A Call For a Moratorium

Publisher:  Project North, Toronto, Canada
Year Published:  1976
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX152

A brief submitter to the Berger Inquiry by PROJECT NORTH.

Abstract: 
Four of Canada's major Christian churches recently appeared before the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry and pledged their support of the Native people of the Northwest Territories in their struggle for a just settlement of their land claims. Known as Project North, the interchurch group called for a moratorium on Northern development and asked that four major conditions be met before the Federal Government grant any license to construct the proposed pipeline. In their brief to the inquiry they also called on all Canadians to begin to examine their life styles and change from a "consumer" to a "conserver" style of life. The presentation by Project North marked the first national appearance by major Canadian churches before the Berger Inquiry. The brief stressed that a moratorium on Northern development was not a delaying tactic to obstruct government or industry, but was to be used creatively to find answers to major questions of a moral and ethical nature that so far were unanswered. Above all, the four national churches declared that land claims must be settled before any pipeline or other energy projects proceed in the Northwest Territories.