THE NISGA'A NATION says it has signed a deal with a natural gas pipeline builder that it says will bring substantial economic benefits to its residents and others in the Nass Valley.

Dollar values were not immediately released by the Nisga'a Lisims Government but the deal with Trans Canada Pipelines for its planned Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project to pump natural gas from northeastern B.C. to a planned liquefied natural gas plant at Prince Rupert calls for annual payments and business and contract opportunities.

The agreement, signed off yesterday, comes at the same time as the provincial government has introduced legislation to provide the Nisga'a with taxation powers for industrial activity on Nisga'a lands and for the removal of land from the Nisga'a Memorial Lava Bed Park to allow for a better route for the pipeline.