Working to advance First Nations’ ownership of resource projects Savana Walkingbear has overcome adversity to become one of Canada’s top young Indigenous leaders. A citizen of Thunderchild First Nation in Saskatchewan, he was one of the youngest elected Indigenous band councillors in Canada and is now a director of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition…
Ksi Lisims LNG to benefit First Nations while helping reduce world emissions The Nisga’a Nation and its partners in a major proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in British Columbia have been granted federal approval for exports through 2060 and beyond. The $10 billion Ksi Lisims LNG project, a floating terminal to be located about…
But Trudeau government's emissions cap threatens future prosperity
A massive milestone has been reached in the growing trend of Indigenous people taking ownership of Canadian oil and gas projects. Twenty-three First Nations and Métis communities in northern Alberta are investing $1.1 billion to become part owners of seven Enbridge oil sands pipelines. It’s described as the largest energy-related Indigenous partnership transaction in North…
The right choice is staring us in the face
If First Nations are to have a chance at seeing real self-determination, equity deals in natural resource development must be part of the conversation. Having ownership of the projects taking place on our land not only gives us own-source revenue but also gives us the ability to have a seat at the table and be…
'He does not think beyond the pipeline. He does not think beyond the cause of the day'
American actor Mark Ruffalo took another uninformed swipe at the Coastal GasLink pipeline this week, claiming via Twitter that “the cleanest river in North America is about to be sacrificed to the oil and gas industry” because of project construction. Earlier this year, Ruffalo joined other celebrities to demand that RBC cease funding Coastal GasLink,…
Tens of billions of dollars in wages, contracts and own source revenues are at risk
On July 18, the federal government announced a plan to reduce emissions from the oil and gas sector by 42 per cent in just eight years. To meet such targets, this policy would effectively stop all new projects in the oil and gas sector, as well as curtail existing ones. This would dramatically affect global…
Coastal GasLink and Indigenous partners work together to revive depleted salmon stocks
“When we talk about land, we say we belong to this territory. This land holds us, and we are nurtured from it.” These are the words of Aileen Prince, chief of the Nak’azdli Whut’en First Nation in northern B.C. near Fort St. James. Prince and her community have suffered numerous indignities over the years, including…
... for the Canadian economy
Most Indigenous peoples and nations are not opposed to resource development. In fact, almost every Indigenous community is involved at some level in forestry, commercial fishing, agriculture, oil and gas or mining already. What we are opposed to is being left out. For over a century, resources were extracted from our territories without our say…
Ottawa must bring in legislation to ensure the project gets built now more than ever
Ottawa needs to finally declare through legislation that the Trans Mountain Expansion Project is to the national advantage of Canada. Doing so would prove to the Canadian public and Indigenous communities that the federal government is serious about seeing it completed. Make no mistake, killing the project would be devastating for many Indigenous communities along…
U.S. and Canada should work together to build new pipelines to strengthen North American energy security
Here’s an important message for U.S. President Joe Biden as he heads to Saudi Arabia tomorrow to ask the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to increase oil production: he should be asking Canada instead. Canada’s oil producers have helped to free American consumers from the world’s oil dictators before and can do it again…