Yesterday the B.C. government sided with American billionaires over First Nations who do not consent to the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline.

By declaring the project “substantially started,” bureaucrats created a loophole for construction to continue, using a certificate that is 11 years out of date.

This means pipeline contractor Bechtel, a secretive U.S. mega-firm with longstanding ties to the CIA, could try to force its way across Northern B.C. as soon as this fall.

But communities along the path of this nightmare project refuse to back down.

“We’ll continue to fight to protect our territory with all actions needed, in the courts and on the ground,” said Gitanyow hereditary chief Watakhayetsxw, Deborah Good.

“PRGT will not be built,” vowed Shaylynn Sampson, a Gitxsan wolf clan member who has given years of her life to the fight against another Wall Street-owned pipeline, Coastal GasLink.

“B.C. has chosen to legitimize a process built on secrecy, coercion, and colonial authority. This is not reconciliation – this is robbery,” said Ts’mysen youth Zíziziála, Grace Vickers.

“There is no consensus, no legitimacy, and no mandate – only growing resistance,” added Hooxi’i, Kolin Sutherland-Wilson, another veteran of the Coastal GasLink fight.

Condemnation poured in from civil society leaders baffled by the Premier’s capitulation to MAGA oligarchs.

“I’m not sure how David Eby will keep his elbows up while lining the pockets of one of Trump’s biggest donors,” quipped Stand.earth’s Sven Biggs.

“Between Bill 15 and PRGT, the government has torched its credibility on climate, energy and reconciliation in the span of two weeks,” said Climate Action Network’s Emily Lowan.

“The Province is going against its own promises and laws yet again,” said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip. “It could trigger a long, hot summer.”