Walpole Island band council discussing the natural gas expansion at the library. August 10, 2016. (Photo by Natalia Vega)Walpole Island band council discussing the natural gas expansion at the library. August 10, 2016. (Photo by Natalia Vega)
Chatham

Natural Gas Coming To Walpole Island

Construction on a natural gas pipeline is moving ahead on Walpole Island.

That's despite protests on the First Nation earlier this week, which prevented the work from going ahead.

Union Gas spokesperson Andrea Stass says those protests appear to have been sparked by some misinformation.

"The chief and council did meet with some of the protesters yesterday [Tuesday]," says Stass. "We understand that there was a belief that providing gas service to the community meant that Union Gas had some rights to the land, which we want to clarify we do not."

Stass says their workers are simply acting as guests on the land providing a service.

"That doesn't give us the right to take any resources from the land nor are we in the business of doing that," says Stass. "We also cannot move any other product other than gas through those pipelines."

According to Stass, construction started up again Wednesday morning with a police escort on site to make sure citizens don't risk their safety or the safety of the workers.

The first phase of the project is expected to take a couple of months to complete and will only provide natural gas to community buildings and a few homes on the main roads.

Stass says representatives from the First Nation have been asking for access to natural gas service for years.

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