InteriorNEWS THE
109th Year - Week 19 •
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
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The signs of spring are everywhere, with Bulkley Valley bears up and about after their winter hibernation. The Interior News spotted four bears, including this camera-friendly black bear, during a recent drive on Babine Lake Road. Alicia Bridges photo
Permits not enough to Coastal GasLink gets all construction permits hunt land: Madii Lii By Chris Gareau
Smithers/Interior News
By Alicia Bridges Hazeltons/Interior News
Members of the Madii Lii pipeline protest camp are vowing to block hunters and guide outfitters with government-issued permits from accessing a section of Gitxsan territory without their permission. Jack and Lloyd Hooper from Babine Guide Outfitters have applied to renew a certificate that gives them exclusive control over who can take paying clients to hunt on a section of land near Hazelton. The area overlaps with the traditional territory of the Luutkudziiwus house group of the Gitxsan Nation. The certificate would not stop licenced hunters and First Nations from taking animals from the area, but it would stop others, including the
Gitxsan, from guiding on that land for 25 years without buying permission from the Hoopers. The application is currently being reviewed by the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, with a decision to be made after May 12. As part of that process, the Ministry wrote to Gordon Sebastian, who claims the title of Chief Luutkudziiwus, leader of the house group whose traditional territory is included in the application. They gave Sebastian 30 days to provide input on the renewal. He did not respond to this newspaper’s request for comment. However, the title of Luutkudziiwus is also claimed by Charlie Wright, who is a member of the Madii Lii camp which was built to block road access to Luutkudziiwus traditional territory. See HUNTERS on A24
TransCanada announced Thursday that it has all the major permits it needs to start construction of its Coastal GasLink pipeline that would bring liquified natural gas from northeast B.C. to Kitimat. It is now waiting for a final investment decision from Shell-led LNG Canada, delayed from late last year to late this year. TransCanada said in a release that if LNG Canada approved the project, construction on the pipeline would begin in 2017. The route runs south of the Bulkley Valley, passing closest to the Bulkley River south
SMITHEREENS FLEE FORT MCMURRAY Former Smithers residents describe surreal scenes from the blaze evacuation.
MUSIC MAKES CUBAN CONNECTION Smithers’ connection to Cuba runs even deeper than the bond formed by Alex Cuba.
GARBAGE GETS AN UPGRADE A curbside collection and recycling service is set to begin in New Hazelton.
NEWS/A2
A&E/A13
THREE RIVERS/A23
Friday Only! see last page in A
of Houston as it crosses the Morice River south of Houston. TransCanada received the last two permits of 10 pipeline and facilities permits needed from the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission. Eight permits are related to pipeline construction, with the other two for pipeline-related facilities: a natural gas compressor station and meter station in Groundbirch, and a natural gas metering station in Kitimat. Some permits for sitespecific activities will be needed after construction starts, said TransCanada spokesperson Shela Shapiro. See BANDS on A3
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