It seems clear that First Nations west of Prince George and Enbridge are headed for an impasse on the company's proposed $5.5-billion Northern Gateway pipeline.
An awkward exchange during an Enbridge information session this week in Prince George provides a perfect example of the large difference in their expectations.
During a question and answer session, Carrier Sekani Tribal Council vice-chief Terry Teegee asked when Enbridge will get the message, delivered for the past five years, that First Nations don't want the pipeline. "When is the point you give up on the project?" he asked.
John Carruthers, who heads up the Northern Gateway project for Enbridge, answered carefully.
He acknowledged that some First Nations have been clear in their opposition, but said there's also support. "We have to go through the process," he said, although Enbridge has not named which First Nations support the project.
The exchange created a moment of dead silence.
So, where can you go from there?
It's hard to imagine how Enbridge might negotiate with First Nations that continue to say no to their project, and with increasing animosity.
During the information session, Saik'uz First Nation chief Jackie Thomas told Enbridge officials they were disrespectful for ignoring First Nations wishes, despite a claim by the Calgary-based company of respect for First Nations' legal rights, traditional ways and land. "It's become more and more difficult to accept your word," said Thomas.
The Carrier Sekani Tribal Council's eight bands have traditional territories that cover about one third of the 1,170-kilometre route.
That's a big chunk of the pipeline.
And while Canada's highest court has ruled that First Nations do not have a veto over natural resource projects; the court has concluded they must be properly consulted, and if necessary, accommodated.
Nigel Bankes, chair of Natural Resources Law at the University of Calgary, noted it is most difficult to address Aboriginal rights on a linear project like a pipeline simply because it crosses the territories of so many First Nations.
On the $16-billion Mackenzie natural gas pipeline approved recently, First Nations were brought on side by offering an ownership stake, he noted. However, if there is a portion of First Nations along the Enbridge route through Northern B.C. not interested in that kind of accommodation, the National Energy Board will have to weigh the factors and make a decision, said Bankes.
The National Energy Board is leading a federal panel review expected to take two years.
But because of the First Nations' opposition, Bankes said he would expect activity on the ground such as blockades, as well as litigation.
"That means a capital-D delay, likely the biggest concern for Enbridge," observed Bankes.
Enbridge has been making every effort to entice First Nations to support the project.
Just last week, the company unveiled a benefits package that included a 10 per cent ownership offer to 40 First Nations worth some $280 million over 30 years. Also included in the offer was a promise of $400 million worth of jobs and contracts, a $200-million undefined package for coastal First Nations and the ability to tap into a $100 million community trust.
The offer may have worked as a public relations exercise.
It produced national headlines.
But the offer gained little traction with First Nations in north-central B.C., if anything, raising their ire.
A group of five First Nations calling themselves the Yinka Dene Alliance said they won't be swayed by money offers because Enbridge can't guarantee their won't be an oil spill in their rivers. "This project is not going to happen, and we'll use all the means we have under our laws to fight it," said Nadleh Whut'en chief Larry Nooski.
If Enbridge was looking for high marks on their effort to build relationships with First Nations through the benefits offer, there were none forthcoming from First Nations in north-central B.C. who first learned of the offer through the media coverage.
That doesn't appear to follow the advice offered at the eighth annual natural resources forum in Prince George last month, where one of the themes was how to build relationships with First Nations.
Plutonic Power CEO Donald McInnes said the first calls he made when he was contemplating the $660-million Toba Montrose hydroelectric project in southwest B.C. was to the three First Nations chiefs in the area.
