Their land, their choice: When economic reconciliation and climate justice conflict – Canada’s National Observer

June 19th 2024

It all started with a pipeline.

Twelve years ago, 16 B.C. First Nations came together to purchase an equity stake in the Pacific Trail Pipeline. The pipe was set to weave through ecologically sensitive rivers, lakes and valleys that the nations had stewarded for millennia prior to contact. The proposed project would have pumped one billion cubic feet per day of gas from the province’s interior of Summit Lake to the Pacific Ocean in the port of Kitimat, British Columbia.

When those 16 nations went to the bank for financing, they were told there was no point in trying. The interest rates would be at credit card rates, and the interest payments would outstrip any economic returns. Instead of equity ownership, the nations had to take a cash option from the pipeline deal, sacrificing a steady revenue source for the buyout.

Read More: https://www.nationalobserver.com/2024/06/19/analysis/their-land-their-choice-when-economic-reconciliation-and-climate-justice