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laws. Our laws state that we have a responsibility to ourselves, our ancestors, our descendants and to all the people living in our territories and elsewhere to defend the health of our lands and waters."
Morgan Gates, director of Aboriginal relations replied by saying he more than understood First Nations protocols and traditions.
He went on to say, "If it is the Fraser River your are concerned about, which I assume it is by the presentation of the Fraser Declaration - to protect the Fraser River, I want to let you know that the Northern Gateway Pipeline project doesn't cross the Fraser River, however the already existing Kinder Morgan pipeline does, several times, but that is not our pipeline," he said.
Gates went on to say, "Only six of 40 First Nation's communities located near our pipeline have indicated their opposition, more are working with us. I think you are presenting the declaration to the wrong pipeline company."
Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chief Madeek asked Gates exactly how many First Nations communities are on board and who they are.
"We have conditional interest from a majority of the First Nations communities, but this is very conditional and depends on environmental practices, cultural practices and long term benefits. I can not tell you who they are. I can't provide to third parties details about private commercial agreements," Gates said.
Lewis said to Lakes District News that Enbridge consistently say they have 'conditional' support from a majority of First Nations, however this is not the case.
"A growing number of First Nations are in strong opposition to the pipeline, there is a huge majority that are not in support," she said.
Many local residents had questions for the Enbridge officials, including George Janzen who asked the panel, "If Enbridge say they care so much about the community, why is the pipeline routed through a residential area of Burns Lake?"
Ray Doering, manager of engineering for Enbridge Inc. said, "It is not uncommon, the pipeline will be several hundred metres from most of the housing in the area," he said.
Doering went on to say that pipelines are common in Canada. “. “Property values won't change. The pipeline also runs close to the communities of Bear Lake, Whitecourt and Kitimat and all design requirements are fully respected and committed," he said.
"A total of 20,000 barrels of oil spilled, it was a very humbling experience for us. We responded promptly to the alarm, however the exact time is unknown and is currently under investigation by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. Once we get the results we will certainly share them the public and learn from it. The investigation is still continuing and it is a very serious investigation," Gates said.
The four hour community technical meeting also included a three hour meet and greet, and the ability to collect informational sheets and look at maps of the proposed route.