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 \u2014 and Canada\u2019s compensation fund for ship spills \u2014 are still \u201cnowhere to be found.\u201d Chief Marilyn Slett said the settlement matters,… <\/p>\n
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 \u2014 and Canada\u2019s compensation fund for ship spills \u2014 are still \u201cnowhere to be found.\u201d Chief Marilyn Slett said the settlement matters,... <\/p>\n