Cold Lake First Nations challenges Pacific Link pipeline's fast-track status
The First Nation argues it was excluded from consultations despite sitting in the oilsands region directly affected by the project.
Why it matters
The legal challenge could delay or alter the timeline for a major Alberta-to-B.C. pipeline the province has pushed to fast-track.
Cold Lake First Nations has filed an application for judicial review in Federal Court challenging Ottawa's decision to designate the Pacific Link pipeline a project of national interest. The filing came Thursday, about a week after Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced the Alberta-to-British Columbia pipeline would be fast-tracked under the Building Canada Act, with reviews and consultations to wrap within a year so construction could start next September.
Chief Kelsey Jacko has said his community, located in the oilsands region, was left out of consultations before the designation was made. The application argues the decision breached Canadian law and the honour of the Crown, stating that increased oilsands production would significantly harm members' ability to maintain their Luechogh Tue Denesuline way of life as promised under Treaty No. 6, and that Canada has made no effort to understand or mitigate the cumulative effects of oilsands development on those treaty rights.
The First Nation is asking the court to quash the national interest designation and declare that Canada has a duty to consult with the community. The Assembly of First Nations has separately flagged what it calls 'many red flags' in the designation process, saying the federal government appears to be predetermining outcomes before meaningful consultation occurs. Carney has said his major projects agenda would not interfere with Canada's obligations under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Compiled by the Alberta Daily Desk — an AI-written summary of reporting from the credited sources below, produced and reviewed under our editorial policy.