B.C.’s Premier says he expects a peaceful resolution to the ongoing dispute over the Coastal GasLink pipeline through Wet’suwet’en territory in northern B.C.

John Horgan says his recent tour was built around a visit to Fort St. James, noting he wasn’t able to fit in a face-to-face meeting with Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs this time around.

“Last year I spent a day long session – Minister [Doug] Donaldson and I – in a smokehouse feast at the invitation of Wet’suwet’en hereditary leaders where I learned a good deal about some of the challenges not just with respect to pipelines,” Horgan told reporters during a conference call.

“We’ve been having almost weekly meetings, government to government, with the office of the Wet’suwet’en and hereditary leadership to find a way forward on a range of issues.”

He says he has sent a letter after the chiefs declined a phone call to try and set up a meeting in the future.

“So the letter suggested that Minister Scott Fraser, the minister responsible for Indigenous Relations would be made available if the Wet’suwet’en are prepared to meet with him, and I think that’s really going to be my last statement on the question,” added Horgan.

“I respect the position of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary leaders but we have to look at the whole picture, and we have to make sure that we all act in a civilized manner and a respectful manner towards each other, and I’m confident that a peaceful resolution is not far away.”

It’s not clear if an in-person meeting will change the status quo, as Horgan previously said he has no plans to pull permits for the project which he says has economic opportunities for numerous other First Nations along the pipeline route who support the project.