'No Enbridge' Protesters Surprise Kitimat Mayor (VIDEO) | HuffPost

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WATCH: 'No Enbridge' Protesters Surprise Kitimat Mayor

The Huffington Post B.C.

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A group of anti-Northern Gateway pipeline protesters surprised Kitimat's mayor at a basketball championship — just days before the city is set to vote on the project.

In a video uploaded to YouTube on Wednesday, Kitimat Mayor Joanne Monaghan is interrupted by members of the Haisla First Nation chanting, "No Enbridge!" and wearing shirts emblazoned with the same slogan.

Monaghan was invited to the girls basketball championship to hand out a $2,000 prize to the victorious team, the Vancouver Observer reports. Sunday's game took place in the Haisla Village of Kitimaat, which neighbours Kitimat.

In the video, the mayor stands quietly until the protest settles down. She eventually gets back to her task of handing out T-shirts to the winning team — including many who are wearing "No Enbridge" gear.

"I was not shook up," Monaghan told the Observer. "I've always respected the Village and its people." She said she does not have a position for or against the pipeline.

Kitimat, located in B.C.'s north coast region, is proposed as the terminal point for Enbridge's multibillion-dollar Northern Gateway pipeline, as well as the port where hundreds of oil tankers would leave for Asia each year.

That means about 220 tankers would visit the town annually. The proposed pipeline is projected to transport 525,000 barrels of oil per day.

Currently, Haisla First Nation is involved with three B.C. LNG proposals.

Land issue

"I think the fundamental issue for First Nations in our area, at least for Haisla, fundamentally is still the land issue," Chief Coun. Ellis Ross told The Canadian Press last year.

The name "Haisla" means "dwellers downriver," states the band's website. Today, the community is a mix of two historic bands: the Kitamaat of the Douglas and Devastation channels, and the Kitlope of the upper Princess Royal Channel and Gardner Canal.

In December, a Joint Review Panel report concluded that the federal government should approve the pipeline, along with 209 recommended conditions.

A plebiscite allowing residents to voice their opinions for or against the pipeline is set to for Saturday. (The Haisla First Nation cannot participate in the vote unless they are Kitimat citizens, according to the Observer.)

Enbridge has been criticized for a large public relations campaign in Kitimat ahead of the vote.

It is an important — albeit non-binding — event, says David Miller, the president and CEO of the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and former Toronto mayor.

"The Kitimat vote, and Enbridge's efforts to sway it, is a reminder that massive projects, which pose real risks to the environment and society, should not proceed without the approval of well-informed citizens," Miller wrote in a blog post for The Huffington Post Canada.

"That means, these projects don't only have to pass the [Joint Review Panel]'s test or the federal government's — they have to pass all of ours, too."

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'No Enbridge' Rally, 2013

"No Enbridge" Rally(01 of54)

Thousands gathered in downtown Vancouver on Nov. 16, 2013 to protest Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline project. (credit:Jesse Ferreras)

"No Enbridge" Rally(02 of54)

Thousands gathered in downtown Vancouver on Nov. 16, 2013 to protest Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline project. (credit:Jesse Ferreras)

"No Enbridge" Rally(03 of54)

Thousands gathered in downtown Vancouver on Nov. 16, 2013 to protest Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline project. (credit:Jesse Ferreras)

"No Enbridge" Rally(04 of54)

Thousands gathered in downtown Vancouver on Nov. 16, 2013 to protest Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline project. (credit:Jesse Ferreras)

"No Enbridge" Rally(05 of54)

Thousands gathered in downtown Vancouver on Nov. 16, 2013 to protest Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline project. (credit:Jesse Ferreras)

"No Enbridge" Rally(06 of54)

Thousands gathered in downtown Vancouver on Nov. 16, 2013 to protest Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline project. (credit:Jesse Ferreras)

"No Enbridge" Rally(07 of54)

Thousands gathered in downtown Vancouver on Nov. 16, 2013 to protest Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline project. (credit:Jesse Ferreras)

"No Enbridge" Rally(08 of54)

Thousands gathered in downtown Vancouver on Nov. 16, 2013 to protest Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline project. (credit:Jesse Ferreras)

"No Enbridge" Rally(09 of54)

Thousands gathered in downtown Vancouver on Nov. 16, 2013 to protest Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline project. (credit:Jesse Ferreras)

"No Enbridge" Rally(10 of54)

Thousands gathered in downtown Vancouver on Nov. 16, 2013 to protest Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline project. (credit:Jesse Ferreras)

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Syncrude's Mildred Lake Upgrader, part of The Syncrude Project complex for oil sands processing, is pictured Monday, March 8, 2006 in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. (credit:Getty)

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The Syncrude oil sands extraction facility is reflected in a lake reclaimed from an old mine near the town of Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada on October 22, 2009. (credit:Getty)

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A disused mining machine on display in front of the Syncrude oil sands extraction facility near the town of Fort McMurray in Alberta on October 22, 2009. (credit:Getty)

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The Suncor oilsands operation uses trucks that are 3 stories tall, weigh one million pounds, and cost 7 million dollars each. (credit:Getty)

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Oil sits on the surface at a Suncor Energy Inc. oilsands mining operation near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2013. Photographer: (credit:Getty)

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Oils mixes with water at a tailings pond at a Suncor Energy Inc. oilsands mining operation near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2013. (credit:Getty)

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Fort McMurray is in the heart of the world's biggest single oil deposit - the Athabasca Oil Sands, and the oil is extracted by surface mining and refined in the region. The oil production is at the heart of the economy. (credit:Getty)

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In this Aug. 5, 2005 file photo, the Syncrude upgrader spreads out towards the horizon at the company's oil sands project in Ft. McMurray, Alberta, Canada. (credit:AP)

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This Tuesday, July 10, 2012 aerial photo shows a Nexen oil sands facility near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. (credit:AP)

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This Sept. 19, 2011 aerial photo shows an oilsands facility near Fort McMurray, in Alberta, Canada. (credit:AP)

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This Sept. 19, 2011 aerial photo shows an oilsands tailings pond at a mine facility near Fort McMurray, in Alberta, Canada. (credit:AP)

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This Sept. 19, 2011 aerial photo shows an oilsands tailings pond at a mine facility near Fort McMurray, in Alberta, Canada. (credit:AP)

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The Syncrude extraction facility in the northern Alberta oil sand fields is reflected in the pool of water being recycled for re-use. (credit:Getty Images)

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A night view of the Syncrude oil sands extraction facility near the town of Fort McMurray in Alberta Province, Canada on October 22, 2009. (credit:Getty)

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Workers use heavy machinery in the tailings pond at the Syncrude oil sands extraction facility near the town of Fort McMurray in Alberta , Canada on October 25, 2009. (credit:Getty)

(28 of54)

Fort McMurray is in the heart of the world's biggest single oil deposit - the Athabasca Oil Sands, and the oil is extracted by surface mining and refined in the region. The oil production is at the heart of the economy. (credit:Getty)

(29 of54)

A large oil refinery in Alberta's Oilsands project. Fort McMurray, Alberta. (credit:Getty)

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Plains Midstream Canada(36 of54)

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Plains Midstream Canada(37 of54)

Debris pushes up against a boom as it stretches out to contain a pipeline leak on the Gleniffer reservoir near Innisfail, Alta., Tuesday, June 12, 2012. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

Plains Midstream Canada(38 of54)

A boom stretches out to contain a pipeline leak on the Gleniffer reservoir near Innisfail, Alta., Tuesday, June 12, 2012. Plains Midstream Canada says one of their non-functioning pipelines leaked between 1,000-3,000 barrels of sour crude near Sundre, Alberta, on June 7 and flowed downstream in the Red Deer river to the reservoir. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

Plains Midstream(39 of54)

A boom stretches out to contain a pipeline leak on the Gleniffer reservoir near Innisfail, Alta., Tuesday, June 12, 2012. Plains Midstream Canada says one of their non-functioning pipelines leaked between 1,000-3,000 barrels of sour crude near Sundre, Alberta, on June 7 and flowed downstream in the Red Deer river to the reservoir. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

Plains Midstream Canada(40 of54)

A photographer snaps a boom stretching out to contain a pipeline leak on the Gleniffer reservoir near Innisfail, Alta., Tuesday, June 12, 2012. Plains Midstream Canada says one of their non-functioning pipelines leaked between 1,000-3,000 barrels of sour crude near Sundre, Alberta, on June 7 and flowed downstream in the Red Deer river to the reservoir. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

Plains Midstream Canada(41 of54)

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Plains Midstream Canada(42 of54)

A worker slows traffic while a boom stretches out to contain a pipeline leak on the Gleniffer reservoir near Innisfail, Alta., Tuesday, June 12, 2012. Plains Midstream Canada says one of their non-functioning pipelines leaked between 1,000-3,000 barrels of sour crude near Sundre, Alberta, on June 7 and flowed downstream in the Red Deer river to the reservoir. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

Plains Midstream Canada(43 of54)

A no swimming sign along the banks of the Gleniffer reservoir while a boom stretches out to contain a pipeline leak on the lake near Innisfail, Alta., Friday, June 12, 2012. Plains Midstream Canada says one of their non-functioning pipelines leaked between 1,000-3,000 barrels of sour crude near Sundre, Alberta, on June 7 and flowed downstream in the Red Deer river to the reservoir. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

Plains Midstream Canada(44 of54)

Oil from a pipeline leak coats a pond near Sundre, Alta., Friday, June 8, 2012. Plains Midstream Canada says one of their non-functioning pipeline leaked between 1,000-3,000 barrels of oil. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

Plains Midstream Canada(45 of54)

Oil from a pipeline leak coats a pond near Sundre, Alta., Friday, June 8, 2012. Plains Midstream Canada says one of their non-functioning pipeline leaked between 1,000-3,000 barrels of oil. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

Plains Midstream Canada(46 of54)

Oil from a pipeline leak coats a pond near Sundre, Alta., Friday, June 8, 2012. Plains Midstream Canada says one of their non-functioning pipeline leaked between 1,000-3,000 barrels of oil. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

Plains Midstream Canada(47 of54)

Tracks pass through oil on the banks of the Gleniffer reservoir after a pipeline leak near Sundre, Alta., on Friday, June 8, 2012. Plains Midstream Canada says one of their non-functioning pipelines leaked between 1,000-3,000 barrels of oil. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

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