Dozens of First Nations leaders will meet in Calgary on Wednesday to discuss whether they should bid for an ownership stake in the Trans Mountain project, a move that would sharpen the division among Indigenous groups over the contentious pipeline.
The Indian Resource Council (IRC), which represents 130 bands that own oil and gas assets, is convening the meeting, bringing together many of its members with other chiefs from First Nations in Alberta and British Columbia who have expressed interest in investing in Trans Mountain.
Ottawa has said it intends to resell the pipeline it purchased for $4.5-billion in May. But the federal government must first complete the fresh consultations ordered by an appeal court in August, when it quashed cabinet approval of the project.
And Ottawa is not looking to sell the pipeline for at least a year, until it can get past legal challenges that could arise from a second cabinet approval, said one senior federal official, who is unnamed because he was not authorized to comment publicly.
Shawn McCarthy, Justin Giovannetti – Globe and Mail – January 15, 2109.
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