Thousands of Aboriginal people work in oil and gas, First Nations’ invest in production and own hundreds of service and supply businesses
CALGARY, Alberta – While much of the focus on First Nations and energy has centred on vocal opposition to pipelines, a fall conference in Calgary will try to draw attention to the many aboriginal businesses and employees who benefit from the Canadian oil and gas industry, and support further expansion.
According to organizers the Indian Resource Council, the Pipeline Gridlock Conference aims to be the platform to bring together industry, government and indigenous leaders to discuss challenges facing the pipeline industry, “as well as opportunities for indigenous involvement and meaningful participation in determining solutions.”
The conference is scheduled to be held at the Hyatt Regency in Calgary on Oct. 3 and 4.
“The Pipeline Gridlock Conference is a timely opportunity for all the key players to engage in a constructive dialogue on the current energy infrastructure challenges in the interest of all Canadians,” said Stephen Buffalo, CEO of the IRC in a press release.
Prjme Minister Justin Trudeau has promised a nation to nation relationship with aboriginal people, says Buffalo, and we want to provide him and his ministers a forum to put substance to these words.
“The folks that we represent are willing to engage in this important dialogue for the benefit of their resources and communities,” he said.
In advance of the conference, the Indian Resource Council is releasing a report written by University of Saskatchewan professor Ken Coates.
According to the IRC,
Dr. Coates reflects on past and present day issues in the Western Canadian energy sector, while looking into the next forty years of what could truly be a “New West” with First Nations playing a prominent role in the regional economic, social, and political order.
The report looks at two scenarios, both compelling but worlds apart, reflecting the reality of First Nations engagement in the Western Canadian energy sector.
The first report shows First Nations protesters, particularly in British Columbia, opposing the Kinder Morgan Pipeline, criticizing Enbridge’s Northern Gateway project, and challenging the construction of the Site C hydro dam in northern British Columbia.
The second, less well-known, captures images of thousands of Aboriginal people working in the industry, First Nations’ equity investments in oil and gas fields, hundreds of Indigenous-owned service and supply companies, and long but typically successful negotiations of impact and benefit agreements with Indigenous companies.
Is the natural resource and energy sector the frontlines of reconciliation in Canada, the single most important point of constructive and positive collaboration between First Nations and other Canadians?
Or is the energy sector the present and future battleground between First Nations and national aspirations for sustained economic development and national prosperity?