[11] In July, eight Gitxsan hereditary chiefs issued an eviction notice calling for all loggers, sports fishers, and the Canadian National Railway to vacate the territory by August 4th, a deadline that was later extended to September 16th after Canadian Rail won an injunction pending a threatened Gitxsan blockade.

[1] Conflict also arose in May when several Gitxsan hereditary chiefs accused LNG and the Gitxsan Development Corporation of faking signatures of hereditary chiefs in approval of the LNG pipeline, when the chiefs in question were not aware that someone was signing on behalf of them [12] Richard Wright, speaking on behalf of the house of Luutkudizii, stated that the formal notice barring pipelines from three Gitxsan chiefs issued to the B.C. government came as a response to ongoing negotiations between the government and Gitxsan Treaty Society (GTS) and Gitxsan Development Corp. The house of Luutkudizii is participating in a lawsuit that questions the validity of the GTS and its ability to speak on behalf of all Gitxsan people [1] Wright pointed to particular environmental concerns, including the possibility of a pipe spill infiltrating creeks and the Suskwa, Bulkley River, and Skeena River, which would kill off salmon used for sustenance by the Gitxsan peoples [1]. Other feared environmental impacts include the potential for LNG electrical power plants and subsequent reduced air quality [11].

Pacific NorthWest LNG, the proposed facility to liquefy and export the natural gas arriving via the Rupert pipeline, and Progress Energy Canada ltd., the producer of the gas, are both owned by PETRONAS, Malaysia's national oil company [3, 4].

The pipeline itself would transport gas from North Montney near Fort St. John, B.C. to the proposed liquefaction facility in Port Edward, near Prince Rupert, B.C. [5] Natural gas in North Montney is extracted via shale fracking (hydraulic fracturing) [6, 7].

-Prince Rupert pipeline would transport 2 billion to 3.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. (3)

-Starts near Fort St. John, B.C.

-Ends at proposed Pacific Northwest LNG facility in Port Edward, B.C.

-Length (without Coastal GasLink Pipeline) would be 750 km of pipe (large diameter)

--Together with Coastal GasLink Pipeline would be 1,400 km of pipeline, added to existing 24,000 km of natural gas pipeline in Western Canada and 360 km of pending pipeline in B.C.

-It is estimated that 2,500 construction jobs will take place over three years

-Cost is currently estimated at around 5 billion USD (as of 2012)

-End of construction planned for 2018

(5)

TransCanada stats:

-Controls more than 68,500 km of natural gas pipeline in North America

-Have 380 billion cubic feet of storage

-Owns or is invested in more than 11,800 megawatts of power generation in the US and Canada

(5)