Local First Nations split on consultation plan by federal government
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KAMLOOPS — As the federal government pushes to build its $4.5 billion Trans Mountain pipeline, it now has to go back and consult First Nations communities impacting the project. This all coming after the Liberals said they won’t appeal the federal court ruling that struck down cabinet’s approval of the pipeline.
“It is going to go ahead because they’ve been very clear that we don’t have veto,” said Whispering Pines Indian Band chief Mike LeBourdais. “We can’t say ‘no,’ and so the consultation is very clear. There’s a pipeline coming. What do you think about it? What’s the accomodation?”
The accomodation is the compensation that LeBourdais and other First Nations that support the project would like to see. In fact, even before the federal government purchased the project, LeBourdais and other First Nations banded together to try and come up with the money to finance the Trans Mountain pipeline. He would like to see the same kind of agreement with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government through this process.
“The First Nations would be the shareholders, and then everybody has an equal share,” he noted. “So for instance, the pipeline route, we have 55 First Nations bands, and so you would just say each band has two per cent ownership of either 51 per cent or whatever percentage we end up with.”
