LITERACY WEEK
108th Year - Week 4
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
www.interior-news.com
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FOND FAREWELL Smithers staff sgt. bids adieu.
Madness to his method
COMMUNITY/A9
RIDING RESPITE Telkwa’s Nickers helps kids cope.
OUR TOWN/A19
ROCKIN’ RESULTS SSS curling team heads to provincials.
Tosh Krauskopf flies high at the Legendary Banked Slalom competition at Mount Baker in Washington earlier this month. Tosh came in second in the Next Generation Boys category. For the full story, see pg. B1. Contributed photo
Millions to flow into Moricetown after divisive LNG agreements
By Alicia Bridges
Moricetown/Interior News
SPORTS/B12
INSIDE LETTERS A6 COMMUNITY A9 A&E A18 OUR TOWN A19 THREE RIVERS A22 SPORTS B1 CLASSIFIEDS B5
The Moricetown Band has signed on to receive millions of dollars in payments from two LNG deals, including one which gives Chevron Apache the last First Nations signature needed to start work on the Pacific Trails Pipeline. The band announced on Friday it had entered into two LNG agreements, one with the province and another with industry. Under the first agreement, Moricetown Band will receive an immediate payment of $1.1 million as the 16th and final First Nation to enter into the First Nations Limited
Partnership (FNLP) with Chevron Apache. The FNLP provides immediate and longterm financial rewards totaling $55.4 million in exchange for support of the proposed Pacific Trails Pipeline from Summit Lake to Kitimat. The second deal, a provincial government benefits agreement, pertains to TransCanada’s Coastal Gaslink Pipeline and consists of a combination of employment and environmental funds and legacy payments. Under that agreement Moricetown will receive about $6 million in benefits including forested land from the deal, called a Reconciliation Agreement, which will also help fund
social programs. The deal also includes the establishment of an environmental and cultural accord aimed at ensuring the pipeline meets the 43 Environmental Assessment Certificate conditions relating to Wet’suwet’en territory. A third deal being offered to the band, which is a participation agreement with the provincial government relating to the Coastal Gaslink project, has not yet been signed. Moricetown Band Chief Barry Nikal said more community consultation was needed before a decision on the TransCanada project would be made. Before today’s announcement, the chief
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and council had been in negotiations for more than a week since an emotional public meeting at the Moricetown multiplex last Thursday. The band council voted to sign the agreements five to four, with Nikal making the tie-breaker vote in favour of the developments. Two councillors abstained from voting due to conflicts arising from their roles as hereditary chiefs. Chief Nikal said the decision, which has been a divisive issue in the Moricetown community and the Wet’suwet’en First Nation, came after a year of intense meetings and negotiations which had been hard on his community.
By entering the FNLP, he said Moricetown band members would have priority access to jobs, skills, training and contracting opportunities. “It’s no secret that health and employment outcomes among First Nations are lower than the rest of Canada,” he said. “We have been no different and the social implications of poverty has weighed heavy on our minds. “Our band members can now actively participate in the local and regional economy which will have an immense positive effect on our community. See CHIEF on A3
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