British Columbia Premier David Eby kept his cards close about Friday's meeting with federal Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson — a day after Ottawa struck a pipeline deal with Alberta.
It's Eby’s first federal face-to-face meeting after being shut out of talks between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith around a possible pipeline crossing BC to the north coast — which would also involve carve-outs to the legislated oil tanker ban in provincial waters.
Days before the Alberta-Ottawa memorandum of understanding (MOU) was revealed, Eby told Carney it was “unacceptable” the deal was brokered without input from BC.
Eby evaded questions at a press conference on Friday about any desired outcomes in his meeting with Hodgson, instead reiterating the message he’s been consistently delivering before and after the Carney-Smith deal was revealed.
Eby described the pipeline deal with no route, proponent or financial backer as an “energy vampire,” draining provincial, federal and Coastal First Nations’ attention, time and money away from existing projects. These are initiatives awaiting final investment decisions on the north coast worth nearly $90 billion — including the LNG Canada Phase 2 project sitting on Carney’s major project’s list.
At the moment, the pipeline is solely “a communications exercise from the province of Alberta,” Eby said. However, ongoing discussion about lifting the oil tanker moratorium on the coast jeopardizes Coastal First Nations support needed for BC projects that will create jobs and revenue for all of Canada, he added.
“I’ll be reinforcing that message with Mr. Hodgson, who is well aware of these realities,” Eby said.
Coastal First Nations (CFN) have said attempts to meet with the government have been stymied before and since the MOU was announced.
CFN President and Heiltsuk Chief Marilyn Slett issued a sharp rebuke to Ottawa, and Hodgson personally on Friday.
“We have a strong track record of working with the federal and BC governments on world-leading initiatives across the Great Bear Rainforest and Sea that are protecting nature, creating permanent jobs, and contributing billions of dollars to Canada’s economy,” said Slett in a statement.
“We can only continue that work if we have productive relationships grounded in respectful dialogue."
Coastal First Nations, representing eight member nations, did not meet Friday with Hodgson, given the short advance warning that made it difficult for leadership to attend, a spokesperson with CFN told Canada’s National Observer.
In an interview with CBC’s David Cochrane on Thursday, the minister was dismissive of those concerns.
Hodgson’s comments about meeting with CFN during the interview were “deeply disrespectful and show a complete lack of understanding of our communities,” Slett said.
When pressed about not yet meeting with Coastal First Nations, and Slett’s inability to make the journey to Vancouver, Hodgson responded, “It’s called Zoom. It’s what we’re using, David,” Hodgson replied.
“I’m also not a Coastal First Nation Chief,” Cochrane said, suggesting leaders might want to meet “in person and face-to-face, you know if they are going to have a bituminous pipeline…”
“I am happy to go visit … I will happily make the trip,” Hodgson then interjected.
Following the interview, Coastal First Nations said they won’t be seeking a meeting with the minister.
“The next meeting Coast First Nations will be seeking is with Prime Minister Carney,” the CFN spokesperson said.
On late Friday afternoon, Hodgson issued an apology for his comments on his X social media account, saying he regretted his poor choice of words and that he'd reached out personally to the Coastal First Nations about meeting at their convenience.
Premier Eby’s office did not respond to questions about the meeting from Canada’s National Observer before the publication deadline.
Rochelle Baker / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada’s National Observer
