Canada seeks Native support on energy

The Canadian government is opening a major-projects management office in British Columbia to expand its dealings with aboriginal communities on energy pipelines and other infrastructure.

Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford also said the government will establish a forum with the British Columbia government to consult with First Nations.

“We want to invite First Nations to be full participants in resource development so they can become fully integrated into both the economic and environmental aspects of projects,” he said.

Rickford said the office will work with industry and the British Columbia government to “address the unique elements of energy exports” from British Columbia.

The initiative comes close to the June 17 deadline for the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper to issue the final verdict on Enbridge’s 525,000 barrels per day Northern Gateway pipeline, which aboriginal leaders argue carries high risks of spills on land and in coastal waters.

Douglas Eyford, a lawyer appointed by Harper as a special envoy, made recommendations last December that the government should establish a “sustained presence of senior officials on the ground in British Columbia” to coordinate engagement with First Nations.

But, in making the announcement, Rickford was told by Garry Reece, chief of the Lax Kw’alaams First Nation, that his community would never support heavy crude-related projects such as Northern Gateway.

“They’re not satisfied with information that there’s going to be adequate protection,” he said, doubting that the new federal office will open doors to fresh negotiations.

But Reece said his people would be willing to discuss support for LNG development if environmental protections were strong.

However, he did credit Rickford with trying to open talks, while Rickford said he heard Reece “loud and clear.”

“We want to address specific issues and specific opportunities and move forward,” Rickford said.

- Gary Park