Finance
AFN National Chief warns Ottawa not to rush Bill C
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak has warned the federal government not to rush the newly tabled Building Canada Strong Act
Key takeaways
- The federal government should not designate the proposed West Coast oil pipeline a project of national interest until affected First Nations can decide for themselves.
- A Canada-Alberta implementation agreement points to a national-interest designation by Oct. 1 and conditions by Sept. 1, 2027, before consultation is complete.
- Any predetermined timeline designed to attract investment subordinates the honor of the Crown to commercial imperatives.
- Major Projects Office CEO Dawn Farrell sent junior staff instead of addressing the chiefs in assembly directly.
- The fall sitting of Parliament must end the Indian Act's second-generation cut-off through Bill S-2.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak has warned the federal government not to rush the newly tabled Building Canada Strong Act (Bill C-39) or fast-track a national interest designation for Alberta's West Coast oil pipeline. The AFN received the omnibus bill just the night before and is currently reviewing it. Woodhouse Nepinak criticized the predetermined timelines in a Canada-Alberta agreement, which targets a national-interest designation by October 1, arguing that rushing the process to attract investment undermines the honor of the Crown before proper consultations with the more than 100 affected First Nations are complete.
Rushing the pipeline designation bypasses environmental assessments that create essential room for dialogue.
In their words
“Any predetermined timeline principally designed to attract investment subordinates the honor of the Crown to commercial imperatives.”
“If you’re too good to come and talk to our chiefs, stay home then. Stay in Calgary.”
By the numbers
- 100+
- First Nation communities potentially impacted by the pipeline
- Oct 1
- Target date for national-interest designation in implementation agreement
- Sept 1, 2027
- Target date for conditions in implementation agreement
- 20 days
- Timeframe in which last year's C-5 process moved
How it unfolded
- AFN received the Building Canada Strong Act (Bill C-39)
- Regional chiefs meet to review the bill
- Target date for pipeline's national-interest designation
- Target date for pipeline conditions under implementation agreement
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Common questions
- What happened with Assembly of First Nations?
- The federal government should not designate the proposed West Coast oil pipeline a project of national interest until affected First Nations can decide for themselves.
- Where can I read the original report?
- Read the full report at Google News.
