UBC Law is hosting an exhibition that tells the story of the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry. The inquiry, held in the Northwest Territories in the early ‘70s, has been recognized as an important time in B.C.’s history for the voice it gave to the Aboriginal people whose traditional territory would have been affected by the pipeline.
In 1974, UBC graduate, Justice Thomas R. Berger of the Supreme Court of B.C., was appointed by the federal government to hold hearings into a proposed natural gas pipeline from the Beaufort Sea, down the Mackenzie Valley, to U.S. markets. Berger’s task was not to rule for or against a pipeline, but to recommend conditions that would be placed on construction. In addition to the formal hearings in Yellowknife, the inquiry held community hearings in more than 30 villages along the pipeline path. The community hearings were organized by UBC law professor Michael Jackson and ignited the interest of Canadians, eroding public confidence in the pipeline application.
This inquiry exhibition marks the 35th anniversary of Berger’s final report. Hanging above the exhibition are beaver stretchers with twenty historical images shot by Jackson during the community hearings. On the walls are life-sized portraits of key organizers photographed by Linda MacCannell.
Date: Oct. 29 – Nov. 3
Place: Franklin Lew Forum, Allard Hall, 1822 East Mall
Info: Free admission and open to the public. http://www.law.ubc.ca/news/2012/oct/10_31_12_display.html
