More than 150 First Nations, businesses, environmental organizations and prominent Canadians have signed on to the campaign to stop the pipeline.

"We all believe the Enbridge Gateway pipeline project is a threat to the very existence of our culture and our way of life," Art Sterritt, executive director of the Coastal First Nations told reporters.

With the proposed pipeline, crude oil would cross more than 1,000 streams and rivers, mountain ranges, avalanche-prone terrain and rainforest ecosystems before being loaded onto at least 150 tankers annually.

"It would be both unwise and irresponsible for Enbridge to ignore us or our constitutionally protected rights and title in British Columbia," states Sterritt.

The Coastal First Nations heading the campaign is an alliance of 28 communities on B.C.'s coast. Also the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, some aboriginal groups from Alberta, David Suzuki Foundation, the Sierra Club and the Pembina Institute signed on to the campaign.