Indigenous non-profit looks to acquire ownership of Trans Mountain Pipeline

CALGARY - A brand new Indigenous non-profit group is looking for an possession stake within the Trans Mountain Pipeline, saying its goal is to ensure communities alongside the pipeline’s route obtain its advantages straight.

Nesika Providers publicly launched Monday, calling itself a grassroots, community-led not-for-profit.

Chief Tony Alexis of the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation in Alberta (and the chair and founding director of Nesika) mentioned 14 Indigenous communities alongside the pipeline’s route in Alberta and B.C. have already signed on.

He mentioned Nesika is within the means of reaching out to all 129 communities which were recognized by the federal authorities as being impacted by Trans Mountain to make sure they've an opportunity to hitch in.

“Finally what we’re making an attempt to do proper now could be to prepare the communities,” Alexis mentioned in an interview. “As soon as Canada has determined they’re prepared to promote this pipeline, then at the moment we’ll be negotiating to buy.”

The Trans Mountain pipeline carries 300,000 barrels of oil per day, and is Canada’s solely pipeline system transporting oil from Alberta to the West Coast.

It was purchased by the federal authorities for $4.5 billion in 2018, after earlier proprietor Kinder Morgan Canada Inc. threatened to scrap the pipeline’s deliberate growth challenge within the face of environmentalist opposition.

Underneath the possession of Trans Mountain Corp., a federal Crown company, the Trans Mountain growth challenge is presently underway, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has indicated that he's open to possession of the pipeline by Indigenous teams.

A number of Indigenous-led initiatives have already come ahead. Challenge Reconciliation is looking for a 100 per cent possession stake within the pipeline with no fairness requirement or legal responsibility threat to Indigenous companions. Its aim is to distribute money move from the pipeline between the taking part Indigenous group house owners, and an Indigenous Sovereign Wealth Fund that may put money into power transition initiatives.

Chinook Pathways — which can also be looking for an fairness stake — is an Indigenous-led partnership shaped by Western Indigenous Pipeline Group and its business accomplice, Pembina Pipeline Corp.

What units Nesika Providers other than these different proposals, Alexis mentioned, is that it's a true not-for-profit not backed by business or affiliated with monetary establishments or some other working events.

“These teams, these different teams, they're profit-oriented, which is a significant battle for Indigenous communities,” Alexis mentioned.

“For me, as a group chief, once I take a look at Nesika, it supplies one of the best alternative for us to construct our wealth and develop our communities. Assets are wanted throughout the communities and Nesika supplies that form of alternative for us.”

Alexis mentioned Nesika is exploring each fairness and income sharing alternatives in Trans Mountain with no up-front capital necessities from taking part teams.

He declined to see how a possible buy could be financed, saying that will likely be decided as soon as the federal government of Canada makes the potential phrases of a sale clear.

Ottawa has not but accepted any bids for the pipeline, although Alexis mentioned he expects negotiations with events to start “inside a month or two.”

Deborah Archibald, director of the centre for regulatory and governance coverage on the College of Calgary’s Faculty of Public Coverage, mentioned that there at the moment are a number of Indigenous-led teams looking for a stake within the pipeline speaks volumes about each the viability of the challenge in addition to the capability of Indigenous-led companies.

“It’s an incredible sign when it comes to the place Indigenous companies are at in Canada right this moment, in feeling that they'll critically compete in such a course of,” she mentioned.

“I feel it bodes nicely for the federal authorities as nicely . . . Like several celebration promoting a challenge, I feel the federal authorities could be more than happy to see there's a couple of celebration – and on this case, a couple of Indigenous-owned celebration.”

There are nonetheless Indigenous teams alongside the pipeline growth route who oppose the challenge, no matter possession, and Archibald mentioned an Indigenous fairness stake received’t magically eradicate the issues of environmental teams.

However she mentioned it should go a good distance towards enhancing among the social license points which have plagued the challenge up to now, whereas on the similar time marking a major milestone in Canadian oil and fuel and pipeline operations in addition to Canada’s relationship with its Indigenous individuals.

“This will likely be a challenge by which Indigenous persons are the decision-makers. They’re not being consulted by the decision-makers, they're the decision-makers,” Archibald mentioned. “And that I feel is a quantum leap ahead for Indigenous individuals when it comes to their participation in useful resource growth.”

Nesika’s different founding administrators embrace Chief Alice McKay of Matsqui First Nation, Coun. David Walkem of Cook dinner’s Ferry Indian Band, and Mark Peters from Peters First Nation.

This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Jan. 24, 2022.