The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs has called on Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to halt advancement of the proposed West Coast pipeline, arguing that expanding oil production will accelerate the climate disasters already unfolding across the country.
The letter, signed by Grand Chief Stewart Phillip and delivered Sunday on the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, arrived a day after British Columbia declared a provincial state of emergency. More than 100 wildfires were burning across the province, nearly half of them out of control, forcing nearly 25,000 people from two communities east of Vancouver to evacuate.
"The destructive and disastrous consequences of expanding fossil fuel production extend far beyond any single territory," the chiefs wrote. "From catastrophic wildfires to destructive floods and rising seas, the impacts of climate change are already being felt across this country. Every new fossil fuel project deepens that crisis."
Consultation rejected as predetermined
The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs says governments have not consulted in good faith. The letter notes that the project corridor has already been developed, prospective partners named and the economic case publicly promoted before meaningful dialogue with affected First Nations.
"Consultation cannot be meaningful if First Nations are invited only to discuss how a predetermined project will proceed," the letter states. "Nor can equity ownership, loan guarantees, revenue-sharing, employment, or other proposed benefits be treated as substitutes for consent."
A copy was also sent to BC Premier David Eby. Carney's office did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
Alberta defends project benefits
Alberta's Ministry of Indigenous Relations said in a statement that the pipeline will provide long-term benefits for Indigenous communities, create jobs and strengthen energy security. Press secretary Karah Folk said the submission is under review by the Major Projects Office, which will consult Indigenous communities as part of determining whether the project serves the national interest.
The roughly 1,250-kilometre pipeline would carry more than one million barrels of crude oil per day from Bruderheim, Alberta to a marine terminal near Delta, BC for export. The Alberta government is the project proponent. Ownership would be shared among Trans Mountain, the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission and Pembina Pipeline Corporation.
Fast-track legislation and carbon capture conditions
Ottawa took a step last week toward granting the project a national interest designation under the Building Canada Act, which would allow the federal government to fast-track approvals and bypass certain environmental requirements. Public feedback is being accepted until mid-September. Alberta expects the designation by October 1, with construction potentially beginning as early as September 1, 2027, once permits and Indigenous consultation are complete.
The pipeline's approval is conditional on the Pathways carbon storage project, a network that would transport emissions from multiple oilsands sites in northern Alberta to an underground storage hub near Cold Lake. The two projects are linked: each is conditional on the other proceeding.
However, the Canadian Climate Institute reported in July that emissions enabled by the increased production from a new West Coast pipeline would far exceed what Pathways could capture.
The West Coast pipeline is among three projects the federal government has moved toward national interest designation under the Building Canada Act, which passed with Conservative support more than a year ago. The others are the Grays Bay road and port project in Nunavut, the Mackenzie Valley Highway in the Northwest Territories, and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization's deep geological repository in northern Ontario.
Based on reporting by Global News.