Your Questions

The existing Trans Mountain pipeline, constructed in 1953, moves crude oil from Edmonton, Alberta to the Westridge marine terminal near Vancouver, British Columbia. In November 2016, the Government of Canada approved a proposal by Kinder Morgan to build a pipeline roughly parallel to the existing one. The expansion project would expand its capacity from 300,000 barrels a day to 890,000 and bring about an increase in marine shipping traffic. In May 2018, the Trans Mountain Pipeline was purchased from Kinder Morgan by the Government of Canada. In August of 2018 the Federal Court of Appeal quashed the government’s approval of the expansion project.

• The existing Trans Mountain pipeline was constructed in 1953.
• In November 2016, the Government of Canada approved a proposal by Kinder Morgan to build a pipeline roughly parallel to the existing one.
• In May 2018, the Trans Mountain Pipeline was purchased from Kinder Morgan by the Government of Canada.
• On August 30, 2018, the Federal Court of Appeal overturned the Government of Canada’s approval of the pipeline expansion. The court held that the National Energy Board failed its duty to consider the impact on marine life from marine shipping associated with the project and that the Crown failed to properly consult with Indigenous groups.
• On September 15, 2018, the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, the Minister of Natural Resources Canada, ordered the NEB to undertake a new environmental assessment looking at the impact additional oil tankers off the coast of British Columbia will have, with a specific focus on the risks to southern resident killer whales.
• On Oct. 3, 2018, the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Natural Resources Canada hired former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Frank Iacobucci to oversee a new round of Indigenous consultations.
• The Government of Canada did not appeal the Federal Court of Appeal decision in August 2018.
• In February 2019, in its Reconsideration Report, the NEB recommended that the Government of Canada approve the TMX, subject to 156 conditions. The NEB also made 16 recommendations to the Government of Canada. For more information, please visit: https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/pplctnflng/mjrpp/trnsmntnxpnsn/trnsmntnxpnsnrprt-eng.html
• Following the release of the NEB’s Reconsideration Report, the Government of Canada has to decide whether the expansion project will proceed. A decision is expected June 2019.

Chief Ernie Crey, Cheam First Nation, and Chief Aaron Sumexheltza, Lower Nicola Indian Band, wrote to the Prime Minister and the Premiers of BC and Alberta, in June of 2016 articulating concerns about the NEB process on the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) project and existing pipeline. They also called for the establishment of a safety and environment oversight body led by Indigenous nations affected by the existing pipeline and the proposed TMX. The letter was signed by leadership representing over 50 First Nations.

In response to that letter, the federal government met with Indigenous communities in early November of 2016 to discuss the potential establishment of an Indigenous oversight body. In the end of November, Cabinet approved the TMX project and as part of that decision, the government committed to co-developing the IAMC with affected Indigenous peoples, and it allocated up to $64.7 million over five years to support the Committee.

IAMC was co-developed over six months by the Working Group made up of representatives from the federal government, NEB and Indigenous communities. Kinder Morgan did not participate in the creation of the IAMC, nor do they fund this Committee.

During the co-development process, two line-wide workshops and eight regional meetings were held, along with other meetings and teleconferences, to seek input from Indigenous communities along the pipeline and shipping routes on the Terms of Reference (TOR).

At the regional meetings, community representatives selected members to the Indigenous Caucus of the IAMC. Indigenous Caucus members are not federal appointees.

It is the goal of the IAMC to form the basis of a new relationship between Indigenous communities, the government and the NEB in respect of the TMX Project and existing pipeline. The IAMC provides for collaborative, inclusive and meaningful Indigenous involvement in the review and monitoring of the environmental, safety and socioeconomic issues related to TMX and the existing pipeline over the project lifecycles.

Essentially the IAMC has 5 purposes:

• Support meaningful participation in monitoring
• Collaborative forum supported by technical resources
• Develop common perspectives and give informed advice
• Indigenous communities come together to identify common priorities and voice these to government
• Share information in a cooperative and transparent manner

The committee is made up of a 13-member Indigenous Caucus and six senior federal representatives, with a Co-chair from the Indigenous Caucus and from Natural Resources Canada. An organizational chart can be found here.

The federal members represent the NEB and departments including Natural Resources Canada, Transport Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard and Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The current membership of the Indigenous Caucus is as follows, with the region along the pipeline and marine routes noted in brackets:

• Chief Ernie Crey (Fraser Valley);
• Kristine Pearson (Vancouver Island – Western Approach);
• Chief Russell Chipps (Vancouver Island – South);
• Trina Sxwithul'txw (Southeastern Vancouver Island);
• Carleen Thomas (Burrard Inlet/Lower Fraser);
• Chief Marcel Shackelly (Mid-Fraser/Thompson);
• Chief Harvey McLeod (Okanagan);
• George Lampreau (BC Interior)
• Ray Cardinal (Alberta First Nations);
• Norine Saddleback (Alberta First Nations); and
• Michelle Wilsdon (Alberta First Nations), interim Co-Chair.
• Tracy Friedel (Alberta Métis)

The process is underway for selection of a member for the BC Métis.

IAMC is not a consultation body. The members of the Indigenous Caucus do not represent for consultation purpose the communities affected by the Trans Mountain pipelines and marine shipping. The Committee, as a whole, is an additional forum for engagement between Regulators and Indigenous Communities and will not replace or diminish any right of individual Indigenous Communities to be consulted by the Government.

No. Indigenous Caucus members come from communities that oppose the pipeline, as well as those that support it.

Participation in the IAMC is “without prejudice”. This means that participating does not indicate that a community supports or opposes expansion project. It also does not replace or diminish the respective duties and obligations of the government and Trans Mountain Corporation to Indigenous Peoples.

The IAMC Terms of Reference define the purpose, structure, and roles and responsibilities of the Committee. It also lists the 129 Indigenous communities affected by the pipeline and proposed expansion. On July 17, 2017, the Honourable Jim Carr, Minister of Natural Resources and Peter Watson, Chair and CEO of the NEB, approved the Terms of Reference and the establishment of the IAMC and the Secretariat to support it.

Yes. Capacity Funding is available to the 129 Indigenous communities on IAMC’s Terms of Reference through the IAMC Contribution Program, which has $42 million of available funding over five years. The aim of the Program is to increase Indigenous participation in the monitoring of the TMX Project and existing pipeline and to enable Indigenous people to be more directly involved in it.

The Contribution Program is targeted to address the priorities of the 129 potentially impacted Indigenous communities related to:

• Environmental protection;
• Socioeconomic outcomes; and
• Safety

Natural Resources Canada, through the Indigenous Partnerships Office – West (IPO-West), administers the funding based on the decisions of the IAMC. Proposals are accepted on a continuous basis.

Natural Resources Canada, through the Indigenous Partnerships Office – West (IPO-West), administers the funding based on the decisions of the IAMC. Proposals are accepted on a continuous basis.

If the Government of Canada is going to build the TMX, then it must build it better than Kinder Morgan would have.

The IAMC is not a pro-pipeline committee. Indigenous members’ participation is “without prejudice,” – we have some members who support TMX, others who oppose it. The Committee’s goal is to make the TMX Project and existing pipeline as safe as possible and to lessen the impacts on environmental and Indigenous interests.

The IAMC is committed to forming the basis of a new working relationship between Indigenous Communities, the Government and the NEB in respect to the TMX project and existing pipeline. The Committee represents a new way of working together.

The Indigenous Caucus endeavours to think long-term as to how Indigenous people could move from being advisors to decision-makers.

It’s not about who’s on what side of the issue; It’s about monitoring and response. If the expansion project is built, working together can make it safer and better.