Resource World Magazine

50 www.resourceworld.com a u g u s t / s e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 5 With the recent refusal by Lax Kw'alaams First Nation in northwest British Columbia of a $1 billion financial package from the Petronas-owned Pacific Northwest LNG Project, the debate over the ability of Aboriginal communities to refuse large resource projects on their traditional ter- ritories takes yet another interesting twist. Unlike the 1950s, when oil and gas companies regularly crossed traditional territories and reserve lands with their pipelines without any compensation, the year 2014 will go down in Canadian history as the year oil and gas companies woke up to the future reality of the pipeline busi- ness. The Tsilhqot'in decision was a game changer for all resource extraction compa- nies, and now they finally know they have no choice but to consult and accommodate Aboriginal interests in all future projects. Add on to the Tsilhqot'in decision the recent unanimous community no vote by Lax Kw'alaams on the Petronas-owned Pacific Northwest LNG Project and it becomes increasingly clear that the biggest hurdle for future pipelines isn't necessar- ily financially accommodating Aboriginal communities – it is whether affected com- munities will agree to the projects at all. There is much more to play out in the Petronas saga though, as the four other affected communities of Kitselas, Kitsumkalum, Kitkatla and Metlakatla may yet vote yes to the Pacific Northwest LNG Project. If they do, will the provincial and federal governments consider that a green light to push the project through regula- tory approvals and ignore Lax Kw'alaams? If it then goes to court, will it come down to strength of claim between the five affected Bands? Perhaps the bigger picture concern for government and industry should be whether any group of Aboriginal commu- nities along a proposed pipeline group can actually come to a consensus agreement on royalty sharing, environmental mitigation and equity participation. Whether these future pipelines are going to go north, east, west or south across Canada, they are going to cross Aboriginal title lands at some point, and when they do, can the pipeline builders get clarity and cer- tainty on whether Aboriginal communities will support the projects, and if so, what it is that they may want out of the deal? As an example, the proposed pipelines to the northwest coast of BC, currently being negotiated by Spectra Energy and Transcanada, are crossing the title lands of over 20 different First Nations who have ongoing disputes with each other over 'overlap territory' where their land claims intersect without a viable process to resolve this issue. In situations like this the negotiating teams for the pipeline builders struggle to get agreements that have meaning and certainty; if even one of the communities along the route of the pipeline refuses to come to an accommodation agreement then the entire project could be jeopardized. A current example of this is the House of Luutkudziiwus (part of the Gitxsan Nation in northern BC) blockade and declaration that, "no pipelines will cross our lands without our consent." This blockade stands directly in the route of the proposed pipe- line that would supply Pacific Northwest LNG's Project in Prince Rupert. In southern BC, a similar scenario is play- ing out with Kinder Morgan's proposed TransMountain Pipeline Expansion. Over 100 First Nations lie along this pipeline route and even though Kinder Morgan has had a pipeline and existing right of way since the 1950s there is still great uncertainty on the potential success of this project. Some First Nations support the project and have already signed Impact Benefit Agreements, while others are adamantly opposed to it regardless of potentially lucrative financial settlements for them if they agree. Another pipeline story currently play- ing out is the Eagle Spirit Energy Project which proposes to move oil to the Prince Rupert area via another pipeline. This group has been gaining some traction of late with their 'Aboriginal led' approach to the project. Even though the proj- ect's financial backing to date is from the non-Aboriginal Aquilini Group from Vancouver, the project's figurehead, Calvin Helin, (a well-known Aboriginal author) is claiming significant Aboriginal commu- nity buy-in to date. Perhaps the biggest challenge for this project; however, is the fact they wish to transport oil. Regardless of how much they demonstrate that they have a safe model for transporting oil, there will always be doubters. Recent oil spills off the coast of Vancouver have once again heightened sensitivities around the exportation of oil around BC's pristine coastline and this is not helping Eagle Spirit's case. So where is the negotiation leadership and dispute resolution going to come from to help these projects succeed? Can the business leaders of industry and the vari- ous Nations along these pipeline routes set Oil & g a s Canadian natives and Pipelines by Geoff Greenwell, CEO, 2G Group of Companies iT seeMs MOney can'T buy yOu lOve afTer all in The pipeline business. Will abOriginal cOMMuniTies in canaDa acTually agree TO cOllecTively parTicipaTe in pipeline DevelOpMenTs?

• Cover