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Canada told to change ways Report by special envoy says failure to improve aboriginal relationships will put ‘time-sensitive’ pipeline, LNG projects at risk Gary Park For Petroleum News
A blueprint to address First Nations opposition to C$100 billion worth of planned crude bitumen and LNG exports from the British Columbia coast has done little to shift the entrenched positions of most aboriginal leaders.
But Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, reacting to a 51-page report by a special envoy to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said that “building stronger relationships (between governments and First Nations) based on trust is the key to creating momentum and I am personally committed to making this happen.”
Vancouver lawyer and treaty negotiator Doug Eyford — commissioned eight months ago by Harper to “identify aboriginal interests in and opportunities related to the development of West Coast energy projects” — said he is optimistic that collaborative efforts by governments, industry and aboriginal communities can recalibrate strained relationships.
Noting that energy proposals now on the table are “time sensitive,” Eyford said that a failure to take into account the “constitutionally protected rights” of aboriginal communities “may result in projects being delayed or not proceeding.”
He said “important opportunities will be missed if relations continue on their current course.
“Industry understands, perhaps more directly than governments, that projects may be placed at risk if aboriginal and treaty rights are not addressed,” he wrote.
Eyford also said the governments of British Columbia and Alberta have observed that the Canadian government could “do more to collaboratively address aboriginal issues” in the two provinces.
Consultation required The obligations are underpinned by a landmark ruling in 1997 by the Supreme Court of Canada that requires consultation between governments and industry with aboriginal communities on major resource projects.
Eyford told Harper in a covering letter that aboriginal communities are open to supporting natural resource development “if it is undertaken in an environmentally sustainable manner and these projects would contribute to improving the socio-economic conditions” of the communities.
He urged Ottawa to form a tri-partite energy working group involving federal, provincial and aboriginal representatives “to create an open and sustained dialogue” and to start action on energy projects.
He suggested First Nations should also participate in research and safety projects related to pipelines and tanker traffic, while more initiatives are needed to give aboriginals access to related job opportunities.
First Nations not swayed However, Eyford’s observations failed to sway an alliance of 130 First Nations which oppose oil sands pipelines crossing British Columbia or crude oil tankers operating in British Columbia waters.
“Never before have we been joined by such a vast range of supporters from across Canadian society,” said Chief Martin Louie of the Nadleh Whut’en First Nation, a member of the coalition.
“This gives the alliance greater strength for the fight ahead and shows the magnitude and power of public opposition to (pipelines).”
Chief Archie Patrick of the Stellat’en First Nation, said he’d starve in protest if Enbridge sends equipment to clear a right of way for the Northern Gateway pipeline, while Annita McPhee, president of the Tahltan Central Council, warned “we will fight to protect our land by any means possible ... because our kids’ life are at stake.”
The only hint of a shift in position came from Art Sterritt, executive director of the Coastal First Nations, an alliance of eight communities, who has been a hardline opponent of Northern Gateway.
He said Eyford’s report, entitled “Forging Partnerships: Building Relationships,” provides a “roadmap that supports the re-emergence of a sustainable economy on the coast.
Cleanup technology crucial “Investing in new technologies for oil spill cleanups is central to our concerns around the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline. That technology simply does not exist and so far there has been no investments made to develop technology that can clean up spills. We now have the basis for new dialogue with the federal government on this critical issue,” he said.
Dave Porter, a member of the executive council of the First Nations Summit, offered high praise for Eyford’s efforts, saying the envoy did “a tremendous job of being open and ready to engage with whomever wanted to talk with him about this issue.”
What is needed is a government willing to heed Eyford’s call for “full engagement of the aboriginal leadership of British Columbia in a process that involves joint planning, joint decision making about energy matters in B.C., be it policy, legislation or projects.”
Porter said he hopes Harper will take the chance to “reset the relationship” with First Nations in B.C. and open the way for Canada to capitalize on an opportunity to build pipelines and terminals to deliver oil and natural gas to new export markets.
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