News Release
August 9, 2018

Kinder Morgan’s new estimate = $9.3 billion and counting

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – August 9, 2018) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) is frustrated and outraged with the $1.9 billion increase in estimated construction costs for the planned Trans Mountain pipeline and tanker project released by Kinder Morgan yesterday.

August 7, 2018

OPEN LETTER:    Upholding commitments to reconciliation and Indigenous rights in court regarding the Site C injunction hearings

Dear Premier Horgan and Minister Eby:

We are writing to shed light on the unacceptable and disconcerting gap between your political commitments to reconciliation and Indigenous rights, and BC Hydro’s legal arguments in the current

BC Supreme Court Hearings regarding the West Moberly First Nation’s application for an interim injunction while their Treaty case is being heard.

NEWS RELEASE

UBCIC Condemns Canada’s “Ill-Fated” Buy-Out of Kinder Morgan Project, Promises “Strong, Widespread, and Unwavering” Opposition

(Coast Salish Territory – Vancouver, BC – July 23, 2018)

Today, as Canada takes possession of the controversial and ill-fated Kinder Morgan pipeline and tanker project, Indigenous leaders renew vows to enact their rights as proper title holders by protecting their territories against this project and its devastating risks and impacts.

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – June 28, 2018) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) is shocked and outraged that on June 27^th, 2018, 28-year-old Peter Khill, a settler living in Hamilton, Ontario, was found not guilty in the murder of Jonathan Styres, a 29-year-old man from Ohsweken, Ontario, part of the Six Nations reserve.

June 25, 2018

OPEN LETTER: UBCIC Condemns Child Detention and Family Separation

Dear President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau,

We are writing on behalf of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC). Based in British Columbia, Canada we are an advocacy organization founded in 1969, advancing Indigenous Title and Rights and Treaty Rights on behalf of Indigenous peoples, mandated by our member Nations.

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – June 25, 2018) UBCIC condemns the report on specific claims released on National Indigenous Peoples Day by conservative think tank the Fraser Institute.

In his report, Specific Claims and the Well-Being of First Nations, author Tom Flanagan argues that the federal specific claims program should be discontinued since, he asserts, settlements result in no tangible benefits to First Nations communities. Flanagan's report characterizes specific claims as a never-ending drain on the federal budget and Canadian taxpayers, and contends that Indigenous Nations manipulate facts and exploit case law to validate their claims.  

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – May 29, 2018) Indigenous leaders are standing firm in their opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline and tanker project after federal finance minister Bill Morneau announced this morning that Canada has reached an agreement in principle with Kinder Morgan to purchase the troubled project for $4.5 billion. 

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – May 16, 2018) Billed as a “major announcement” Finance Minister Bill Morneau held a press conference in Ottawa this morning to communicate that bailout talks are ongoing with Kinder Morgan, as stockholders prepare to meet in Calgary later today.

(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – May 14, 2018) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) welcomes the federal government’s recent announcement that they will not oppose the court application for an injunction to suspend construction on the Site C Dam while the court determines if flooding the Peace River would violate the rights of the West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations under Treaty 8.

May 9, 2018, (Estok-Na Territory/Houston, Texas) Indigenous leadership from Canada made an emergency trip to the Kinder Morgan AGM in Houston this morning to present an overview of Indigenous opposition to the proposed Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion.