Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen is organizing a travelling conference in an attempt to raise awareness and discuss issues relating to the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway project.

Cullen said that he hopes to “give the communities as much information as possible” about the project, which could have extremely profound and, as opponents say, possible negative impacts to the natural environment and the resource-based economy of the North.

With many different stakeholders and affected groups, the MP thought it appropriate to bring all of the players together for a conference that would be more of a discussion than a one-sided presentation, as other community consultations have been described.

“There’s obviously at least two sides to this issue,” Cullen said last week, adding there are really three when taking First Nations interests into account.

The MP said supporters and opposers are now holding their own sessions but that the prospect of a massive industrial project is best explored by having issues laid out in one

forum.

Tentatively slated for late March or early April, the conference will attempt to engage proponents of all sides of the issue, from local towns and First Nations to environmental groups and representatives from Enbridge itself.

“The premise of this was that everyone was holding these different meetings - environmental groups, Native communities, Enbridge, were having these individual events, open houses and forums - and I wanted to have something where the public could view all of the arguments at one time, and see the groups actually debate the benefits and the risks with the Enbridge pipeline,” he said during a January 7 media call

The Northern Gateway project will mean big business for Ottawa and other global players, but questions remain about the local economic impact of the project.

And with much of the population of the area dependent either directly or indirectly on the natural environment for their subsistence, the MP hopes that local peoples’ concerns will be taken into account.