Speaking to the Globe and Mail, MLI Senior Fellow Ken Coates says the success of the Northern Gateway pipeline project will depend on how far businesses and governments are willing to go to engage with First Nations communities.
“Are we prepared to share not just decision-making authority and a small level of oversight, but are we prepared to share prosperity with First Nations people?” Coates told the Globe.
The federal government announced Tuesday it is conditionally approving the project.
MLI author Dwight Newman, speaking to the Saskatoon Star Phoenix, said pipeline builder Enbridge needs to further consult with Aboriginal groups but there is little evidence it won’t be built.
“Enbridge has developed the proposal and presumably thinks it can meet the conditions that have been set, so in many ways, there’s lots of reason to think that it will go forward now”, Newman told the paper.
Coates also spoke to the National Post in the lead-up to Tuesday’s decision.
