Speaking at the opening event of the National Coalition of Chiefs (NCC) 2024 Clean Energy Summit last night, Karen Ogen, CEO of the First Nations LNG Alliance and former Chief of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation, brought clarity to the challenges faced by Canadian LNG projects and demonstrated why there is a need to continue to raise voices in BC and Alberta and in Canada for LNG projects.
Ogen called out the current Federal government’s intent to cap oil and gas production by capping emissions and contrasted it to China’s long-term policies to reduce coal over an extended 20 to 30-year period which indicates a long-term need for hydrocarbons and oil and gas. She called for Canadian policy to “be on the same page” and embrace a long-term need for oil and gas to build the economy. Ogen also called out Charlie Angus’s Bill C-372 – Fossil fuel advertising ban as oppressive.
“Indigenous people know all too well oppressive legislation,” Ogen said. “ We’ve been fighting it our whole lives. So when we see oppressive legislation, we continue to fight not only for ourselves but for our provinces and for Canada. And then to hear more shocking news from Minister Guilbeault about no new road infrastructure just sounds ludicrous. It sounds like we’re going backwards when we need to be moving forward.”
Ogen advocated for continuing to promote the message in BC and in the rest of Canada that oil and gas are going to continue to be needed. She points to the dramatic effect that participation in major projects has had on her Nation via benefits and economic participation agreements. Not only has the community thrived but they will still have benefits for the next 20 to 25 years due to those agreements as well as having equity ownership.
This prosperity was contrasted by the description of the economic experience BC First Nations had watching growing industrialization from energy development as far back as the 1800s.
“From the time our lands became industrialized in the 1800s, First Nations experienced a growing energy gap. We did not have the capital, land base, infrastructure, technical capacity, or jurisdiction to access the energy to build our economy and grow our communities. Energy built an industrial economy that left Indigenous people behind. Whether it was coal in the 1800s, oil in the 1940s, or hydroelectric dams and natural gas in the decades that followed, all of that energy was produced while First Nations were left with a diminished land base and little or no benefit. We had little or no say.”
Ogen credited court cases brought forward by the Niska, the Gitxsan, Wet’suwet’en, Blueberry and other First Nations for the progress to present-day recognized rights to share in the benefits of development. As new options for participation were developed in the last decade, First Nations have been able to obtain revenue sharing, procurement opportunities, jobs and training opportunities. meaningful consultation, research, indigenous-led consent-based environmental assessment processes and ownership as equity partners in pipelines and majority owners in projects. LNG is now providing an opportunity for further prosperity according to Ogen but the need for access to capital remains key as does the need for collaboration and cooperation.
“Not all indigenous people agree,” Ogen said. “ We are as diverse as the rest of society in our opinions and perspectives but we have seen that Nations are carefully considering the LNG opportunity – stepping forward to participate to help move their communities forward. We have more work to do, to bring our communities and people to a level of prosperity that all Canadians enjoy.”
Ogen stresses the importance of ensuring indigenous views are taken into account when government is making decisions and readily admits reconciliation isn’t possible without a strong economic foundation. For this reason, she sees First Nations leading not only in LNG, but also in mining, hydroelectricity, hydrogen, forestry, and other sectors.
Interestingly, one of the biggest advancements mentioned pertaining to the Coastal Gas Link Pipeline (CGL) was that all 20 First Nations along the pipeline route have signed benefits agreements with CGL and they have options to take equity shares in the pipeline now that construction is complete.
However, Ogen said First Nations first need to see the promised Federal Loan Guarantee program for Indigenous investment before they will be able to take equity shares, which returns us to the importance of governments hearing and responding in a timely fashion to the requests and needs of First Nations.
The National Coalition of Chiefs 2024 Clean Energy Summit continues today at the Tsuut’ina Nation Sportsplex in Calgary.
Maureen McCall is an energy professional who writes about issues affecting the energy industry.