Ottawa’s Indigenous advisers weren’t told of pipeline deal with Alberta: chief

A member of the major projects office’s Indigenous advisory council says he and his colleagues were not told in advance of the agreement the federal government signed with Alberta opening a path to a pipeline to B.C.’s coast.

Trevor Mercredi, grand chief of Treaty 8 First Nations in Alberta, says the memorandum of understanding signed last month was “news” to him and his colleagues and Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government didn’t tap the council for advice on how to move forward.

He says he is “very concerned” about the deal being announced without the involvement of the First Nations he represents.

The major projects office was the product of a bill passed in the summer that looks to speed up approvals for major projects in an effort to bolster the Canadian economy.

The Indigenous advisory council was added to the major projects office to bring Indigenous leaders into the process and address some of their concerns.

Mercredi says the advisory council heard of the pipeline agreement at the same time as members of the public and was never made aware of the discussions taking place between the federal government and Alberta.