This morning ENB just lost 0.43 cents, i.e., -1.04%. There is a negative
news report juct coming out this morning regarding environmental concerns
against Canadian Oil firms' latest expansion plan.
main excerpt on ENB
Quote "Enbridge Inc. (ENB, ENB.T) faces a wall of aboriginal opposition to
its proposed Northern Gateway pipeline in British Columbia"
Companies Struggle to Balance Aboriginal Needs and Industry -- Globe & Mail
8:15a ET December 9, 2013 (Dow Jones)
Companies Struggle to Balance Aboriginal Needs and Industry -- Globe & Mail
(This article was originally published Sunday.)
(From Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper, December 9 edition.)
By Shawn McCarthy
Of THE GLOBE AND MAIL
OTTAWA (Globe and Mail)--On its 4,000-kilometre path across the country,
TransCanada Corp.'s (TRP, TRP.T) Energy East's pipeline would traverse the
traditional territory of 180 different aboriginal communities, each of whom
must be consulted and have their concerns accommodated as part of the
company's effort at winning project approval.
The Energy East plan is to bring 1.1 million barrels per day of western
crude to eastern Canadian refineries and export terminals; it has been
touted by politicians and its proponents as a nation-building exercise, and
by industry as providing access to new markets for landlocked crude.
But native leaders want to ensure that they see some benefits from the C$12
billion project and they could present a challenging obstacle to its
completion if they feel excluded. On Tuesday, First Nations leaders
gathering in Gatineau, Que., will launch an effort to devise their own
national energy strategy.
Calgary-based TransCanada has hired Phil Fontaine--former national chief of
the Assembly of First Nations--to help it win the support of native
communities from Alberta to New Brunswick.
TransCanada is just the latest company to grapple with the challenge of how
to work with aboriginal Canadians to develop pipelines, oil and gas
projects, mines and electricity generation, while maintaining the commercial
focus on speedy execution and cost control.
The country is at a critical juncture in relations between government,
industry and aboriginal communities. The federal government estimates there
is C$650 billion worth of resource projects to be developed in the next
decade, and virtually all of them are in areas claimed by various aboriginal
groups as part of their traditional lands.
Native leaders are demanding to be treated as not just another stakeholder
group but as full partners who have treaty rights that must be respected and
historical grievances that must be addressed. But they often don't have the
capacity to be properly engaged in the process, sometimes lacking business
acumen, an educated work force or financial resources needed to prosper in a
modern economy.
And industry is now being asked to fill gaps left by government--an
uncomfortable position for many companies that simply want to win quick
approval for a project.
Resource companies have seen what happens when things go badly. Enbridge
Inc. (ENB, ENB.T) faces a wall of aboriginal opposition to its proposed
Northern Gateway pipeline in British Columbia; First Nations have blocked
logging roads in Quebec and mining roads in Ontario and activists have
disrupted Southwestern Energy Co.'s (SWN) shale-gas exploration in
opposition to fracking on their traditional territory in New Brunswick.
"We are not anti-business," Mr. Fontaine said at recent conference in
Toronto, organized by the University of Waterloo's School of Environment,
Enterprise and Development. "But development will not occur unless
aboriginal people have been engaged, consulted in a proper way, and there is
an accommodation of aboriginal interests."
Working with Mr. Fontaine, TransCanada has begun that process with the 180
aboriginal communities along its Energy East path. He acknowledged that
pipeline companies face a special problem because the projects are linear
and involve far more communities than a mine or oil sands project would
touch.
"The important challenge we have now is to inform communities about the
Energy East project," he said. "You can be certain there won't be a single
conversation or discussion that takes places that doesn't make some
reference to benefits."
TransCanada spokesman Philippe Cannon said it is too early to say what the
benefits package would look like, and whether it would include an equity
stake, as Enbridge has offered with its Northern Gateway project.
Former prime minister Paul Martin has taken up the cause of aboriginal
education, arguing improved schooling is a fundamental prerequisite to First
Nations' participation in the resource economy, and that business must be
involved in addressing the appalling educational deficit that exists on
reserves.
For resources industries that complain of skills shortages, the young
aboriginal population--the fastest growing demographic in the country--
represents a key pool of labor that can only be fully utilized if education
is dramatically improved, Mr. Martin told the Toronto conference.
"Under-funding of grade school and high school is the single most important
dagger drawn at the heart of aboriginal communities across this country,"
he said.
Mr. Martin urged resource companies to lobby the federal government to
address chronic under-funding of on-reserve education.
Oil and gas companies are increasingly recognizing that they have to do
more than simply negotiate a traditional benefits package with aboriginal
communities impacted by their projects, said David Collyer, president of the
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.
"It is an area we are involved in now," Mr. Collyer said. "But we probably
can do more and should do more in terms of training and development of
aboriginal people. But it is not industry's sole responsibility--governments
have to play a role as well."
Denise Restoule is chief at the Dokis First Nation on the French River in
Northern Ontario, where the band is partnering with power company Hydromega
to develop a 10-megawatt run-of-river electricity project, backed by a 40-
year purchase agreement with the Ontario Power Authority.
It took many years--and several different band councils--to conclude an
agreement on the deal, as the Dokis people lacked a basic understanding of
project development and financing. Once completed, the hydro contract will
provide a steady stream of income to the 1,200-person band, which will be
set aside in a trust fund to finance education and business development. It
has a 40% equity stake in the Okikendawt Hydroelectric Project.
Ms. Restoule said the developers had to be patient and work to understand
the culture and political realities of the reserve to succeed.
"The developer needs to develop a relationship with the First Nation, and
not just send some documents and say you've been consulted," she said in an
interview. "They need to understand their values and what is important to
them. And once they understand where the community is at, then real
discussions can start to work on developing a real partnership."
www.theglobeandmail.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 09, 2013 08:15 ET (13:15 GMT)DN201312090039842013-12-09 13:15:00.
00069IEDDO83J3R51D9F5J7R6ISS2DJNF
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