‘Not going to happen’: First Nations threaten to end Carney’s pipe dream | Canada

It was an overdue victory when the people of the Haida nation won a decades-long fight to have an archipelago off Canada’s British Columbia coast recognized as rightfully theirs.

The unprecedented agreement with the state and federal governments meant the Haida no longer had to prove Aboriginal ownership of the land of Xhaaidlagha Gwaayaai, or “islands at the edge of the world.”

Now both governments will have to confront what this might mean.

On Thursday, Canadian premier Mark Carney and Alberta premier Danielle Smith agreed to an energy deal focused on plans for a new heavy oil pipeline stretching from the province’s oil sands to the Pacific coast.

The deal, heralded as a major political breakthrough between the deadlocked parties, lays the foundation for an oil canal that could carry more than a million barrels of oil every day from the oil sands to the Pacific. The Carney government could also reduce permitting and approval delays with new legislative powers.

But the response from politically powerful nations like the Haida, whose government approval was needed, was both quick and simple: “This project will not happen.”

Gaagwiis, chief of the Haida nation, said the federal government has a duty to “protect the honor of the crown” when working with his community.

“Trying to finish a project jeopardizes that ‘dignity,'” he said. “This is an opportunity for the Canadian government and the prime minister to look in the mirror and see what kind of country they want to run and what kind of country they want Canada to be.”

Despite Carney’s pledge to get First Nations’ full approval for any potential pipeline project and share any unforeseen consequences, Gaagwiis said there’s nothing federal or provincial leaders can say to spur his country into action.

“Since there is nothing that can fully guarantee the safety of our societies against oil spills, nothing can be said to convince us otherwise.”

Marilyn Slett, chief of the Coastal First Nations (CFN), which represents eight coastal First Nations, including the Haida, said the group is not interested in allowing tankers into coastal waters.

“We have no interest in the shared ownership or economic benefits of a project that has the potential to destroy our way of life and everything we have built on the waterfront,” he said.

Carney has been working to defuse political wrangling among provincial leaders and Thursday’s announcement was greeted enthusiastically in Alberta. Speaking at the Calgary chamber of commerce, the premier received a standing ovation, an almost impossible feat for a Liberal leader in a conservative-leaning region.

Business groups have backed the agreement, which Canada’s chamber of commerce says moves the country toward “economic cooperation, greater regulatory certainty and reduced tensions.” Latest poll shows The majority of Canadians, including a slim majority in British Columbia, are open to the idea of ​​a pipeline. The vague outlines of a major infrastructure project have also attracted the interest of some First Nations in Alberta, who have been promised a possible equity stake in any project.

The premise of Carney’s energy plan is that oil and gas exports can be increased while meeting the federal government’s climate targets. The federal government would exempt a potential pipeline project from the existing coastal oil tanker moratorium and cap. In response, Alberta needs to increase industrial carbon pricing and invest in a multibillion-dollar carbon capture project.

In theory, the agreement goes a long way in bringing Alberta and Ottawa together toward the common goal of nation-building. But critically, no private companies have shown interest in supporting a pipeline project that would face fierce opposition.

“No fans, no route, no money, no First Nation support,” British Columbia premier David Eby said after the announcement.

Eby, who harshly criticized the deal after his state was not included in the talks, said any pipeline proposal “cannot divert limited federal resources, limited Indigenous government resources, limited provincial resources away from real projects that will employ people, provide the country with the money we desperately need, and provide investment and access to global markets.”

The deal also cost Carney one of his most prominent cabinet ministers, Steven Guilbeault, who resigned hours after the deal was signed.

In a post on social media announcing his resignation, Guilbeault said the decision came with “great regret” but was necessary given his values ​​as a longtime environmental advocate.

The decision to break ground on a possible heavy oil pipeline also reflects a political shift for Carney, who honed his credentials as a global economist focused on achieving a net-zero future before entering politics.

Jessica Green, professor of political science at the University of Toronto, said: “Everything about this [agreement] It says more fossil fuels, except for the first line, which states that Canada and Alberta are committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

“Call the spade the spade: If you want to double down on fossil fuels, at least have the courage to say it out loud.”

Green said the agreement was a “dumpster fire” of the climate deal, after politically signaling that Canada was “all in” on fossil fuels.

But Canada’s protracted trade war with the United States, its largest trading partner and closest political ally, has significantly increased the country’s economic security. Much of Carney’s short tenure as prime minister has focused on expanding potential markets outside the United States.

“I don’t think the economy would have been damaged in this way if it wasn’t for the trade war and the tariffs,” Green said. “Nobody has a crystal ball, but I don’t think we’ve seen this level of aggressive pandering to fossil fuel interests and infrastructure in a world where we’re not hemorrhaging money from a trade war.”

For remote coastal First Nations whose harvests and livelihoods come from the Pacific Ocean, the pipeline threat is more than just a matter of climate policy.

Gaagwiis said: “When people talk about this project, they need to understand that in the event of a leak the entire ecosystem could collapse. Losing a culture that has developed relationships with the ocean for thousands of years would be devastating. This needs to be respected.”

“I see the reality soon coming to light that there is no project, there is no pipeline route, there is no advocate, there is no support. Everyone here is against it. There are other ways Alberta can get more business moving oil. But it’s not going to happen offshore.”