(Calgary) An Indigenous group that opposed the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline is urging banks and investors not to finance the proposed second phase of the project.
The hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation in British Columbia have written an open letter to Canada’s largest banks and investors asking them to publicly commit not to purchase new bonds issued by TC Energy, the Calgary-based company behind Coastal GasLink.
The Coastal GasLink pipeline was designed to transport natural gas from Western Canada to LNG Canada’s near-completed export facility in Kitimat, British Columbia. Construction of the gas pipeline was completed in October.
The company confirmed Tuesday that it was in discussions to refinance part of its existing construction loan through private bond sales, though a spokesman declined to disclose the size of the bond offering. The company said the process was part of the “normal course” of financing the project after construction.
In the winter of 2020, protesters blocked freight and passenger rail services across the country in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs, who opposed the project and whose traditional territory the Coastal GasLink pipeline passes through.
Conversely, the 20 Indigenous groups that live along the 670 km pipeline route have supported the Coastal GasLink project, and 17 of the 20 have signed agreements with TC Energy to acquire a 10% stake in the pipeline.