Background
Over the past few years, Canadians have become very familiar with the Trans Mountain Pipeline and the debate it has brought to the political and environmental table. For those who may be unfamiliar with the topic, the Trans Mountain Pipeline (TMP) is a proposed pipeline expansion on a route already in place, that will carry oil from the oil sands in Northern Alberta, through to the coast of B.C. The expansion of this pipeline would allow Canada to compete with the U.S oil market or even surpass it in its success; more specifically, the pipeline would create the opportunity for Canada to export its oil over to the Asian market at a competitive price.
The approval process
During the summer of 2018, the Federal Court of Appeal rejected the proposed TMP as it concluded that the environmental risk and threat to Indigenous relationships was too large and that the federal government had a poor plan to mitigate the issues. Following revaluation and strategic planning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has re-approved the build of the TMP with the hope to gain more environmental and Indigenous support on the proposal; however, the pipeline will likely forever face some opposition from both environmentalists and Indigenous groups.
Pipeline ownership
With the re-approval of TMP, Trudeau has expressed his openness to ownership of the pipeline by Indigenous groups of Canada. Ownership of the pipeline by Indigenous groups could scale anywhere from partial to complete ownership. By allowing the potential for ownership, Trudeau is opening the gates to an improved relationship with First Nations, especially as Canada sees the pipeline succeed.
There are multiple Indigenous-led initiatives currently in operation including Project Reconciliation, Alberta-led Iron Coalition and Western Indigenous Pipeline Group. Project Reconciliation has recently submitted a proposal to the federal government in an effort to purchase 51 per cent of TMP. The money for the purchase, costing $7.6 billion, would come from a syndicated bond that functions similar to a loan. Roughly 80 per cent of the profits from TMP will be used to establish an Indigenous sovereign wealth fund, while the remaining 20 per cent will be distributed among First Nation communities within Canada. These strategic fund allocations would prevent the use of Canadian taxpayer money or First Nation funds in the purchase of the pipeline.
Opposition
Although the plan set in place by Project Reconciliation and other First Nation initiatives alike was created to produce wealth for the Indigenous communities, some opposition by environmental and Indigenous group still remains. Regardless of opposition towards the pipeline, Project Reconciliation continues to address the issues and concerns by positioning Canada as environmentally responsible and an attentive of economic, social and cultural issues with Indigenous groups of Western Canada.
Benefits
Despite environmental concern and issues surrounding Canada’s relationship with its First Nation community, approval of TMP and Indigenous ownership opens up opportunity for job creation and a generated income that will assist in taking Canadian communities out of poverty. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has explained that from the purchase of TMP, Indigenous communities can “gain long-term sustainable benefits from economic development projects.”
Resources
Information on the above topic was pulled and summarized from the following articles:
https://theconversation.com/how-the-trans-mountain-green-light-could-benefit-first-nations-118864
