Robbie Picard, the Alberta-based oil advocate who launched a campaign earlier this month to rename the cancelled Northern Gateway Pipeline, has formally withdrawn the effort after learning the proposed name “Spirit Bear” pipeline is a protected cultural symbol of the Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation.
In a statement sent to Black Press Media, Picard said he was unaware of the name’s legal and cultural significance when the petition launched.
“We have recently been made aware of a public statement from the Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation expressing concern regarding the use of the name ‘Spirit Bear Pipeline’ in our petition to rename the Northern Gateway Pipeline,” Picard wrote.
“Our campaign was intended to symbolize unity, environmental respect, and Canada’s shared natural heritage. However, we now understand that the term ‘Spirit Bear’ is a culturally protected name and a sacred symbol of the Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation, with deep spiritual, historical, and legal significance.”
He confirmed the campaign will be discontinued in its current form, the petition removed, and all materials reviewed to ensure respect for Indigenous cultural protections.
“We will relaunch the campaign under a different name when appropriate to do so, as the advocacy for responsible pipeline development must continue,” Picard stated.
“We sincerely appreciate the Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation for bringing this to our attention, and we apologize for any unintended harm our campaign may have caused.”
The retraction follows a strong statement from the Nation, issued Dec. 2, in which elected leadership and Hereditary Chiefs condemned what they described as an “egregious” misuse of their protected official mark.
“The Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation will not allow this symbol of their culture to be appropriated as the namesake for this project,” the statement read.
“This mark is not only well established but consistently maintained and protected.”
The Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation, based in the village of Klemtu on B.C.’s central coast, holds an official mark on the term “Spirit Bear” under the Canadian Trade-marks Act. The name, also known in the Nation’s language as Mooksgm’ol, represents a sacred white bear, also called the Kermode bear (a black bear species with a genetic anomoly giving it white fur), found in the Great Bear Rainforest and carries spiritual, historical and ecological significance.
The name was publicly registered in 2006 and listed in the federal trademarks database in 2015. It has since been used to protect cultural branding, including the Spirit Bear Lodge—a wilderness tourism venture owned and operated by the Nation.
The Nation says the pipeline campaign misrepresented the symbol’s significance and overlooked existing protections.
Picard, who leads the pro-oil platform Oil Sands Strong, launched the petition earlier in December, describing the Spirit Bear as a powerful regional emblem symbolizing harmony between nature and industry.
Though the pipeline in question—Northern Gateway—was overturned in 2016 following a Federal Court of Appeal ruling on lack of consultation with Indigenous communities, recent developments have brought the topic back into public debate and planning from the Alberta and federal governments.