By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer Nearly a decade after a tug spilled diesel into the territorial waters of a BC First Nation and shut down key harvesting grounds, the Heiltsuk Nation says a new settlement is only one step toward recovery. The Heiltsuk have reached a settlement with Kirby Corporation, the Texas-based marine transportation company that owns the Nathan E. Stewart tug. The tug hit a reef near Bella Bella, BC in 2016 and spilled 110,000 litres of diesel and lubricants, fouling more than 350 kilometres of shoreline and shutting down a key clam harvesting area. But Heiltsuk leaders say the federal government — and Canada’s compensation fund for ship spills — are still “nowhere to be found.” Chief Marilyn Slett said the settlement matters,…
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