Indigenous communities along the route for the newly announced West Coast oil pipeline were given just two months for consultations on whether the pipeline should be designated a project of national interest — and that was still more than the government had planned.
At first, the consultations were to take place over one month. They were extended to two months after Indigenous leaders raised concerns about the tight timeline for the newly-named Pacific Link pipeline in Albryas.
A summary of those consultations posted online by the federal government says Indigenous groups decried a lack of information about the project, which they said prevented them from fully assessing its impact.
Prime Minister Mark Carney promised his major projects agenda would not interfere with Canada’s obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Indigenous leaders have warned his government risks violating their rights with “national interest” designations through the Major Projects Office and the controversial Building Canada Act.
Carney said Thursday the pipeline has received the first national interest designation under that bill, which will streamline oversight and approvals.
The government said it will work over the coming year to complete consultations on the project itself, and to secure environmental safeguards, financing and Indigenous partnerships. It wants construction to begin in September 2027.
The Assembly of First Nations told The Canadian Press it has identified “many red flags” in the pipeline’s national interest designation and says the federal government appears to be predetermining outcomes and approving projects in advance of meaningful consultations.
“The government’s decision today is coming only 12 days after the consultation deadline. As we have said on many occasions, First Nations support economic development and prosperity for all, but not at the expense of our rights, the planet, and the government’s legal obligations to our people,” the statement says.
The United Nations declaration — which Canada adopted — outlines the need for free, prior and informed consent before decisions are made that could adversely affect the rights and lands of Indigenous communities and people. Indigenous communities also have recognized rights under Section 35 of the Constitution.
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The UN declaration is cited in the pipeline consultation document, which says Ottawa’s engagement efforts were designed with those principles in mind.
The consultation document says more than 130 Indigenous communities could be affected by the pipeline route and the Major Projects Office sent a letter in July to those communities to begin consultations.
Indigenous communities warned during those consultations that their participation would be held back by summer harvesting, ceremonial gatherings and wildfires, which threatened many communities and forced evacuations.
The office then extended the consultation deadline from Aug. 28 to Sept. 18.
A senior government official, speaking with reporters ahead of Thursday’s announcement on the condition they not be named, said it’s likely the national interest designation will be challenged in court.
The document says the office held over 140 meetings with representatives from more than 110 Indigenous organizations and communities.
During those meetings, many community leaders said they lacked information they needed to make informed decisions — things like routing, engineering and design, environmental effects, marine shipping, emergency responses and impacts on Aboriginal and treaty rights.
Those concerns were cited both by communities that backed the project and those that didn’t.
Despite the compressed timeline, the federal document says the Major Projects Office is satisfied that it has provided a meaningful opportunity for consultations, and that further questions can be addressed as they arise.
“The GIC is satisfied that these processes provide an appropriate framework through which potential adverse impacts on Aboriginal and treaty rights, including specific concerns already raised in consultation, can be further addressed before any final federal authorizations are issued,” the document says.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak has said staff in the Major Projects Office do not understand how to work with First Nations communities and that “junior staffers” aren’t helping to build relationships.
“They have a lot of work to do,” she told a news conference in Ottawa last week.
She also said CEO Dawn Farrell has been unavailable to meet with leadership, including at Assembly of First Nations gatherings.
Cold Lake First Nations Chief Kelsey Jacko said while Carney has talked about building a new relationship with First Nations and partnering on major projects development, the pipeline announcement Thursday does not reflect those intentions.
Jacko said that even though his territory is situated in the oilsands, it has been left out of discussions that could affect lands and treaty rights.
“Yesterday the Treaty 6 chiefs shared grand entry with the prime minister, and I spoke to him briefly and invited him again to our nation,” said Jacko, referring to Carney’s participation in an event to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Wednesday.
“Today, the leaders of the Nations and communities that will be heavily impacted should have been in the room. This runs right through our territory.”
Fort McKay First Nation Chief Raymond Powder said he was feeling both excited and concerned about the pipeline’s designation.
“We’re excited that we get the opportunity to be a participant on the equity stakeholders and also really, really seeing the area for Fort McKay First Nation to continue to sustain the growth in our nation,” he said after the announcement.
“The areas of concern, of course, is always the challenge of the ecosystems and really being harmonious with the environment and balancing with the economy.”
He said he has been working with the federal and provincial governments on the consultation process and described it as meaningful.
“We’ve had some respectful conversations,” he said.
“Of course there’s some complexities and some challenges and we’re really addressing those with the federal and provincial governments and my brothers and sisters in the five First Nations within this region.”
— With files from Nick Murray in Ottawa and Fakiha Baig in Fort McMurray, The Canadian Press
