Cheam Chief Ernie Crey welcomed the news Tuesday of the $4.5 billion federal buyout of the Trans Mountain Pipeline and Kinder Morgan CanadaB次元官网网址檚 assets.
B次元官网网址淭here was a promise made, and obviously itB次元官网网址檚 going to be a promise kept, that one way or another this pipeline would be built because itB次元官网网址檚 in the national interest,B次元官网网址� Crey said.
The livelihood of the Cheam community B次元官网网址渁lso depends on it succeeding,B次元官网网址� and the deal injects a stabilizing element into a project that was teetering on collapse.
B次元官网网址淚 am happy with this morningB次元官网网址檚 announcement,B次元官网网址� said Crey, who has been very supportive of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion (TMX) in light of the potential economic spinoffs for the Cheam. B次元官网网址淚t bodes well.B次元官网网址�
Once the KM sale is complete, Canada will continue the TMX construction on its own, with a view to selling it down the road once market conditions are more favourable.
The Chilliwack-area chief has been vocal on social media and in the mainstream press for several months trying to shoot down the notion that B.C. First Nations were united in lockstep in opposition to the expansion.
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ItB次元官网网址檚 not black and white, he argued, and there is no homogeneity on the pipeline issue, despite how it is being portrayed.
Crey wasnB次元官网网址檛 completely surprised either by the bailout decision announced by Liberal government Ministers Bill Morneau and Jim Carr.
B次元官网网址淚 knew the potential options they were facing, I just didnB次元官网网址檛 know which one they would settle on,B次元官网网址� Crey said.
For those opposed to the pipeline twinning, including Indigenous leaders and environmentalists, the bailout probably came as a B次元官网网址渂ig surprise, if not a shock,B次元官网网址� he said.
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B次元官网网址淪ome felt this was in the bag, and that it would be not built after all, but sadly for them it has been made clear this thing is going to be built,B次元官网网址� Crey said.
As co-chair of the Indigenous Advisory & Monitoring Committee, a committee to undertake the monitoring of the pipeline during and after construction, as well as elected chief of Cheam First Nation, which has signed mutual benefit deals and employment agreements, Chief Crey has a decidedly different viewpoint than some pipeline opponents.
B次元官网网址淐heam formed partnerships with 13 companies involved in the pipeline construction process, and during the post-construction phase,B次元官网网址� Crey said, adding some are national companies, while others are local.
Construction could get underway by this summer, and that would be welcome.
The training, the full-time employment, and the earnings the Cheam will realize as a result of TMX will be B次元官网网址渄riven back into the businessesB次元官网网址� operated by individual band members, and band-owned ventures, Crey noted.
jfeinberg@theprogress.com
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