The Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs learned last Friday that they did not succeed in their court challenge against a decision by B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Office (BCEAO) and vowed to continue fighting for their way of life.

Gitanyow went to the B.C. Supreme Court in February 2025 asking to overturn a decision by the BCEAO not to consult the Gitanyow on the proposed northern B.C. Ksi Lisims LNG project or permit the Gitanyow to be meaningfully involved in the environmental assessment for the project. Justice Whately found that the BCEAO’s statement that the Gitanyow would not be affected by the project and had no right to be consulted in relation to it was not a decision that was reviewable through a judicial review. The court concluded this despite the fact that the proposed LNG terminal is located directly at the mouth of the Nass River, which is the route salmon rely on to travel to Gitanyow territory.

Justice Whately further found that Gitanyow had been consulted through the limited and dismissive correspondence with the BCEAO that communicated there was no duty to consult Gitanyow.

Gitanyow’s legal challenge argues the environmental assessment process was fundamentally flawed. The BCEAO in that process concluded consultation with the Gitanyow wasn’t necessary because the LNG project did not affect their lands or rights, a finding that Gitanyow reject, and did not notify the Gitanyow of the project or give the opportunity to be involved in the studying of the project’s environmental effects.

The Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs argued that the Ksi Lisims project threatens vital salmon habitat, Gitanyow cultural practices and economic opportunities for their fisheries. The B.C. government’s decision to exclude Gitanyow from the environmental assessment of the building of the LNG project, they argued, violates their rights.

The provincial environmental assessment has now been concluded and a referral has been submitted to Minister of Environment and Parks Tamara Davidson who will make a decision in early September.

Justice Whately did leave the door open for Gitanyow to potentially challenge that decision, stating at Para 113 of the decision:

“My limited finding in this respect, however, should not preclude or hinder later challenges with respect to the duty to consult that may be brought in respect of any decision made by the ministers, that would presumably involve a review of the entirety of the record of communications and consultation between the relevant parties.”

 Quotes by Simogyet Watakhayetsxw/Deborah Good
“In rejecting Gitanyow’s application, the courts are saying that we have no right to be part of the province’s assessment of the impacts of this decision on us and our territory. We know so much about the Nass and the salmon that swim in it. Ignoring that knowledge is an enormous blow to our ability to protect our traditional territory and the resources we rely upon.

We’ve had to go to court to fight for our way of life and especially the continuing health of our salmon stocks, yet our concerns remain unaddressed.

We won’t give up and are meeting now to decide our next move.”

Quotes by Naxginkw/Tara Marsden, Wilp Sustainability Director
“This is a somber day for salmon in the Nass River Watershed, but it is only one step in the long-term responsibility we have to steward our lands, waters, fish and wildlife.  Ksi Lisims LNG project would have profound impacts on our way of life if it moves ahead, yet we were not consulted during the environmental assessment.

We continue to call on Minister Tamara Davidson, a member of the Haida Nation, to make the right decision in the coming weeks. Gitanyow joins the Lax Kwalaams, Metlakatla and Gitga’at nations in raising concerns over the impacts of the proposed terminal. This project is not unanimously supported by affected First Nations.”

Background:
Ksi Lisims LNG is a partnership between the Nisga’a Nation, Rockies LNG and U.S.-based Western LNG. The project, a floating natural gas liquefaction facility and marine terminal to be constructed outside of Canada, would be located next to the mouth of the Nass River where salmon enter and leave Gitanyow territory. Juvenile Chinook salmon that Gitanyow depend on for their fisheries have been found at the proposed project site. Salmon is a major food source for the Gitanyow.

Gitanyow territory, known as the Gitanyow Lax’yip, is located in Northwestern British Columbia and includes a small portion of the Skeena watershed in the Upper Kitwanga and Kispiox watersheds.

The Nass River, which crosses Gitanyow territory before entering into Nisga’a territory and emptying into the Portland Canal, is the “integral lifeblood of the Gitanyow Lax’yip”, providing key spawning habitat for salmon, including important tributaries such as the Meziadin River.

The Gitanyow have been operating in accordance with the Gitanyow Lax’yip Land Use Plan for over a decade. The plan, agreed to by the province, aims to protect Gitanyow Ha’Nii Tokxw (food security, or “food table”) by protecting the Lax’yip ecosystem.

In 2021, the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs adopted the Wilp Sustainability Assessment Process, or WSAP. Under the Gitanyow WSAP,  a person proposing a project that may impact Gitanyow Lax’yip or Gitanyow Huwilp must notify the GHC Office about the details of the project. The Gitanyow have never received any notification for the Ksi Lisims LNG project.

For more information and media requests:
Theresa Beer
778-874-3396
[email protected]

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The Simigigyet’m Gitanyow (Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs) are an innovative, traditional Indigenous government mandated to protect Gitanyow Nation’s lands, resources, and laws. The Gitanyow have never ceded or surrendered title to their lands, rights to their resources, or the power to make decisions within their Lax’yip (Territory). The Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs’ goal is to establish government-to-government agreements that form the foundation of a modern-day treaty through an incremental treaty approach. In 2012, the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs and the province of British Columbia signed the Gitanyow Lax’yip Land Use Plan to guide all industrial activity. Gitanyow Nation is part of the larger Gitksan Nation, encompassing 6,200 square kilometres in the Nass and Skeena Watersheds (Kitwanga and Kispiox Rivers).