The Metlakatla First Nation has pulled its support for the Ridley Island Energy Export Facility at the Port of Prince Rupert, saying its consent for the REEF project was unlawfully obtained.
In a statement issued early Tuesday, February 4th, on behalf of the Nation’s Governing Council, Chief Robert Nelson said the Nation has already informed Federal and Provincial regulators that they have withdrawn their consent, and will be opposing all future authorizations and permits required for both operation and expansion at the facility.
He also said an export monopoly at the Port of Prince Rupert is impeding its development as a trade gateway, explaining that a decision in 2015 by the Prince Rupert Port Authority to give veto power to Vopak on other projects at the Port focused on the bulk export of energy products has essentially given exclusive export rights at the port to one of REEF’s parent companies.
Chief Nelson also pointed out that the granting of veto power to Vopak by the Port Authority was not something his Nation had been informed of until 2023, when the company had used it’s veto power to shoot down an application by Trigon to ship propane through the port, a proposal by a company which Metlakatla First Nation is an equity owner of.
Chief Nelson says the Port Authority’s failure to disclose the granting of veto power to the Nation during the consultation process is a violation of their constitutionally protected rights, that Trigon has since launched a challenge of its own in the BC supreme court against the 2023 decision, and that the Nation has been engaging with the Port Authority and REEF partners to address the violation, but says those talks have now broken down.
A recent decision in the BC Supreme court ruled that Metlakatla First Nation has the grounds to proceed with a case against the port authority for loss and damage over the violation of its aboriginal rights, a case the Port Authority had earlier attempted to have struck down.
Ridley Island Energy Export Facility responds
In a social media post responding to Metlakatla First Nation’s withdrawal of consent for the REEF project, an account representing the The Ridley Island Energy Export Facility says it’s deeply disappointed that its relationship with Metlakatla First Nation has been characterized negatively, and said that those involved in the project are still open to conversations and good faith negotiations with Metlakatla.
The social media posts says it’s not factually or legally accurate that Metlakatla First Nation could withdraw it’s consent for REEF, and said their Federal approval for the project had not been challenged by the Nation within the statutory time frame, it adds, to do so now with the backing of government would ‘fundamentally undermine the rule of law and would severely damage Canada’s investment climate across industries’.
Screenshot of a Facebook post from an account representing the Ridley Island Energy Export Facility on February 4th, 2026 // Source: Ridley Island Energy Export Facility – REEF Facebook page
The post continues, pointing to mutual benefit agreements with six First Nations in the region including Metlakatla, and says of the money spent on the project so far, over 25% of it has gone to Indigenous owned and affiliated businesses in the form of contracts and related services, amounting to about $350 million.
In the same BC Supreme Court ruling that allowed Metlakatla to proceed with a lawsuit for damages against the Port Authority relating to REEF over a failure to adequately consult the nation and a breach of its fiduciary duty, it was ruled that the case could not be used to demand a new round of consultation on how the REEF projects affects their rights.
Comments