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With Alberta’s promise to fully respect “Canada’s duty to consult with Indigenous Peoples,” as part of its promised July 1 submission on a new oil sands (bitumen) pipeline to the Major Projects Office, the Canadian province isn’t revealing which First Nations have been consulted.
Information provided by Alberta’s Ministry of Indigenous Relations said it’s not providing a list of specific communities in the interest of “open and honest participation.”
“Minister [Rajan] Sawhney has engaged with more than 40 Indigenous community leaders in person, and conversations have addressed environmental and marine safety concerns and helped identify community priorities,” said a statement from Karah Folk, the press secretary for the Ministry of Indigenous Relations.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith promised to deliver her submission by July 1 after she signed an MOU with Prime Minister Mark Carney on Nov. 25.
The MOU itself was met with opposition from First Nations along the north coast of British Columbia (B.C.), as it promises “at least one million barrels a day” of bitumen flowing to a coastal port.
Earlier this month, confidential documents on the proposed pipeline routes were leaked to CBC News. They show that the Alberta government is considering three routes through northern B.C.
According to the documents, one northern route would begin near Fort McMurray, go west to Fort St. John, and terminate at Observatory Inlet, about 130 km north of Prince Rupert.
Another possibility, dubbed the Nasoga Gulf route, would start near Fort Saskatchewan, northeast of Edmonton, cross the Rockies and head slightly north and end at Nasoga Gulf.
A third northern option would follow the path laid out for the abandoned Northern Gateway proposal. It would also start near Fort Saskatchewan, split near Terrace, B.C., and connect to port terminals at Kitimat and Prince Rupert.
A fourth option would have the pipeline terminate in Vancouver and require dredging of Burrard Inlet. The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority announced this week it has received all federal permits to allow for that work, which is expected to start in September.
The Haisla Nation and the District of Kitimat along the north coast of B.C. met with Smith in December.
Following that meeting, Haisla Nation chief councillor Maureen Nyce said in a statement that they invite “partners to develop new projects with us that respect our values and the role we have played to date in supporting the greater Canadian economy.”
She emphasized Haisla people remain opposed to an oil pipeline and export facility in their territory.
Environmental groups stand with First Nations
Over a decade ago, the Haisla community of Kitimat voted to oppose Enbridge’s Northern Gateway project and said that stance hasn’t changed. Environmentalists stood alongside First Nations in opposition.
Des Nobles, with the group Friends of Wild Salmon, has been working to educate the public on the proposed pipeline since April. The group has made two presentations to local governments, a union and to the Governor General’s Leadership Conference when it stopped in Prince Rupert.
There is nothing, he said, that has changed since they fought Northern Gateway.
“It is in complete opposition to the wishes and the things that the people in this part of the world support, so once again we find ourselves in this situation,” Nobles told APTN News in an interview.
“The people here for the last 50 years have worked diligently to get legislation in place that would protect what is an extremely diverse and ecologically vulnerable place. It has values that far surpass anything that a possible pipeline and tanker route would provide for us.”
Nobles’ presentation highlights how local communities are growing their economies in more diversified and sustainable ways.
“We’ve built a sustainable coastal economy that is bringing in well in excess of a billion dollars a year to the region, and that’s money that circulates within the region and stays here. What’s being looked at, at least in my opinion, and the opinion of many people here, doesn’t come anywhere near that,” Nobles said.
He also said the potential for environmental damage is too great, with people already concerned by the risk of existing traffic.
“All those ships are carrying significant amounts of fuels and other materials that pose a risk to the coast as it stands, and to add into that mix, probably doubling the amount of shipping or vessel traffic in the area, it just doesn’t sit well with folks, nor does it to the value of the place, and in the end poses a significant risk,” Nobles said.
According to information provided in the presentation, the conservation-based economy has generated $1.8 billion for First Nations along the north coast over the past 17 years. It also pegs the ocean-based B.C. economy at $21 billion annually with over 130,000 full-time jobs.
The MOU committed the federal government to a prompt review of Alberta’s submission so it can be designated a “project of national interest” by Oct. 1, all with the intent of obtaining the necessary permissions so design and construction could start as early as Sept. 1, 2027.
It’s that quick review timeline that most concerns a retired Alcan chemical engineer turned environmentalist in the region.
“I am appalled that to fast-track our position as an energy superpower, the Canadian government may eventually capitulate with the Alberta government by overturning or weakening the B.C. north coast crude oil tanker moratorium,” said Dave Shannon with Douglas Channel Watch.
Shannon was actively involved in the effort to stop the Northern Gateway pipeline and said a pipeline poses multiple risks.
“We’ve got areas here that are full of glacial marine clay. The land slips on very low slopes, in fact. And you certainly wouldn’t find the same degree of difficulty with the pipeline in Alberta as you would in the coastal mountains.”
Shannon also said Alberta’s preferred route for a pipeline with a port at Kitimat is “very treacherous”, and since the Northern Gateway proposal, LNG tanker traffic has multiplied.
Benefits for First Nations in Alberta
In Alberta, many appear to be sold on the potential benefits of a new pipeline project outweighing the risks.
Dale Swampy is a member of the Samson Cree Nation south of Edmonton and founder of the pro-oil and gas development group the National Coalition of Chiefs. Swampy said First Nations up to 80 km away from the proposed route were consulted for the Northern Gateway project.
“It’s pretty hard to prove that a bitumen pipeline is going to break or leak because of the incredible safety record that Canada has had in the last 50 years. So, it’s pretty hard for them to be able to justify that to professional regulators who are looking to both check the environment and to ensure the best possible advantages for economic development in this country,” he said.
Swampy said there will be multiple benefits to First Nations once the pipeline is constructed.
“Environmental protection integrity work is important, and I think the First Nations can have access to that. But more importantly, because of the new enrichment pipeline, there’s going to be a need for expansion in oil production and oil sands production…that’s going to be the biggest improvement in Alberta,” Swampy said.
“You have a lot of self-identified Indigenous workers in the oil and gas industry in Alberta, some 14,000 individuals who are going to increase their ability to be able to get work, [and] their ability to get higher-paying jobs in the long term as well.”
Pending designation by the federal Major Projects Office, the Alberta submission will also have to fully meet obligations for Indigenous consultation and accommodations under the MOU. Alberta is targeting Sept. 1, 2027, for the start of the design and construction of the pipeline.
According to the Canadian federal government, a total of 16 major, nation-building projects across the energy, mining, electricity, and transportation sectors have been submitted or referred to the Major Projects Office for consideration.
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