking at a House of Commons committee meeting, Tait Day said last month's decision to meet with hereditary chiefs was a mistake.

"The government legitimized the meeting with the five hereditary chiefs and left out their entire community," she said. "We can't be dictated by a group of five guys."

Crown Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett met with a group of hereditary leaders from the Wet’suwet’en community in northern British Columbia. last month, after weeks of crippling rail blockades.

After several days of meetings, the two parties reached an agreement, the details of which are secret while the hereditary chiefs report the matter to their community.

Hereditary chiefs oppose the Coastal GasLink pipeline, a project that would bring liquefied natural gas to British Columbia. coast for export.

But Tait Day, who is part of a group called the Wet & # 39; suwet & # 39; en Matrilineal Coalition, which was stripped of its title of hereditary chief after supporting the Coastal GasLink project, said that the great majority of the inhabitants of the territory of Wet & # 39; suwet & # 39; wanted the project. go ahead.

"This project was hijacked by the five chiefs," she said. "Over 80% of the people in our community said they wanted LNG to work."

The matrilineal coalition was formed in 2015 to help the Wet’suwet’en people make a decision on the pipeline project. He received funding from Coastal Gas, but Tait Day said it hadn't influenced his decision to support the project.

One has the impression of having been hijacked by the demonstrators who have their own agenda

In addition to the support of Tait Day and other members of the coalition, the project received support from elected band council chiefs. Critics have stated that these band council chiefs are part of the Indian Act system. Tait Day said the band councils were a flawed system, but their opinions should not be ignored.

"The Indian Act system needs to be reformed, but that does not invalidate the role of elected councils," she said.

She said that her community needed economic prosperity to build a more sustainable community.

"We must enjoy the benefits of our land. We must be able to have stakes in projects that arise. "

Hereditary chiefs were supported by environmentalists, said Tait Day, who did not respect the rest of the Wet’suwet’en community.

"We feel like we have been hijacked by the protesters who have their own agenda."

Bennett said she and her B.C. counterparts were ready to return to the community to sign the agreement when the Wet’suwet community had ratified it. She said the deal should only be the start of the process.

"What we agree on is that now the conversation begins. How does the nation make decisions together? " she says. "This is why the hereditary chiefs chose to take him home and their clans to see if there was support for it."

But Tait Day criticized the consultation process.

The leaders who met with the ministers indicated that they would take the draft agreement to the community to obtain a consensus on the advisability of moving forward. But Tait-Day said they hadn't held large public meetings, only smaller clan meetings of 20 people or less.

Bennett said the deal was not about the pipeline project, but about broader measures to resolve the land claim settlement that the Wet’suwet people had been waiting for years.

“My appearance was not about a single project. This is the future of Canada. "

We must enjoy the benefits of our land

She said settling land claims and bringing Indigenous communities to self-government was the key to prosperity for Indigenous communities and would prevent the kind of stalemate that arose in this situation.

"Where there is a process on how a nation makes a decision, it provides the kind of certainty that allows investment."

Tait Day agreed that the larger issue needed resolution, but said they also could not ignore the good projects that were before them.

"We need a mechanism as a nation that is democratic and inclusive where we can all make decisions."

Several Conservative MPs also asked if the deal would be sent back to Parliament for review. Bennett pointed out that this was only the first step.

She said that a final settlement of the land claim would be submitted to Parliament, but hoped that when this happened, parliamentarians would respect the work of the negotiators.

Conservative MP Bob Zimmer said he had met with elected band council chiefs from the region, who felt completely excluded from the process.

"They told me very clearly that they felt looked down on by the minister," he said.

He said Bennett could have met with a larger section of community leaders.

"There is a real opportunity for all the Wet’suwet’s to make that decision, walk into a room and talk and wait for it to happen," said Zimmer.

He said he was concerned that Bennett had only met people who opposed the project when there were so many people in favor of the pipeline.

"It tilts the whole conversation to one side, it's not even a fair conversation."

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