Breakthrough or breakdown?

BC government tries to strike reconciliation deal with First Nations leaders

GARY PARK

For Petroleum News

With Premier Christy Clark at the helm, the British Columbia government entered a two-day summit on Sept. 9 with about 500 First Nations leaders hoping to bridge the chasm on future economic, social and legal relations.

Many of the aboriginal representatives embarked on the talks in a bloody-minded mood, threatening to resume court battles and establish camps to block resource development unless there was clear evidence of improvement.

And they weren’t prepared to buy into the claims of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Minister John Rustad, who opened the two-day gathering by describing advances over the past decade as “remarkable.”

“You’re seeing our government’s response to the First Nations every day, in all the things we do” in our negotiations and our discussions and the way we try to build our relationships,” he said.

The First Nations had only to point to the dismal results of attempts to secure treaty agreements.

Of British Columbia’s 203 distinct First Nations (representing about 200,000 people), only two have ratified treaties, three are in the ratification process and five are negotiating final agreements, while 17 have preliminary deals to share economic benefits.

However, the majority of First Nations have refused to participate in the process, noting that the agreements to date cover only 5 percent of the land claimed.

New fracking alliance

Reflecting the mood, 10 First Nations have formed a new alliance to voice their concerns about the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing to establish the gas needed to underpin an LNG export business.

In a three-page statement to Clark, they said what is needed is “a more civil, legally consistent and logical approach to major project development.”

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, said the underlying message from the aboriginal leaders “is that if we don’t make any progress within the space of the next year ... all (of the work at the summit) will fall through and it will be back to the courts and pretty much back to the barricades.”

More reversals than successes

In this charged environment, the government and the oil and gas industry have experienced more reversals than successes in seeking First Nations support for the discovery, development and transportation of natural gas to LNG terminals and the pipelines to carry oil sands bitumen to tanker ports on the British Columbia coast.

The environmental damage attributed to oil and gas companies has seen the Fort Nelson First Nation, in the heart of British Columbia’s shale gas riches, and the alliance of communities from the Pacific Coast to the Alberta border, present an ultimatum to the Clark government.

But, somewhat against all the odds, the two sides ended the summit by approving a document that the government is proclaiming as a road map to new relations, setting a deadline of the next year to make actual progress.

‘Unique’ view sought

Clark said she wants First Nations to apply their “unique” view of reconciliation during the ongoing talks.

“I want to make sure that document comes alive,” she said. “Reconciliation means a shared vision of the future.”

Phillip said the road ahead may be bumpy, but all sides are willing to help build a path.

“Reconciliation doesn’t happen in a ballroom in a hotel in Vancouver (where the summit took place), but you can set a framework for what happens in the communities.”

Phillip noted that Clark said a year ago that the two sides “were at a fork in the road. I think we’re still there.”

“We’re hopeful that this time all of the parties acknowledge the gravity of the situation and within the next several months show significant progress,” he said.

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LNG sector sent reeling

Surrounded by relentless, gloomy forecasts about rising capital costs, mired commodity prices and evaporating global markets, British Columbia’s LNG sector and its associated natural gas industry has been dealt what could be it most damaging setback yet.

The province’s Environmental Appeal Board, appointed by the government while operating as an independent agency, effectively overturned a temporary license — the first issued in British Columbia — to draw water from a shallow lake that a vital to underpin the use of hydraulic fracturing by Nexen to supply gas to LNG operators.

In a 120-page report, the board concluded the science behind the license was based on “serious technical flaws,” while the British Columbia government did properly consult with the affected Fort Nelson First Nation.

Although Nexen will be able to use water it already has in storage, it has been banned from drawing 2.5 million liters of water a year (enough to fill about 1,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools) from a small lake about 55 miles northeast of Fort Nelson.

The government’s department of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations said it is reviewing the decision before deciding whether to seek a British Columbia Supreme Court judicial review.

“Government takes its duty to consult (with First Nations) seriously and remains committed to working closely with local First Nations throughout the province on resource development,” the department said in a statement.

Nexen, wholly owned by the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp., also said it needs time to determine its next step while examining its options to secure water rights elsewhere in the area.

“Responsible water management is a priority across all our operations,” the company said. “Specifically in northeast British Columbia we’ve emphasized the development and implementation of new processes and technologies to reduce our water use and our impact and protect water sources,” it said.

In addition, a Nexen spokeswoman said the company has “significantly slowed the pace of exploration and development in the region due to depressed commodity prices. Therefore this decision does not have any immediate impacts on our operations.”

Fort Nelson First Nation Chief Liz Logan said the board decision is “going to set a precedent that British Columbia now needs to pay attention to and needs to start looking at critical environmental values throughout all of (the aboriginal) territories.”

She said those issuing permits “need to have the proper science, they need to have facts ... and the experts they can rely on. They just can’t arbitrarily make a decision because of an industry request.”

What troubled the First Nation was internal department correspondence that showed the provincial government intended to issue a water license regardless of promised meetings with the Fort Nelson community.

The decision said the board found “this conduct was inconsistent” with the government’s overall objective of reconciliation with First Nations.

It also concluded the province’s view that water withdrawals would “have no significant impacts on the environment, including fish, riparian wildlife and their habitat, was based on incorrect, inadequate and mistaken information and modelling results.”

Logan said Fort Nelson is not against economic development provided the First Nation culture and traditional way of life was protected.

She noted that First Nations in British Columbia had approved 150 referrals for various natural gas developments last year.

—GARY PARK