TRANS MOUNTAIN COULD GET PUBLIC RELATIONS BOOST
Indigenous leaders discuss the possibility of investing in pipeline expansion project
They might just prove to be the public relations saviours of the Trans Mountain expansion project.
A group of Indigenous leaders in the Fort McMurray area are interested in investing in the project now that the federal government is about to buy Trans Mountain from Kinder Morgan for $4.5 billion.
They are so keen on becoming partners that they raised the idea with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a meeting last month and on Thursday committed to their proposal in a letter to federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau.
“As the Indigenous communities surrounded by Alberta’s oil sands development, we agree that this pipeline is in the national interest,” says the letter signed by 10 leaders representing First Nations and Métis communities. “After Canada announced its intention to purchase Kinder Morgan on May 29, 2018, we met with Ministers Amarjeet Sohi and Ralph Goodale to express our interest in becoming owners of the Kinder Morgan pipeline.”
They also presented the idea to Premier Rachel Notley when meeting with her in Fort McMurray on Thursday.
Sources say the federal government has put the Indigenous leaders in contact with an investment firm overseeing Ottawa’s buyout of the project.
Having Indigenous groups invest in the project is an idea that has great appeal for both levels of government.
It would help dispel the notion that Indigenous peoples everywhere are united in their opposition to the pipeline expansion, a perception bolstered by the protests outside Kinder Morgan’s operations in Burnaby, B.C.
And it would help bolster the governments’ argument that the pipeline has the support of a broad range of Canadians.
“Many First Nations and Indigenous leaders across this country see our resources as being a source of income and a source of support,” said Notley after Thursday’s meeting. “They see that we can be responsible stewards and also get value from these resources, and I think it’s that model that we all need to support.”
Alberta Opposition leader Jason Kenney likes the idea, too: “If there are First Nations that have the financial ability to step up as equity partners in the pipeline, I think that would be a positive development.”
Indigenous groups enjoy a unique credibility on environmental issues. That’s why their opposition to the Trans Mountain project carries particular weight.
And that’s why the governments of Alberta and Canada are looking for allies among First Nation and Métis leaders. Now, they have some.
Not only in Alberta, but also in B.C.
Ernie Crey, chief of Cheam First Nation, east of Chilliwack, wants to invest in the project, too.
And he makes an interesting observation about some of the anti-pipeline protesters.
He accuses environmentalists of “red-washing ” their movement by slipping their own agenda “under an Aboriginal flag.”
“They worked hard with the likes of Paul McCartney and Brigitte Bardot to kill the commercial seal hunt,” he said in an interview this week with CBC Radio, pointing to environmental protests on the East Coast and in Northern Canada.
“In both instances, the people that were left to suffer the consequences of their actions were the Indigenous people. So I’ve been cautioning my colleagues in British Columbia, just be aware of who you’re counting as a friend, because those folks have their own agenda and they don’t necessarily match up with ours.”
No one has said how much money they might invest. But the size of the investment is not as important as the huge public relations coup the project would enjoy by having Indigenous people in the boardroom as partners.
It would be a signal to Canadians that Indigenous protesters at anti-pipeline demonstrations don’t represent all First Nations.
Speaking of protesters, the project received some additional legal protection Friday when the B.C. Supreme Court cracked down on the tactics of antipipeline protesters at the Trans Mountain facility in Burnaby.
Police had been giving the
Many First Nations and Indigenous leaders across this country see our resources as being a source of income and a source of support.
activists a 10-minute warning before arresting them for breaking a court injunction. Wily protesters had been foiling police by swapping out demonstrators every nine minutes and 59 seconds.
Now, police can arrest demonstrators quickly after giving them a warning.
It’s another legal victory for a project that has won 16 court challenges.
This week, it won a financial victory of sorts by being bought out by the federal government.
If Indigenous groups are able to become partners, the project will have won something crucial to its success: a moral victory.