Work on the Trans Mountain pipeline resumed last week at Jacko Lake in British Columbia after the approval of a diversion on indigenous lands, which were supposed to be spared by the project.
Trans Mountain had agreed with the Stk’ememc te Secwepemc Nation to pass the pipeline under the lake of the sacred land called Pipsell by the indigenous people, using a process using tunnels during the establishment of the project, a reported “Global News” on Sunday.
Spokespeople for the nation say the territory “possesses significant spiritual and cultural value” to them.
However, it proved too difficult to dig under the lake due to the rock formations, according to Trans-mountain spokespersons. This is why the company went back on its word and opted for the open-air trench formula to pass the oil pipeline on the ground.
Nation representatives say they originally agreed to the project because they were assured there would be minimal impact on the landscape.
“Without this place, we lose an important part of our identity,” Mike McKenzie, a Secwépemc knowledge keeper, told Global News.
The indigenous nation says the desecration of this sacred land is an extension of the cultural genocide it faces.
“This is our Vatican, our Notre-Dame. This place which gives an identity to our people and keeps us anchored since time immemorial,” said Mr. McKenzie, according to the English-speaking media.
The Canada Energy Regulator approved the diversion in late September, avoiding a nine-month extension of construction for the project.
The Secwepemc Nation says it did not give prior and informed consent to the diversion, as agreed in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The pipeline was purchased for $4.5 billion by the federal government in 2018, after former owner Kinder Morgan Canada Inc. threatened to destroy it due to pressure from activist groups and new regulations. The Trans Mountain project is the only one to connect Alberta and the West Coast. This extension plans to increase its transport capacity from 300,000 to 890,000 barrels per day.