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The Carrier Sekani Tribal Council (CSTC) has advocated for meaningful involvement of the member First Nations in any decision making process on lands & resources within their territories, including the regulatory process for the Gateway pipeline. The AIUS is meant to establish the context for any decision making process on the Gateway pipeline, but it is preliminary in nature.
To request a hard copy of the report please contact Tara Marsden, Project Director at 1-800-280-8722 ext. 236 - tmarsden@cstc.bc.ca
First Nations Regulatory Process (FNRP)
The federal government, by way of Aboriginal Relations representatives from Natural Resources Canada, as well as National Energy Board representatives, has indicated a willingness to look at new ways of engaging First Nations in decision-making on the Gateway pipeline. There has been an admission by these representatives that existing processes have not served First Nations well, and that the Gateway project poses new and unique challenges to the federal government to consult with non-treaty First Nations on a pipeline project of this magnitude. First Nations do not have confidence that many of the outstanding issues can be addressed without a separate process designed and implemented by First Nations themselves.
Purpose
- To provide First Nations potentially affected by the Gateway pipeline a review process that is fair, open, and accountable to their communities;
- To establish a process that is designed, implemented, and guided by the First Nations who stand to be impacted by the proposed pipeline;
- To protect the constitutional rights of the affected First Nations.
First Nations Announce Review Process for Gateway Pipeline Project (10 KB)
Proposal for a First Nations Review Process for the Enbridge Gateway Pipeline (98 KB)
Federal Court Challenge
The Carrier Sekani Tribal Council (CSTC) has filed an application in Federal Court challenging the decision of Minister of the Environment, Rona Ambrose to appoint a Joint Review Panel with the National Energy Board in the environmental assessment of the proposed Enbridge Gateway Pipeline project.
The CSTC has asked the Court to overturn the Minister’s September 29th decision which was made without consultation with the CSTC, despite a series of requests for consultation made by CSTC, commencing in January 2006.
Approximately 450 km of the proposed pipeline would cross the traditional territory of the CSTC, to which the CSTC claims aboriginal rights and title and which remains unresolved in the B.C. Treaty Process. The CSTC has written to the Minister of the Environment and other federal Ministers on several occasions to express its concern about the profound impacts that the project would have on the CSTC, and asking that the CSTC have a role in decision-making with respect to Enbridge’s proposal.
CSTC Tribal Chief David Luggi said: “The Courts have said that the Crown has a duty to consult with First Nations that will be affected by major infrastructure projects, from the earliest stages of those projects. This referral effectively decides how the major decisions will be made about the Enbridge project, but the decision was made without consulting with the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, despite our many requests, and despite the fact that a third of the project’s B.C. route crosses our traditional territory. The Courts have been clear that First Nations can no longer be ignored in this way, and we are challenging the Minister’s decision.”
