Cheam Chief Ernie Crey welcomed the news Tuesday of the $4.5 billion federal buyout of the Trans Mountain Pipeline and Kinder Morgan Canada91裸聊视频檚 assets.
91裸聊视频淭here was a promise made, and obviously it91裸聊视频檚 going to be a promise kept, that one way or another this pipeline would be built because it91裸聊视频檚 in the national interest,91裸聊视频� Crey said.
The livelihood of the Cheam community 91裸聊视频渁lso depends on it succeeding,91裸聊视频� and the deal injects a stabilizing element into a project that was teetering on collapse.
91裸聊视频淚 am happy with this morning91裸聊视频檚 announcement,91裸聊视频� said Crey, who has been very supportive of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion (TMX) in light of the potential economic spinoffs for the Cheam. 91裸聊视频淚t bodes well.91裸聊视频�
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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It91裸聊视频檚 not black and white, he argued, and there is no homogeneity on the pipeline issue, despite how it is being portrayed.
Crey wasn91裸聊视频檛 completely surprised either by the bailout decision announced by Liberal government Ministers Bill Morneau and Jim Carr.
91裸聊视频淚 knew the potential options they were facing, I just didn91裸聊视频檛 know which one they would settle on,91裸聊视频� Crey said.
For those opposed to the pipeline twinning, including Indigenous leaders and environmentalists, the bailout probably came as a 91裸聊视频渂ig surprise, if not a shock,91裸聊视频� he said.
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91裸聊视频淪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,91裸聊视频� 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.
91裸聊视频淐heam formed partnerships with 13 companies involved in the pipeline construction process, and during the post-construction phase,91裸聊视频� 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 91裸聊视频渄riven back into the businesses91裸聊视频� operated by individual band members, and band-owned ventures, Crey noted.
jfeinberg@theprogress.com
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