Premier says aboriginal refinery idea lacks business plan

Treaty chiefs aren’t sure what will result from a historic two-day meeting with the province in Edmonton this week, but Premier Alison Redford slammed the door on any partnership in a First Nations refinery and chiefs tactically deferred their push for resource revenue sharing.

Treaty 6 Grand Chief Craig Makinaw told reporters at a joint press conference that a First Nations bid for provincial participation in a refinery project was in “the discussion stage,” but the premier rejected the idea.

“We don’t actually believe there is a business plan in place that allows for this to move ahead,” she said. “It’s not something that we’re interested in pursuing in its present form.”

The premier said a better place for that discussion would be at future “sub-table” meetings between chiefs and ministers.

“If there are other opportunities for economic partnership, we’re certainly not discounting those and there was much of that discussion over the last couple of days.”

Last February, former energy minister Ted Morton rejected the plan for a $6.6-billion First Nations refinery in the Alberta Heartland, saying it wasn’t economically viable.

Makinaw, whose Treaty 6 area covers central Alberta, said the chiefs would also like to talk about resource revenue sharing with the government and industry, but not during the current discussion with about a dozen cabinet ministers and Treaty 6, 7, and 8 chiefs.

“I think that would be something worthwhile pursuing down the road,” he said. “If not now, then maybe two or three years down the road let’s talk about that.”

First Nations want a stake in any new resource projects that are being proposed on traditional lands to jump-start their own economies.

Meanwhile, Redford will travel to Toronto and Chicago later this week to help lead a premiers’ working group on fiscal relations with Ottawa, and to outline Alberta’s commitment to responsible energy development to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.