Oil Tanker & Tug Boats in Salish Sea - Trans Mountain
The Trans Mountain Pipeline (TMX) is finally complete and operating as it should. It has been a journey twelve years in the making, with many hurdles to jump, negotiations to make, limited resources during a global pandemic, extra costs, delays and disappointment, as well as change of ownership and investor uncertainty... this list goes on. But perseverance prevails!
The struggle to have the TMX pipeline built was so real in fact, that the project’s original proponent no longer wanted to pursue its construction. It seemed at first that many First Nations were relentless in their protests against the pipeline and many demonstrations were shown throughout media of “all Indigenous” people against it. But this wasn’t the full truth. Once negotiations and agreements were made with the actual Indigenous communities along the pipeline route – with 120 of the 129 First Nations affected by the pipeline either supporting or not opposing the project – TMX went forward.
Although there continues to be a small, loud group of opponents that consists of some Indigenous people, there are mostly non-Indigenous people still to this day protesting the pipeline. Questions have been raised regarding the financial backing of the protest groups, as they seemed to have out-of-country support.
However, most hardworking, goal-oriented Indigenous people see the long-term benefit of having such a large project go through their communities and quietly and respectably support the project. Having the federal government as owners of the pipeline until they divest into new owners opens new opportunities for Indigenous communities to become owners and/or large stakeholders in the project.
Many Canadians forget that large energy companies are businesses with huge overhead costs to complete projects. The extra delays from the pandemic, such as material wait times and cost increases, must have been unbelievable. But there were also skilled labour shortages and then the anti-oil protests attempting to shut down construction activities and delay projects.
So many Canadians have said that the cost of oil and gas should come down now that TMX is operating, but they should keep in mind that TMX exceeded by at least four times over budget to complete. All of those deficits will eventually be paid off as the world needs what we have and global buyers look to source increasing volumes of reliable energies like oil.
Oil and gas are the bedrock of the Canadian economy. Equalization payments from “have” provinces with oil and gas like Saskatchewan, Newfoundland & Labrador, and Alberta, as well as “have not” provinces, show that. All Canadians want a piece of this pie; every Canadian uses some form of infrastructure and services that come from the equalization payments, which are then sent to provinces.
And now, Indigenous communities also want to get their fair share – and rightfully so.
When Indigenous communities are involved in the very beginning stage of a project, it runs smoothly. Gone are the days when a large natural resource company could come onto Indigenous land and do as they please with the land, and not include locals in the planning and execution of the project. TMX’s process shows this perfectly.
Today, the struggle is no longer as many new opportunities for economic reconciliation become a reality. The poor socio-economic situation that exists on so many Indigenous reserves is changing from a place of lack to a place of prosperity, opportunity and cultural and spiritual strength.
You see, we as Canadians are all interconnected. When Indigenous communities, hamlets, villages, towns, cities, and all others in our country can provide for the family, house their loved ones, and have the infrastructure and social support systems they need available because of strong economic revenue from oil and gas projects, we all benefit. So as long as the international market demand is there for these energies, we should be the ones supplying them to benefit our local families here at home.
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.