VANCOUVER – A hereditary Chief with the Gitxsan Nation has filed a legal challenge against the British Columbia government’s decision to allow a liquefied natural gas pipeline project to proceed through its “untouched” territory without proper consultation.
The B.C. Environment Ministry announced in June that the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission natural gas pipeline project has been “substantially started,” meaning the environmental assessment certificate approving its construction issued in 2014 remains valid.
The 900 kilometre pipeline is to supply the Ksi Lisims liquefied natural gas facility off the B.C. coast, but that project is still undergoing the environmental assessment process.
Gitxsan hereditary Chief Charles Wright filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court last week, claiming the decision determining the pipeline project to be “substantially started” was unreasonable because it failed to consult about the project’s impacts on Aboriginal rights and title.
The petitioner says the pipeline route is through his clan’s territory, including “important cultural areas,” and there is concern the land will be “irrevocably altered,” rather than protect.
Wright says in a statement that the legal action isn’t about stopping the pipeline altogether, but that the project is relying on an “outdated” assessment and the province’s decision has “set the stage for inevitable conflict in the region.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2025.
