The terminal of the Trans Mountain Pipeline is located on the left bank of Burrard Bay.
EDMONTON, Alberta-In 2018, the Canadian federal government bought the Trans Mountain Pipeline for $4.5 billion from Kinder Morgan. And now several First Nations groups want to buy it.
The Westline Indigenous Pipeline Group is a coalition of First Nations people determined to purchase from the government the 1,150 km pipeline that runs from Edmonton to Burnaby, B.C.
Mike LeBourdais, chief of the Whispering Pines/Clinton Indian Band, and representative for the Western Indigenous Pipeline Group told CBC News, that the pipeline would change the First Nations along the valleys forever. And he envisions that as being a good thing.
LeBourdais says the group wants to buy the pipeline for "The same reason everyone else wants to buy it-because it is profitable. They [pipelines] are always profitable. They produce revenue and profit daily."
Profit to the tune of $300 million in 2018, which LeBourdais told CBC News will lead to more independence for the tribes: "We want to be able to provide for our people. I don't want Ottawa providing for our people."
The First Nations group wanting to purchase the pipeline also would equalize the playing field better for the relations between First Nations and Ottawa.
"I wouldn't be talking about how my band needs drinking water. We have bottled water here, we have to pay for bottled water [because] the groundwater isn't safe to drink - it's not safe to shower in. So had we the resources, we'd be able to complete our water system."
The Western Indigenous Pipeline Group is just one of the First Nations organizations interested in Trans Mountain.
The Iron Coalition represents Alberta-based First Nations and Métis communities pushing to buy the pipeline. "The best thing about Iron Coalition is that it follows traditional teachings. It's about providing opportunity for all Indigenous peoples and doesn't seek to divide. It doesn't matter if you are First Nation, Métis, or non-status, you are invited to grow with us," says Chief Allan Adam, of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. "By being open and inclusive we can focus on what we are best at: protecting the environment and making sure we get consultation with your communities right."
Project Reconciliation is another organization desiring to have the pipeline 51 percent Indigenous-owned with the tagline: "There's a pipeline to Reconciliation. We should take it.". They're making their pitch to as many as 300 First Nations from Saskatchewan, Alberta, and B.C.. Project Reconciliation representatives explain, "Canada can make the Trans Mountain Pipeline a Reconciliation pipeline by selling a majority stake to Indigenous communities, so they can create a Sovereign Wealth and Reconciliation Fund that will generate long-term revenues for Indigenous communities across the West.
"But putting Reconciliation into action goes beyond finances. Majority Indigenous ownership of the Reconciliation pipeline also ensures Indigenous voices will be heard in deciding how traditional lands and waters are protected and enhanced."
The website further explains, "The Trans Mountain Pipeline has been operating safely since it was built in the 1950s. It's vital for British Columbia's energy needs. And its expansion is vital to get resources from Alberta and Saskatchewan to markets in Asia, where they'll fetch higher prices than they do being sold to America alone. Currently, Canada loses $80 million a day by being forced to sell at a discount to the U.S.
The pipeline already has a track record of safety and the expansion comes with state-of-the-art marine protection for the coast. And shipping oil by pipe is safer than shipping by rail."
"Majority Indigenous ownership of TMX will make a difference. It will improve social conditions in our communities and enhance environmental protection," said Delbert Wapass, Executive Chair and Founder of Reconciliation Pipeline.
Not all First Nations in Canada see owning the Trans Mountain Pipeline as a wise move. Lee Spahan, the chief of the Coldwater First Nation, who is suing the government over the Trans Mountain Pipeline, and is dismayed about the capacity system going from 300,000 barrels a day to 890,000 barrels a day and the expansion of 980 km of new pipeline, says of other Indigenous people trying to buy the pipeline, "How is money gonna help you out when the water is gone? Or it gets contaminated? Are those groups gonna help us with that water?" Because of the age of the pipeline, he is predicting a spill that will hinder instead of help Indigenous communities around the pipeline.
Chief LeBourdais of the Whispering Pines/Clinton Indian Band territory says owning the pipeline is the best way to make sure it's operated safely.
"Right now we don't get any environmental updates or environmental reports [about the pipeline]," LeBourdais told CBC News. "We get most of our news-from the news.
"We want to be able to enjoy the equity first of all, and then have the environmental oversight so we can rest comfortably that it's being operated safely," he continues.
"We have been shut out of that conversation since 1953. Not anymore."
He also says his group of First Nations people should be able to have priority in purchasing the pipeline because of it's proximity to their land. "The pipe's right over there," he said to CBC News. "The other guys are from somewhere else. We bear all the risk." y
