The Heiltsuk Nation has reached a $12.2 million settlement with the U.S. company whose tugboat ran aground in 2016 on British Columbia's central coast, spilling 110,000 litres of diesel and devastating an important clam fishery and culturally significant area.
Details of the Settlement
The settlement includes an agreement for the company to participate in a traditional Heiltsuk washing and healing ceremony, to be held in the Big House in Bella Bella and at the spill site. The ceremony is intended to restore spiritual balance and address the harm caused by the spill.
Ongoing Concerns
Despite the settlement, the Heiltsuk Nation expressed frustration over the lack of funding and action from Canada to restore the ecosystem. The nation highlighted ongoing risks of fuel and tanker spills along the coast, especially as Alberta pushes for another oil pipeline to B.C.'s coast and the removal of an oil tanker ban in northern waters.
Marilyn Slett, elected chief of the Heiltsuk Nation, stated: "The other two respondents — Canada and Canada's ship-source oil pollution fund — are nowhere to be found. Their absence is glaring as the federal government prepares to consider a pipeline and oil tanker proposal from Alberta that would impact the coastal waters and marine resources Indigenous peoples depend on here in B.C."
Slett added: "We call on Canada and the SOPF to come to the table, to fulfil their responsibility to help restore the ecosystem, and to discuss compensation for our significant and outstanding losses. We will never give up, and we will always protect our territorial coastal waters."
Broader Opposition
The Heiltsuk Nation is among several Coastal First Nations, including the Haida, Gitxaala, Gitg'at, and Lax Kw'alams, who oppose removing the existing ban on oil tankers in northern B.C. A recent agreement between Ottawa and Alberta noted a preference for a northern route, with some industry observers suggesting Prince Rupert as an ideal deepwater harbour capable of handling super tankers.
The Spill Incident
The Nathan E. Stewart, owned by Kirby Corp., was travelling the Inside Passage from Alaska to Vancouver when it ran aground and sank on a reef near Athlone Island in the Seaforth Channel, close to Bella Bella, in the early hours of October 13, 2016. The second mate had fallen asleep at the wheel while alone on the upper bridge. Kirby Corp. admitted full responsibility for the spill.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada found that the second mate was alone on the bridge, contravening Canadian maritime law, and was seriously fatigued due to the six-on, six-off roster and conditions on the bridge at the time: warm, dark, with quiet music playing, calm seas, and a comfortable captain's seat.
With files from Postmedia
