PLCAC Observes NEB Indigenous Hearings
In the months leading up to the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) pipeline project getting underway, including several spreads on which PLCAC contractors won bids, the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) ruled that two conditions of the regulatory approval had not been sufficiently met. One was the Crown’s constitutional duty to consult and accommodate Indigenous peoples who may be impacted by the proposed pipeline expansion project.
In November 2018, PLCAC Executive Director Designate, Wayne Hodgins, attended the opening testimonies of the Oral Indigenous Traditional Evidence Hearing at the National Energy Board (NEB) headquarters in Calgary as part of the regulatory Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Reconsideration.
The PLCAC has made arrangements to monitor and analyze the testimony of the First Nations and tribal councils presenting evidence before the NEB panel. The Indigenous oral testimony will be considered for items where our members and the unions we work with as partners in Canada’s longest-serving pipeline industry supply chain can remain responsive and provide leadership as the industry and the public policy landscape of Canada continues to evolve.
The PLCAC and its union partners, through the Canadian Pipeline Advisory Council (CPAC), have been engaged and proactive about Indigenous engagement and pipelines since 1971, when we first met with then Indian Affairs and Northern Development Canada, to address the potential local impacts on communities of the historic northern pipeline projects. The PLCAC’s commitment to take the TMX Reconsideration seriously and be solution-focused reflects an ongoing commitment to be a strategic partner with client-owner firms and governments to responsibly-build and maintain safe, world-class pipeline infrastructure within Canada.
For those wanting to understand the matter in more depth, Professor Robert Hamilton, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Calgary specializing in Aboriginal and Indigenous Law, recently commented on the matter at University of Calgary’s, ablawg.ca
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has also recently released a new report on improving the regulation of business – Indigenous peoples’ relationships, called Within Our Control, and PLCAC will be seeking, in the coming months, to more widely share several of the recent success stories our contractors have had working effectively with Indigenous peoples.
*Featured image originally published by the National Energy Board