Ottawa says it held more than 140 meetings with Indigenous organizations before designating the Pacific Link oil pipeline a project of national interest, but First Nations leaders say they never got the information needed to judge it, according to the federal government’s own summary of the consultation.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the designation on Oct. 1, the first made under the Building Canada Act. The government’s consultation summary, reported by The Canadian Press, says Indigenous groups cited a lack of information that kept them from fully assessing the project’s impacts.
The Major Projects Office sent letters to more than 130 potentially affected communities in July. It held meetings with representatives of more than 110 organizations and communities. The original deadline for feedback was Aug. 28, and Ottawa extended it to Sept. 18 after leaders objected to the tight timeline. The designation came 12 days after the extended deadline closed.
Leaders from communities that support the project and those that oppose it raised the same gaps, the summary says. They said they lacked details on routing, engineering and design, environmental effects, marine shipping, emergency response and effects on Aboriginal and treaty rights. Communities also said summer harvesting, ceremonial gatherings and wildfire evacuations limited how much they could take part.
The federal document says the office provided a meaningful opportunity for consultation and that further questions can be addressed as they arise. It says the Governor in Council is satisfied that existing processes will address potential impacts on Aboriginal and treaty rights before final federal authorizations are issued. A senior government official said the designation will likely be challenged in court, The Canadian Press reported.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said Major Projects Office staff do not understand how to work with First Nations. She said “junior staffers” are not building relationships and that office CEO Dawn Farrell has been unavailable to meet with AFN leadership. The AFN said it found “many red flags” in the designation and that the government appears to be predetermining outcomes.
Cold Lake First Nation Chief Kelsey Jacko said his territory sits in the oilsands but was left out of discussions affecting its lands and treaty rights. “The leaders of the Nations and communities that will be heavily impacted should have been in the room,” he said.
The response is not uniform. Fort McKay First Nation Chief Raymond Powder said he is excited about becoming an equity stakeholder and about economic growth, and described his consultations with federal and provincial governments as respectful and meaningful, though complex. He also said he has concerns about ecosystems and balancing the environment with the economy. The government has not published terms for Indigenous equity participation.
On the B.C. coast, where the pipeline would end, the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs rejected the designation in a statement the same day. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip said the fight “will be hard-fought in the court rooms, and if necessary, with boots on the ground.” He also said, “This is not a cake walk, this is not a ‘gimme.'”
Chief Marilyn Slett of the Heiltsuk Nation, the union’s secretary-treasurer, pointed to tanker traffic and spill risk, citing the Nathan E. Stewart fuel spill that still affects Heiltsuk waters. Chief Dalton Silver of Semá:th First Nation raised concerns about a major spill’s effect on salmon rivers and migration routes in the Salish Sea. Chief Councillor Linda Innes of Gitxaala Nation said a national interest designation cannot override Indigenous title and rights, and that pre-approval without consent could face a legal challenge under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
That declaration, which Canada has adopted, calls for free, prior and informed consent before decisions that affect Indigenous lands. The union has asked that consent be applied to all projects fast-tracked through the Major Projects Office and the Building Canada Act. It also wants Nations given enough information, time and resources to assess proposals under their own laws, and the option to say no.
Ottawa has said it will use the next 12 months to complete project consultations and secure environmental safeguards, financing and Indigenous partnerships. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said design and construction could begin as early as Sept. 1, 2027. The government has not said whether the consultation record will change before then.
The question for communities along the route is whether the next year of talks answers the gaps they raised in the first round, or becomes the basis of the court fight both sides expect. Several of the questions leaders listed, including routing and emergency response, have not been publicly answered. Developing story: details of the consultation come from the government’s summary and statements from leaders, and Canada News Media has not independently reviewed the full document.
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Via The Canadian Press, published by Global News. Additional reporting from a CFJC Today roundup of reaction and a Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs news release dated Oct. 1, 2026.
