The hundreds of people who marched from Nexen Beach to downtown Squamish on Sunday (March 29) made one thing abundantly clear – they don’t want the controversial LNG plant to come to town.
The rainy and wet conditions didn’t deter attendees, to the delight of event organizer Charlene Williams.
“When I woke up and saw the rain I was a little worried we wouldn’t get the numbers out, so it really warmed my heart to see all the people,” she said. “It gives me hope and I’m really inspired by the turnout.”
Williams and the Skwomesh Action group, along with My Sea to Sky, put the event together and it was a declaration of sorts towards LNG for First Nations in the Sea to Sky Corridor.
“We organized today because we wanted everyone to know where the Squamish Nation people stand,” said Khelsilem Rivers in an impassioned speech to the crowd in front of the Woodfibre LNG office. “We have made it clear to our leadership that our people do not want LNG in the Howe Sound. The people have spoken and we say no to LNG. We will face the brunt of climate change and environmental destruction if we don’t change now.”
Williams said she and her people protested development into the Squamish Estuary over 20 years ago and this should be similar fight.
“The main issue is the effect on local marine life,” she said. “With all the water coming out for LNG, how will that effect the salmon, herring, porpoise and killer whales that are all coming back? What we use these waters for is different. We canoe, use it for food and spiritual purposes.”
Squamish councillors Peter Kent and Karen Elliott were among the hundreds but no Squamish Nation councillors were present. Rivers said three members of the council were to attend but had to cancel before the march for different reasons. Despite their absence he thinks they will listen to the people on this issue.
“Part of our efforts here is to communicate to our leadership how not only our community here in Squamish feels about the project but also our Nation as a whole,” he said. “Our council needs to know our people will fight this regardless of what they decide. But we have a receptive council and they are willing to listen and want to listen but they are just doing their due diligence.”
He pointed out that council should complete the environmental assessment before the end of April.
“We’re making history with this project,” Williams said. “It’s the first time we’ve had our own assessment and it’s not just an environmental assessment but it’s an assessment based on our own cultural values.”
The event saw attendees gather at Nexen Beach at around noon before embarking on a march to the Woodfibre LNG office on Cleveland Avenue in Downtown Squamish. Speeches and traditional singing and drumming followed.
Williams, who lives in Squamish, said everyone she talks to locally is against the project.
“We had a petition in the Squamish area First Nation community and over one weekend I had over 100 signatures,” she said. “We only have 300 Nation members in Squamish so basically everyone I talked to signed it. We brought that to the chief and council so they should know what we think.”
Rivers said the fight against LNG isn’t just about Squamish but it’s a broader struggle to keep the future bright for future generations.
“We’ve expressed our concerns already about this project and the conversations we need to start having now is how will we stop this project,” he said. “This is not the end, this is the beginning and the Squamish people are in this fight too.”
Williams said time is on their side and they have to be persistent to stop the project.
“As long as we can delay it we’re winning,” she said. “A delay is a win. Once it delays it can continue to get delayed until it falls apart. Hopefully we delay it until it’s cancelled.”
Squamish Nation council is expected to make a final decision on the project within the next few weeks. Rivers and Williams they hope to hold more events in the future, including a benefit concert featuring aboriginal artists.
