Are Indigenous communities the only ones benefiting from pipeline projects like the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Project?
Nisga’a Nation in British Columbia joined Western LNG and Rockies LNG to partner on the Ksi Lisims LNG facility, potentially creating $55 billion of economic activity over 30 years. The project involves a floating export facility capable of producing 12 million tonnes of cooled natural gas each year to ship to global markets in Asia and elsewhere. Nisga’a Nation has been pursuing this project since 2014.
Opponents of Ksi Lisims LNG would want you to believe that big companies are exploiting Indigenous People. However, when consulting with Indigenous communities along the original pipeline’s route, most (17 of 19) had signed benefit agreements with the project, favouring it and the potential opportunities it may bring to their communities.
- Canada's TMX Pipeline is Now Complete!
- Federal Indigenous Loan Guarantee a Big Win for Canada
- Cedar LNG is a New Dawn for Indigenous Peoples
First Nations Need More Resource Projects
Many people in Canada travel from one province to another in hopes of a better-paying job. But what if there were more natural resource projects in our communities around Canada that had the full support of provincial and federal governments?
What if more than $670 billion in resource projects had not been cancelled since 2015? What if we didn’t have to travel to reap the benefits of a well-paying job outside of our own community?
I would bet that most Canadians would rather stay in their own communities and see local businesses, infrastructure, and social programs flourish due to natural resource investment.
Truth and Reconciliation
In light of the recent Truth and Reconciliation Day, I hope that Canadians will see these projects within Indigenous communities, partnerships in projects, as reconciliation in action.
Many communities are in remote areas with few employment opportunities except for natural resource development. Having a large-scale project like Ksi Lisims LNG offers Indigenous people opportunities to be engaged in its success for decades to come.
Gone are the days when a natural resource project just set up and do as they please without consent or involvement of the Indigenous community. Today most projects involve Indigenous communities right at inception. This creates long-term viability of the project with training and employment opportunities as well as socio-economic changes to the community as a whole.
Whether it's infrastructure, education, training, mental health, healthcare, housing, child and family support, logistics, cultural awareness, spiritual awakening, or language revitalization, these can all have a positive impact on the community and its members. Lessening the cycle of government dependency remains a challenge, but First Nations communities are starting to see independence through resource development.
Preserving First Nations Identity
Indigenous people once relied on traditional ways of earning currency, and some still do. Although fishing, for example, is today mostly taken over by commercial companies, nature still provides for First Nations.
Whether farming, fishing, hunting, gathering, or, yes, berry picking, natural resource projects allow Indigenous people to respectably live both traditionally and in the modern world while maintaining loyalty to their homes and people. Indigenous people have always been caretakers of the land, and this will never change.
Time for First Nations to Stand Up
Now is the time for Indigenous People to speak for themselves and make strong and valid business decisions regarding natural resource development and the longevity of these projects for our future generations.
That can’t be done alone, and like our history, most Indigenous people work generously with others. If you travelled around any Indigenous community, you would realize that prosperity trickles throughout when demand for the resources on our land grows and these resources are developed with our people at the table.
Investors show interest and are willing to invest in projects when the country's citizens are in harmony and agree that we need these natural resource projects to improve our economy.
That’s what’s happening in First Nations communities across Canada, and it’s a fantastic thing to see and be part of.
About the Author
Estella Petersen is a heavy machinery operator in the oil sands out of Fort McMurray. She is from the Cowessess Reserve and is passionate about Canada and supporting Canadian natural resources.