The map says Kitimat but the sign on the road says
Kitimaat. I was interested in this town
because this is where the natural gas pipeline and gas liquidation plant was going
to go. The natives just won an
injunction, killing their town as the location for now. The press has a story
they want to tell for whatever reason true or not. From press stories I heard
that this is small native community and few people would be affected by the
pipeline, plant and supertanker on the port.
Turns out there are two towns here, one called Kitimaat
village which is native and the other Kitimat City which is non-native. The
city is here due to a Rio-Tinto Aluminum “Alcan” smelter brought here because
they were allowed to dam the Kitimat River for cheap electricity and there was
an ice free deep water port to bring in the ore. Currently the smelter is operating
at a low output level due to low commodity prices. So the city is in need of jobs.
The location of the LNG plant will be between the city
and the smelter. There is a lot of
infrastructure already here, a port, CN rail, power source, a whole community
with hospital and airport. I think that
the plant should be here, and given that 2 now hotels have been built and a
condo complex is on its way, I believe the LNG plant and pipeline is coming
still. Here the rub, when Alcan got the rights to dam
the Kitimat River they uprooted the native and moved them to the other side of
the inlet. The native got new houses and were excluding from jobs at the plant.
I think they are blocking the LNG plant because last time they got ripped
off. Their river was diverted and so
the salmon run died, their home was taken away and they were shoved aside. I
think the LNG plant will come and all they have to do is offer the natives is a
tariff on every kilogram of LNG shipped. Generally speaking the natives here
have 2000 years of proven history of extracting a tariff or toll from other
tribes passing through; the LNG group could bring back that tradition by
offering to pay a toll of exports.
My opinion of native hardships have done a 180 during
this trip, I think they should give them whatever they want. Self-government,
always talked about as a big issue and they should have it. Every town incorporated or not in both Canada
and the USA is self–governed. Imagine you have a pot hole in front of your
house and every time you pull out you hit it. You would call your municipal
government and get it fixed. For the natives
they have to call the Federal Transport Minister and request a fix, likely a
long wait.
With a stroke of a pen between the feds and provincial
governments (1955 Ont, Man., Sask. Alb. and BC) extending their borders to the
60th parallel, with no native treaties just a fed and provincial deal. Think of
that the whole oil sands grabbed with a deal with the feds wiping out an Inuit
community. Yes I think they are deserving some royalties, a large part the
Canada’s, central back gold reserves comes from Dawson, 3 of the 4 riches gold
claims were discovered by natives, however the Mounties had a policy that
native could not book a claim. Funny
thing here the last conservative government was selling much of this gold not
because it was a good time to sell be given that is was on the books for $34 an
ounce and market price of $1800, the profit would make their budget deficit
look smaller, way to go Harper.
The rest of the day was a wash, waiting to get a new tire,
the internet and driving back down to Kitimat for a worst camp site around $22,
but included free unlimited wood, showers really needed and portable water. The
camp warden came by and said my spot was not really a current spot, and said I
can’t charge you, enjoy the night.
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