VANCOUVER – The federal government is harshly criticized in a report from a British Columbia First Nation into the sinking of a tug in the waters off the renowned Great Bear Rainforest last year.
The Heiltsuk First Nation report says failures in Canada’s emergency response measures were evident within hours of the grounding of the Nathan E. Stewart on Oct. 13, 2016.
The report examines the first 48 hours of the emergency, which began when the vessel pushing an empty barge hit rocks west of Bella Bella, causing a spill of more than 110,000 litres of diesel.
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The report says the Transportation Safety Board and ship’s owner Kirby Corporation repeatedly refused to provide details about the ship’s log, black box, crew training or history, while spill response materials were unavailable and there was confusion over who was in charge.
Chief Marilyn Slett says the Heiltsuk signed an agreement with the federal government, providing for joint decision-making over land and marine resources, but they were never consulted about issues that could have averted the spill or reduced its effects.
She says the way the federal government handled this situation does not reflect the approach it says it wants to take in developing a nation-to-nation relationship.
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