The partnership between maritime company KOTUG Canada (“KOTUG”) and SC’IȺNEW̱ continues to bring economic opportunities to SC’IȺNEW̱, moving the needle towards sustained prosperity for the community.
KOTUG is a towage, marine services, and oil spill response provider with a strong commitment to enacting the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call to action 92 – the Business and Reconciliation call to action – by considering, consulting, collaborating, and building relationships with Indigenous communities. KOTUG took a step towards realizing this commitment in 2023 when it partnered with SC’IȺNEW̱ to support the Trans Mountain Expansion Project.
Through this partnership, KOTUG and SC’IȺNEW̱ are working together to provide Escort Tugs for Trans Mountain tankers and to operate the KJ Gardner – an oil spill response vessel provided thanks to a partnership between KOTUG and Western Canada Marine Response Corporation (WCMRC). All three vessels are based out of the new floating dock built at Cheanuh Marina – another product of the partnership – which is strategically located along Trans Mountain’s shipping lanes and the perfect launch point for fast oil spill response.
While the decision to help KOTUG support Trans Mountain’s pipeline expansion didn’t come easily for SC’IȺNEW̱, the community ultimately decided the best way to protect the Sea is to work with Trans Mountain and KOTUG as an equal partner. Regarding this complexity, Chief Chipps said:
The overall feeling for any Nation was to look after the land – no pipeline. We didn’t want to be the community that was sitting around waiting for change to happen in our own community. We wanted to be out there first, we wanted to be fins in the water, we wanted to be the first phone call when there is an accident. The only way to do that was to, not accept what’s going on, but to participate as an equal partner.
Before the partnership, the response time for oil spills in the area was 72 hours. Now, thanks to the establishment of the new floating dock and the three new vessels at Cheanuh Marina, response time is down to 6 hours.
In addition to reducing oil spill response times, the partnership brings opportunities for growth on behalf of both KOTUG staff and SC’IȺNEW̱. For KOTUG, the partnership provides an opportunity to learn traditional knowledge about the best way to protect the Sea while engaging in towage, marine services, and oil spill response. KOTUG has already adapted practices in response and is utilizing advanced technology to reduce emissions and underwater noise from the vessels.
For SC’IȺNEW̱, the partnership brings employment and transferrable training opportunities. SC’IȺNEW̱ plays an active role in providing services to the vessels and managing the docking facility. Additionally, several community members have already received on-vessel training and jobs onboard the KJ Gardner. This training not only prepares them to work on the vessels at Cheanuh Marina, but to take advantage of tug operation and marine response opportunities globally. Finally, the partnership allowed a group of young community members to complete industrial diver training, a skill that allows them to help monitor and gather traditional foods.
Regarding the training opportunities, SC’IȺNEW̱ Councillor Traci-Lynn Pateman shared:
“A lot of the members were excited to have the opportunity to be a part of the help in case there was a situation where we needed to have spill response. They took a spill response training, Small Vessel Operators courses, marine safety courses, as well as boom deployment operation.”
Now, says Director of Ocean Resources Trina Sxwithul’txw, SC’IȺNEW̱ has “a community full of people who have these certifications, and it really opened up the eyes of community members about what possibilities are out there.”
In addition to direct training and employment opportunities, the partnership has led to unanticipated funding opportunities and opportunities for collaboration. For example, KOTUG supported SC’IȺNEW̱ with Tribal Journeys in 2025, and KOTUG established an office on site.
In all of the above ways, the partnership is simultaneously generating economic opportunities for the community and strengthening SC’IȺNEW̱’s roles as key players in marine safety and stewards of the sea, roles held since time immemorial.
In Chief Chipps’ words:
The MBA allows SC’IȺNEW̱ First Nation to meet a broad range of objectives in relation to the changing reality of the west coast marine economy. Furthermore, it allows our Nation to fully participate in the growing economy within our traditional waters. It fits our vision to be a community whose Chief and Council provide economic opportunities through residential and commercial development, training and careers, while protecting the people’s lands, resources, language, and cultural knowledge. Finally, it will contribute to our mental well-being and health.
SC’IȺNEW̱ looks forward to continuing to nurture the partnership with KOTUG and to forming new partnerships, all with the aim of protecting the Sea, restoring prosperity for the community, and creating wealth that will last for many generations to come.
Learn more about the KOTUG partnership using the following resources:
KOTUG Canada’s Indigenous Relations Page
KOTUG’s Announcement of the Trans Mountain Partnership
The Trans Mountain Announcement of its Partnership with KOTUG
SC’IȺNEW̱’s Article About the KJ Gardner’s Recent Emergency Response
Then, to stay up to date on this story and the other ways SC’IȺNEW̱ is working to create prosperity for membership, be sure to sign up for the SC’IȺNEW newsletter.