This is a guest blog by Crystal Lameman, Government Relations Advisor/Treaty Coordinator, Beaver Lake Cree Nation No. 131, Treaty No. 6 (Lac La Biche, Alberta)
The Pathways Alliance, a coalition of the largest oil sand companies, is proposing a massive carbon capture and storage (CCS) project within my First Nation’s territory, Treaty No. 6 in northeastern Alberta—an unprecedented proposal in scope and scale. This project, one of the largest of its kind globally, involves capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from up to 20 oil sands facilities, 600 kilometres of pipelines, and a vast underground storage hub beneath our Treaty lands. While the project is framed as a solution to address climate change, it disregards the environmental, health, and safety risks that will have devastating consequences for our Peoples, waters, Treaty lands, Way of Life, and inherent and Treaty rights. (You can read more about the project here.)
The risks to our First Nation
The project’s scale is alarming. It would include carbon pipelines and a storage hub that poses real risks to our First Nations, communities, and the environment. Carbon dioxide, the gas that would be captured, is an asphyxiant—meaning it can displace oxygen and create life-threatening situations for those who come into contact with it. CO2 leaks are difficult to detect because the gas is colourless and odourless, making them especially dangerous. A rupture of a CO2 pipeline in Mississippi in 2020 resulted in 300 people being evacuated and 45 people hospitalized. Our First Nations and communities would be similarly vulnerable to this hazard. Take into further account the vulnerable state of our local healthcare system, where the Emergency room is often closed, and there are no doctors available—leaving us with inadequate support in times of crisis.
The transportation and storage of CO2 in Treaty No. 6 and Treaty No. 8 is at a scale never before seen in Canada. Furthermore, leaks from pipelines or storage sites could contaminate our water, particularly underground aquifers. Increased CO2 levels may leach toxic substances like lead and arsenic from rocks, contaminating water sources critical to our health and the health of our ecosystems. CCS infrastructure demands significant amounts of water to cool equipment, which would likely be sourced from the Lower Athabasca watershed, which is already stressed by climate change and industrial use.
This project is unlikely to generate any revenues for our Nations. Instead, we are likely to be burdened by future liabilities, given that the project requires permanent monitoring. We are already struggling to deal with the enormous unfunded financial liabilities of the oil and gas sector.
This project is being used to justify ongoing oil and gas production within and near our First Nations, which degrades our lands, waters, and traditional resources. As it is, our Treaty is being infringed. We are on the brink of having no land left to practice our inherent and Treaty rights in a meaningful way. The Pathways project would make it even more difficult to maintain this connection, further limiting our ability to live in harmony with the land.
A failure in regulatory oversight
These threats to our First Nations are highly concerning on their own; however, our concerns are intensified by the absence of any real regulatory review in Alberta. Far from seeking consent or even engaging in real consultation, Alberta’s regulatory process prevents First Nations from making an informed decision on this massive industrial project. It fails to consider or protect our inherent and Treaty rights and interests.
First, Alberta has failed to provide adequate oversight for this megaproject. The Pathways has split the project into over 100 individual assessments, making it impossible to understand the full scope of potential impacts. This fragmented approach overwhelms First Nations, like ours, which are often forced to react to new information at the last minute. Functioning in this reactionary state, underfunded and under-resourced, leaves us continually vulnerable.
Second, there is no mechanism for identifying and monitoring risks posed by cumulative impacts. We asked Alberta to conduct an environmental assessment of the entire project to better understand the risks and impacts, including but not limited to our inherent and Treaty rights but the government refused. Moreover, Pathways has repeatedly failed to provide essential information regarding the impacts on our inherent and Treaty rights, and Alberta has allowed them to bypass these obligations. The province has consulted with us only on the pipeline aspect, neglecting to address the storage hub despite its potential to cause irreversible harm.
Third, Alberta does not require an emergency response plan for CO2 pipelines. Pathways has stated that emergency management plans will only be created after the project is operational—long after the potential damage is done.
Finally, what little engagement is taking place is grossly underfunded, which leaves us unable to conduct the technical review needed to understand and respond to the project. Inadequate funding compounds all other issues, creating a power and information deficit that lets industry drive projects forward that infringe on our rights.
These risks exacerbate the impacts of projects on our inherent and Treaty rights to use our land for traditional purposes, sustenance, and to maintain our livelihoods, which depend on the health of the land, the water, and the resources around us to continue our Way of Life.
Our leaders and many of our members have a legitimate mistrust of Alberta’s ability to effectively regulate industry – given our decades of experience. We cannot be expected to live on top of this project forever without a fair regulatory assessment that is focused on understanding, mitigating, and accommodating impacts on our rights and Reserve lands.
Call for federal intervention
The situation is dire, and it’s clear that Alberta is not upholding its obligations to First Nations like ours. That is why we are calling on the Government of Canada to step in and order an environmental review of this megaproject.
The federal government has an obligation to each of our First Nations with respect to the care, control, and protection of our Reserve lands for our use and benefit in perpetuity. Allowing a project of this magnitude to proceed without a thorough and independent review is unacceptable. We need the government to seek our consent and uphold its duty to consult and accommodate our concerns—concerns too often ignored by provincial authorities.
Nothing about us without us
A federal environmental assessment is a crucial first step, but it is important to recognize that First Nations have the final say on any project that affects our lands, waters, resources and Way of Life. We hold the power to say yes or no to developments that impact us, and no project should proceed without our consent.
The Beaver Lake Cree Nation’s lands and rights and calls for accountability from both Alberta and the federal government in addressing the risks posed by the proposed carbon capture project will not stop.
Take action and support our call for a federal environmental review of the Pathways CCS project.
