Canada can’t build pipelines without Indigenous consent – Ricochet Media

December 4 2025

Mark Carney signs an energy MOU with Premier Danielle Smith to make way for a new pipeline from the Alberta oilsands to the B.C. coast. The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs said in a statement they are “loudly objecting” to the agreement, noting that it was done without consultation of coastal First Nations. UBCIC said the agreement between Alberta and Canada does not meet the requirements around free, prior and informed consent that are outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Every few years, Canada repeats the same promise that First Nations and Métis people are finally being included in this country’s economic future. The latest example is the announcement from Mark Carney and Danielle Smith about a new pipeline to Asian markets that claims Indigenous Nations will be co owners. At first glance, it looks like progress. It sounds like reconciliation. It feels like everyone is finally at the same table.

But that is the hook. It is designed to make Canadians believe Indigenous peoples are partners in resource development, when the truth is that the foundations of ownership are never addressed. The land is not discussed. The mines and minerals are not discussed. The revenues taken from Indigenous territories are not discussed. There is no acknowledgment that these resources come from Indigenous lands and that they belong to Indigenous Nations.

Read More: https://ricochet.media/indigenous/canada-cant-build-pipelines-without-indigenous-consent/